Hardy competes in Best-of-the-Best

Cunningham, Ohnstad take first and second

The Dogies competed in their second track meet of the week Friday as they traveled to Buffalo for their Not-A-Twilight invitational. Head coach Matt Conzelman noted that the weather wasn’t conducive to his athletes performing at their best because of the wind and the cold, however, a few still managed to hit qualifying times or notch new personal records.

Eleven teams were in attendance, ranging from 4A to 2A, and the Lady Dogies ended the day in eighth place while the men’s team finished in sixth.

“It wasn’t the greatest of conditions up in Buffalo,” Conzelman said. “The wind just never let up, so any of the runners who had to run all the way around the track had to struggle every time they went against it.”

Adalyn Olson ran another qualifying time in the 100 Meter Dash, where she finished fourth overall, but second amongst 3A competition. She mirrored that finish in Long Jump where she leaped a PR of 15 feet, 1.25 inches. McKenzie Rose also set a new personal best in Long Jump with a leap of 12 feet, 7.5 inches.

“We decided to throw Adalyn in the long jump, and she ended up making finals,” Conzelman said. “She scratched on a jump that was over 16 feet, so she definitely has some potential there.”

Aspen Bloom came in third in the mile run, but was second against 3A runners, and Julie Morris threw PRs in both Shot Put and Discus, where she finished sixth and fifth, respectively. In the discus throw, only two 3A throwers finished ahead of her.

“Julie had a great throwing day,” Conzelman said. “She really got underneath both the shot put and the discus, throwing 30 feet, 7 inches in the shot and almost 94
feet in the disc. Her last best throw in the discus was just over 77 feet, so she really did well in that.”

Colton Vanderpool Mobley ran 3A qualifying times in both the 100 and 200 Meter Dash races where he finished sixth in both. In the 100 where 100 athletes were competing, he was the second 3A runner across the finish line, and he was the first to finish in the 200. There weren’t as many who competed in that race, but the number was still high, with 85 runners overall.

“Colton had a good day, despite the conditions,”  Conzelman said. “Though he didn’t run PRs, he still competed well.”

Sam Cunningham and Archer Ohnstad finished third and seventh, respectively, in the two-mile run. Among 3A, the two were the first and second runners across the finish line.

Eli Morrill notched a PR in the 110 Meter Hurdles, finishing third against 3A, and ninth overall. Junior Geisness and Drew Conzelman also ran personal best times in the 100 Meter Dash.

After claiming second place in the High Jump event with a six foot leap in Buffalo (and first against 3A), CJ Hardy jumped in a Suburban with coach Kathy Beehler and the two headed to Casper for the annual Wyoming Track Classic for the Best-of-the-Best competition there.

Hardy’s 6-foot, 2-inch clearance in the high jump last week in Douglas earned him an invite to the elite track meet, and while there he tied for 10th by repeating his performance from earlier in the day, soaring over the bar at 6 feet even. Of the other 3A athletes in the running, only three finished ahead of him.

“It was great that CJ was able to get an invite to the Classic,” Conzelman said. “We had a few others who were close, and I think we can get a few more next year.”

The Dogies will travel to Sundance for their last regular season meet on Friday.