Girls take 9th at Natrona County Invite, Moreno powers boys

Ryan Collier was straight and to the point when he said that weather has handicapped Glenrock’s start to the track and field season.
The opening meet of the season was scheduled for March 16 in Casper but was cancelled due to the bomb cyclone. At their first meet last Friday at the Natrona County Invite, the Herders essentially took part in their first true practice of the spring. Competing against a substantial field of 17 teams from around the state, the girls team placed 9th while the boys took 13th.
“It helps give us a baseline of where we’re at,” Collier said. “It’s tough to assess things already because we’ve had weather early on in the season, but our goal is simply to go out and try to improve each week.”
The delayed start to the season was no problem for freshman Emily Taper. She took 3rd in the 400-meter with a time of 1:04.35, which after just one meet is the 4th-best time in school history in the event. Taper also cracked the top-10 in the 200-meter, clocking in at 28.35 in 9th. Behind Taper, Kassia George finished 31st in the 200-meter in 30.45, while Skylar Harford took 41st in 30.97. Emma Weisser also crossed the finish line in 45th at 31.37.
Senior Annelise Clark also got off to a quick start in the 300-meter hurdles, finishing 2nd with a time of 50.34. She also finished 18th in the 100-meter hurdles in 19.13. Clark and Taper additionally ran the second and third legs, respectively, of the 4x400-meter relay, along with Abbi Cerny and Adelaide Williams. The girls placed 4th in the event at 4:35.51.
As the clear skies changed to overcast and temperatures began to drop on Friday, Harford and Williams stuck it out in the high jump. The freshman jumpers kept close throughout the event, often providing feedback and encouragement to one another whenever either of them failed to clear the pole. Harford finished in 14th capping out at 4 feet, 6 inches, while Williams settled for a height of 4 feet, 4 inches in a tie for 18th.
The Lady Herders are a youthful team this season, and it’s the show of teamwork and self-coaching from Harford and Williams that has Collier encouraged.
“It’s good to see those young kids go out and improve,” Collier said. “Since we only have so many coaches who can have eyes on them at all times, it’s important that they help each other and that’s something that we’ve been preaching.”
Taper nearly cracked the top-10 in the long jump as well, finishing tied for 11th with a leap of 14 feet, 4.75 inches. Williams also took 21st in the triple jump, landing in the sand pit at 27 feet, 7.5 inches.
Yesi Hermosillo and Mandi Tvedt finished within spitting distance of each other in the shot put. Hermosillo measured out at 26 feet, 2.5 inches in a tie for 35th, while Tvedt launched a toss of 25 feet, 11 inches in 37th.

THROW HAPPY
Senior Urian Moreno is a quiet leader, the type who lets his performance do the talking. He did exactly that Friday in Casper.
The boys team finished with five top-15 finishes, two of which came through the air via Moreno. He placed 7th in the shot put with a throw of 41 feet, 2 inches, and took 14th in the discus throw with a toss of 108 feet, 5 inches. Alex St. Gelais followed Moreno in the shot put, setting a personal record of 36 feet, 2 inches in 25th. Brody Cathcart rounded things out for the Herders in 27th with a personal record throw of 36 feet, 1 inch.
Behind Moreno in the discus throw, Kale Kuhlman finished 29th with a toss of 97 feet, 10 inches. Gelais set another personal record of 94 feet, 6 inches in 33rd, while Padon Eckhardt took 39th and Jonah Young finished in 46th.
“He’s a leader by example,” Collier said of Moreno. “He does a great job of listening to the coaches and will help draw some of the others to him by the way that he carries himself.”
Assistant coach Ray Kumpula has high hopes for pole vaulter Adrian Maas this season, who finished 13th in Casper with a height cleared of 8 feet, 10 inches. Maas is currently capped out at a personal record of 10 feet, 6 inches, but according to Kumpula, sky’s the limit. The next step is going inverted.
“Once he’s able to get the feet up by his hands, he’ll be good to go,” Kumpula said. “It’s just a matter of getting his body to do it and putting it all together. It all happens so fast.”
Also cracking the top-15 for the Herders were Jeffrey Winger and James Halvorsen. Winger took 11th in the 110-meter hurdles with a personal record time of 20.13. Halvorsen finished 15th in the 3200-meter race, crossing the finish line in 12:35.48.
Senior Zane Moore took 19th in the 1600-meter and Payton Steinmetz finished 21st in the 200-meter.

UP NEXT
In a strategic move to avoid yet another storm system, Saturday’s scheduled meet in Wheatland was rescheduled to yesterday. The next meet for Glenrock will take place Saturday, April 6 in Guernsey.