Little Herders take on Lusk

A sea of purple filled the inside of the track from one end to the other.
The Glenrock Middle School track and field team, along with five other middle schools, shared the day last Saturday at the SEWAC meet in Lusk with their varsity counterparts. Herder Pride was in full force as both the boys and girls teams finished in the top four in one of the final meets of the season.
Led by top finishes from Jerrett Fife, Brayden LaPointe and Logan Jones, the 8th grade Herders placed third in Lusk with a total of 87.5 points, behind Pine Bluffs and Southeast. Glenrock finished no worse than seventh in any individual event, with Jones earning his best finish of the day in the 400-meter. He took first with a time of 1:00.76. Jones also finished third in the 100-meter in 13.29, and seventh in the long jump with a leap of 14 feet, 4 inches.
Dusty Cox also had a good day in Lusk, finishing sixth in the 100-meter and fourth in the 200-meter. Teammate Ben Hogan finished behind him in the 200-meter in seventh with a time of 29.33. Adam Johnson took ninth in 31.88. JD Holman and Hogan also cracked the top-10 in the 400-meter, both runners tying for ninth in 1:08.31.
The younger brother of Skyler and Paxton, Cody Piasecki finished fifth in the 1600-meter. He crossed the finish line in 5:59.10. The Herders represented in the 200-meter hurdles with four top-10 finishers. Fife led the way in first with a time of 29.64, while LaPointe earned sixth in 32.12. Gavin Zeiger and Lukas Lythgoe placed eighth and ninth, respectively. Piasecki added to his fifth-place finish in the 1600-meter with a second-place nod in the high jump. He cleared the bar at 5 feet, 2 inches to finish runner-up. Fife placed in a tie for fourth at 4 feet, 6 inches.
LaPointe’s first-place spot came in the pole vault at 9 feet, 6 inches, while Cox took third at a height of 8 feet. Fife added to his day with a second-place finish in the triple jump, a leap of 33 feet, 2.5 inches. Cole Skilbred represented the boys well in the throwing events, finishing third in the shot put and sixth in the discus throw.

LADY HERDERS
The 8th grade girls team also brought home two individual top finishes in Lusk, along with a gold in a team relay. Bella Taylor, Hailey O’Brien, Tyne Loyd and Makenzi Partridge banded together to finish first in the 800 sprint medley with a time of 2:06.50.
Taylor took first in the 100-meter at 13.85, while Loyd distanced herself from the pack in the pole vault. She pulled away for the top spot and successfully cleared 7 feet. Teammates Rana McCluer, Josie Mares and SeAnna Theien also finished in the top-five for Glenrock in the pole vault.
Partridge had a stellar day in Lusk individually, finishing third in the 200-meter, 100-meter hurdles and high jump. O’Brien added a third-place finish of her own in the 200-meter hurdles with a time of 35.35.
Along with taking gold in the 100-meter, Taylor also nabbed second in the long jump, landing in the sand pit at 13 feet, 10 inches. Loyd rounded things out for the girls at sixth in the 400-meter with a time of 1:11.21.
The Little Herders stayed in Converse County on Monday and competed at the East Classic meet in Douglas. The 8th grade girls medley team, run by Taylor, O’Brien, Loyd and Partridge, took first place overall.