PHS track second at L.A. Kohnke Invite

Posted 4/14/15

At the L.A. Kohnke Invitational on Saturday in Powell, the Cody Broncs and Fillies once again showed why.

The Broncs scored 147 points to take first, while the PHS boys fell short with 140.50, and the Fillies earned 241.50 points to cruise past …

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PHS track second at L.A. Kohnke Invite

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Cody boys, girls outlast Panthers

At the beginning of the season, Powell High School track and field head coach Scott Smith said Cody High School would potentially be a two-month pain in the Panthers’ sides.

At the L.A. Kohnke Invitational on Saturday in Powell, the Cody Broncs and Fillies once again showed why.

The Broncs scored 147 points to take first, while the PHS boys fell short with 140.50, and the Fillies earned 241.50 points to cruise past the Lady Panthers (116.30 points). Seven schools competed on both the boys and girls side.

Still, Smith said team standings mean very little in the early going, and added he’s more concerned with team improvement, which he said he is seeing from both of his squads in the young season.

“It was another good meet for us; the kids are doing what we’re asking of them,” Smith said.  “They’re stepping up and performing each and every meet.”

O’Neill, Warner pace Lady Panthers

PHS junior Anissa Warner and freshman Julia Kay O’Neill earned victories Saturday to lead the Lady Panther charge. The PHS girls’ 4x800 relay team also claimed a win over Cody in 10:36.49.

Warner, who has been slowed this season following surgery on her left knee to remove a cyst, leaped to a personal-best height of 5 feet, 3 inches in the high jump to defeat Cody senior Emily Reed. Both competitors reached the mark, but Warner did so in fewer attempts to come away victorious.

Warner said she was excited following a performance that left her an inch shy of tying the Powell High School girls' school record, held by her aunt, Kim Edgell. Warner previously cleared the 5-3 mark during regional competition last season and believes she could make major strides before the state meet in May.

“With my last two meets, I didn’t perform nearly as well as I hoped or thought I could have, so this is icing on the cake for me,” Warner said. “I’m hoping to clear 5-5; that’s my goal for the season.”

O’Neill won the 800-meter run for the third time in as many tries this season, posting her fastest time this spring — 2:29.26 — to outlast runner-up Jules Ward (2:30.50) of Thermopolis. O’Neill also played the role of her older sister — PHS senior SarahJean O’Neill — in the 400, winning the race (in 1:00.28) her sister often excels in. The elder O’Neill competed in one relay Saturday before leaving the invite with an illness. PHS senior Stephanie Liggett placed third in the 400 with a time of 1:06.65.

Junior Danna Hanks continued her stellar start, placing second in the 100-meter hurdles for the second straight meet. Once again, Hanks fell short of Reed (the defending 3A state champion) after posting a time of 16.46 while Reed finished in 16.32. Smith said he’s happy to see Reed presenting challenges to both Hanks and Warner.

“Emily is the real deal — she’s got a scholarship to go to Utah State next year — she’s a really, really good athlete,” Smith said. “And she and Anissa Warner are battling it out in the high jump, too. It’s a good deal for both [teams]; we’re helping her get better, and she’s helping us get better.”

Hanks also placed second in the 300 hurdles in 48.08, where she finished behind Reed (44.75) once again.

In the long jump, sophomore Shayla Harsh placed second with a leap of 14-07, and junior Lexee Craig took fourth with a distance of 14-04.

The Lady Panthers’ throwers found more success as three placed in the top 15 in the discus, and three others finished in the top 10 in the shot put. Sophomore Jen Bonander led PHS with a fourth-place finish in the discus with a throw of 98-11. Freshman Kooper Stringer placed eighth with a toss of 89-02, and her sister — freshman Kodi Stringer — placed 15th with a heave of 69-09.

In the shot put, sophomore Haylee Ugalde placed sixth with her distance of 29-05 to lead the Lady Panthers. Kodi and Kooper Stringer finished in seventh and ninth place, respectively, with tosses of 29-02.50 and 28-05.

“Our girl throwers are really coming along,” Smith said. “The girls started off not scoring any points at all in throws, and now we’re scoring a bunch of points. That’s going to be huge for us.”

The Lady Panthers’ 4x100 (53.80) and 4x400 (4:29.20) relay teams also placed third.

Throwers spark PHS boys

As has been a constant this season, the Powell boys’ throwers took care of business again and helped the Panthers to a runner-up finish.

Senior Riley Stringer won the shot put with a toss of 49-09.50, while senior teammate Carter Baxter placed second at 48-08.75. Stringer’s throw of 138 feet in the discus was good for third place, while Baxter finished fourth with a length of 136.

Both throwers struggled during their warm-ups, but turned it on when it counted.

“I don’t know what was happening in warm-ups; that was pretty ugly,” Stringer joked. “But when it comes to competition, things just seem to fall into place.”

Stringer said the PHS male throwers are helped by a healthy dose of competition. Senior Matt Walsh and sophomore Zach Easum placed sixth and ninth, respectively, in the discus.

“It’s good to have a lot of good throwers,” Stringer added. “It’s really nice for us because in practice, we all kind of compete with each other, but we also help each other a lot, too.”

Smith said that, given the cold, windy conditions, and the way the PHS calendar has provided large gaps in track events this season, he was expecting a lull in his throwers’ performances. But so far, that hasn’t happened.

“They’re kind of at that point in the season where they’re throwing an awful lot,” Smith said. “We’re not expecting huge throws right now because of the way the early season starts, but they’re still performing well.

“Our throws have been strong for a long time.”

Outside of Stringer’s victory, the Panthers’ 4x800 relay team also claimed a win.

In the 110 hurdles, sophomore Nate MaGill placed third with a time of 18.29. He also placed fourth in the 300 hurdles (45.6) and fifth in the triple jump (37-02.25).

The 300 hurdles were a particularly successful race for the PHS boys, as sophomore Paige Gann finished second in 44.85 and junior Zac Schuler took third in 45.25.

“That’s a great core of young kids stepping up there,” Smith said of the underclassmen.

In the 3,200, junior Ezra Andreason finished fourth (12:14.03) and sophomore Matthew Waite took fifth in 12:18.12.

The Panther boys’ 4x100 (47.16) and 4x400 (3:49.09) relay teams placed second and third, respectively.

Junior Cody Akin was a close second place in the 800 run with a time of 2:15.67. Merrill Beck of Lovell won in 2:15.36.

In the high jump, junior Jackson Griffin surpassed 5-10 to place third, and freshman Charlie Hall was fifth after clearing 5-04.

Coach Smith continues to be impressed by the strong outings his young squads are putting forth, and said what he thought would be a roster loaded with inexperienced athletes heading into the season is actually turning into a solid contender.

“We’re really shaping up to be deeper than I was hoping — both boys and girls — just because we’re so young. I didn’t see us coming up as well as we have been,” Smith said. “Looking at us now, all of these kids are going to make an impact for us, I think.”

The PHS track teams return to action at 9 a.m. Saturday at the Lovell Invite in Lovell.

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