{gallery}05_25_10/track{/gallery}Powell junior Kyle Sullivan soars over the bar on his way to a successful state title defense in 3A high jump competition. Sullivan earned two state championship medals and two state runner-up medals at the 2010 Wyoming state track meet. Tribune photo by Randal Horobik Powell High girls sixth in final standingsIt wasn't the trophy they hoped for, but the Powell Panthers still returned home with hardware as the team finished as the 2010 boys' 3A state runner-up in Casper over the weekend. The Panther girls had one of their best showings in years with a sixth-place team finish. “It didn't go quite the way we wanted, but it was still a good meet,” said Powell head coach Scott Smith following the awards presentation.

Junior Kyle Sullivan earned a pair of state titles for the Panthers. Sullivan successfully defended his high jump title by being the only competitor to successfully clear the bar at 6'4”.

Sullivan was one of three participants to get over the bar at 6'2”, only clearing that height on his final attempt. Similar to his sophomore season though, Sullivan applied the pressure early at the next height by clearing on his first attempt, then watched through a series of three misses by both Torrington's Kyle Nighswonger and Wheatland's Kolton Irby, whom Sullivan defeated head-to-head for the title the previous year.

After clinching the state title, Sullivan made three unsuccessful attempts at 6'5”. His winning height was two inches higher than his sophomore season.

Sullivan also was part of a state-championship relay team for Powell. Joined by teammates Colby Gilmore, Zach Thiel and Josh Cragoe, the foursome moved in front of early race leader Torrington during the first 100 meters of the third leg and pulled away over the final 700 meters for victory.

The win was important as it helped the Panthers leapfrog Douglas in the final event of the 2010 state championship meet to emerge as the state runner-up. The win also successfully defended the Panthers' state title in the race the previous season.

In addition to his two gold medals, Sullivan returned to Powell with a pair of state runner-up titles to his credit. The Panther junior placed second behind Thermopolis' Colin Herold in both the 110- and the 300-meter hurdle finals.

Herold tied the state 3A record held by Powell's Justin Cross in the 110-meter finals.

While Sullivan returned to town as the weekend's most-decorated Panther, he was hardly the only one to do well.

Junior Drew MaGill also brought home four medals, including a state runner-up finish in the 100 meters after clocking a season-best 11.25 in the finals while attempting to run down Douglas' Justin Melton. Melton set a 3A state record in the finals with a time of 10.78.

MaGill also placed third in the 200 meters. He grabbed a fourth-place finish in the long jump, another event where a new 3A record was established at this year's state meet, and fifth place in the triple jump to match Sullivan's haul of four medals.

Two other members of the Panther boys' team earned multiple individual medals. Gilmore earned a third-place finish in the open 400 and added a sixth-place finish at 100 meters. Junior Jacob Beuster took home a pair of medals in the throwing events, placing seventh in the discus and eighth in the shot put.

In the pole vault, senior Matthew Condie fell short of his goal of clearing 13'6” in state competition, but was able to get over the bar at 13 feet. That was good enough for a fourth-place finish.

Senior Andrew Young fought through the rain for a fifth-place finish in the discus. Thiel ran to a seventh-place finish in the 800. Bodie Friday added a seventh-place finish at 1600 meters and Marco Borja punctuated a fantastic final month of track season with an eighth-place finish at 200 meters.

The Panther boys also picked up a pair of fifth-place relay finishes. The 4x100 grouping of Borja, Cragoe, Vince Sleep and Cameron Bennett finished three-hundredths of a second out of third place in a three-way photo finish. The 4x800 team of Thiel, Marshall McArthur, Justin Lynn and Tyler McCauley also placed fifth.

In the team standings, the Panther boys finished 13.5 points behind Jackson. The Broncs dominated on the track at the longer distances, then sprinkled in enough points from the relays and other events to hold off both Powell and Douglas.

On the girls' side of the competition, the Panthers recorded their best team finish in some time with a sixth-place showing in Casper. Fans have to go back to the 2006 season, when Powell placed fifth, to find a better team performance by the Panther girls.

The performance was highlighted by a state championship performance in the 4x800 relay. Brooke Nisley, Skye Albert, Alyssa Rodriguez and Kassey MacDonald took turns carrying the baton for eight laps of the Kelly Walsh track to record a time of 10:12.55. The foursome won the event by more than four seconds and shattered their best time of the season in the process.

Individually, sophomore Kendra Ostrom narrowly missed adding to the Panthers' state championship count.

Competing in a rain-plagued high jump, Ostrom narrowly missed on her attempts to clear the bar at 4'10” to place second overall.

Desiree Murray returned as Powell's most-decorated athlete on the girls' side. Murray placed third in the 300-meter hurdles and added a fifth-place medal in the 400 and a sixth-place medal in the 800.

Four other Powell girls also earned individual medals in Casper. Hannah Pollart placed in a three-way tie for fifth place in the high jump, matching Ostrom's second-place height of 4'8”, but needing more attempts to reach that point in the competition.

Freshman Brooke Nisley added a sixth-place finish at 1600 meters, fighting through a wet track and gusting 30 m.p.h. wind to net the result. Kassey MacDonald (long jump) and Marquette McArthur (discus) both finished seventh in their respective events.

The Panthers also grabbed a fourth-place finish in the 4x400 relay. Nisley, MacDonald, Murray and Alyssa Rodriguez earned those points for the Panthers.

For a second year, the 3A girls' state title went to Cody. The Broncs conjured enough points in the meet's final relay to retake the lead from Jackson, 90-86. Rawlins placed third with 73 points as the Panthers finished the three-day meet with a team score of 46 points.

Both Panther track teams look to return stocked with firepower next season. The Panther girls will have to replace Albert in the 4x800 and also lose Pollart, but will return all their other point-scorers in 2011.

Similarly, the Panther boys will return the athletes responsible for 89 of their 98 team points at this year's meet.

Powell loses just Condie and Young from its slate of scoring athletes. Triple jumper Kyle Woodward will also graduate from the Panther roster this spring.

How they fared

Here's a list of Powell High School track performers and how they fared in each of their events at the 2010 Wyoming State Track and Field Championships in Casper.

Cameron Bennett: 300m hurdles-44.43 in prelims, placed 10th.

Jacob Beuster: Discus-126'3” in finals, placed seventh; Shot put-43'11.5” in finals, placed eighth.

Marco Borja: 200-23.56 in prelims, 23.57 in finals, placed eighth.

Matthew Condie: Pole vault-13', placed fourth.

Kami Cooley: High jump-4'6” in finals, tied for 13th.

Josh Cragoe: 100-11.97 in prelims, placed 11th; 110m hurdles-15.49 in prelims, 15.44 in finals, placed third.

Cody Fagley: 1600-5:29.09 in finals, placed 16th; 3200-11:08.93 in finals, placed 11th.

Bodie Friday: 1600-5:00.85 in finals, placed seventh; 3200-10:55.0 in finals, placed 10th.

Colby Gilmore: 100-11.77 in prelims, 11.54 in finals, placed sixth; 200-23.57 in prelims, placed ninth. 400-53.05 in prelims, 52.47 in finals, placed third.

Cole Good: High jump-No height, did not place.

Hannah Groves: Discus-76'11” in finals, placed 16th; Shot put-30'9” in finals, placed 13th.

BreaAnn Hollenbeck: Long jump-14'2.25” in finals, placed 14th.

Justin Lynn: 800-2:14.67 in prelims, placed 14th.

Kassey MacDonald: 800-2:30.02 in finals, placed ninth; Long jump-15'4” in finals, placed seventh.

Drew MaGill: 100-11.81 in prelims, 11.25 in finals, state runner-up; 200-22.57 in prelims, 22.46 in finals, placed third; Long jump-21'2.5” in finals, placed fourth; Triple jump-41'9.25” in finals, placed fifth.

Marquette McArthur: Discus-107'7” in finals, placed seventh; Shot put-30'3” in finals, placed 14th.

Tess Mitchell: 3200-13:34.53 in finals, placed 11th.

Desiree Murray: 400-1:01.71 in prelims, 1:02.91 in finals, placed fifth. 800-2:28.66 in finals, placed sixth; 300m hurdles-49.47 in prelims, 48.24 in finals, placed third.

Brooke Nisley: 800-2:36.2 in prelims, placed 13th; 1600-5:57.68 in finals, placd sixth.

Kendra Ostrom: High jump-4'8” in finals, state runner-up; Long jump-14'11” in finals, placed 10th; Triple jump-31'7.75” in finals, placed 11th.

Hannah Pollart: High jump-4'8” in finals, tied for fifth.

Alyssa Rodriguez: 200-27.64 in prelims, placed 12th; 400-1:03.55 in prelims, placed ninth.

Vince Sleep: Discus-113'8” in finals, placed 13th; Shot put-41'8.75” in finals, placed 11th.

Kyle Sullivan: 110m hurdles-15.49 in prelims, 14.89 in finals, state runner-up; 300m hurdles-40.25 in prelims, 39.25 in finals, state runner-up; High jump-6'4” in finals, state champion.

Zach Thiel: 800-2:06.78 in finals, placed seventh.

Kyle Woodward: Triple jump-37'5.25” in finals, placed 13th.

Andrew Young: Discus-132'5” in finals, placed fifth; Shot put-42'1.25” in finals, placed 10th.

Relay Teams

Boys' 4x100: Cameron Bennett, Marco Borja, Vince Sleep and Josh Cragoe, 46.67, placed fifth.

Boys' 4x400: Kyle Sullivan, Zach Thiel, Colby Gilmore and Josh Cragoe, 3:32.67, state champions.

Boys' 4x800: Tyler McCauley, Justin Lynn, Marshall McArthur and Zach Thiel, 8:55.06, placed fifth.

Girls' 4x400: Brooke Nisley, Kassey MacDonald, Alyssa Rodriguez and Desiree Murray, 4:22.19, placed fourth.

Girls' 4x800: Brooke Nisley, Skye Albert, Alyssa Rodriguez and Kassey MacDonald, 10:12.55, state champions.

3A girls' team scores —Cody 90, Jackson 86, Rawlins 73, Thermopolis 56, Lander 52, Powell 46, Wheatland 39, Mountain View 33, Buffalo 33, Worland 32, Glenrock 31, Douglas 22.5, Pinedale 20, Torrington 18.5, Cheyenne South 16, Newcastle 12, Lyman 1.

3A boys' team scores — Jackson 111.5, Powell 98, Douglas 95.5, cody 65, Torrington 63, Pinedale 40, Lander 39, Glenrock 32.5, Thermopolis 32, Wheatland 31, Buffalo 25.5, Newcastle 18, Rawlins 7, Lyman 1, Worland 1.