Sullivan wins hurdle titles as seven compete

Kyle Sullivan and Josh Cragoe finished 1-2 in the 110-meter hurdles on Monday at the Wyoming Track Classic in Casper. Sullivan added the 300-meter hurdle title as well, taking nearly a second and a half off his season-best time in the process.

The performances were among eight top-three finishes by Panther athletes at the Wyoming Track Classic. The event had been scheduled to be held last Friday, but the threat of poor weather conditions prompted meet officials to push the event back to this week.

Sullivan, a senior who has signed a national letter of intent to compete at the University of Wyoming next year, arrived in Casper already having the fastest time in Class 3A in both hurdle events. He clipped more than three-tenths of a second off his 110-meter time, clocking in with a championship time of 14.46 seconds.

Cragoe was second in a time of 15.21, narrowly edging the third-place runner in a photo-finish.

In the 300, Sullivan broke free for a time of 38.5 seconds on the same track that will host the Wyoming state championships later ths month. It was the first time this season Sullivan cracked the 39-second barrier and put him within one second of the Wyoming Track Classic all-time record in the event (37.91 seconds).

Sullivan had an opportunity to go after three Classic titles on Monday, but had to settle for a third-place finish in the high jump. Sullivan successfully cleared the bar at 6-1, but was unable to match two other competitors at clearing the bar at 6-3.

Sullivan is the two-time defending champion in the event.

The future Cowboy wasn’t the only Powell competitor to turn in strong performances, however. Panther Drew MaGill placed second in both the long jump and the triple jump. His leap of more than 21 feet in the long jump was his best of the season while he nearly matched his season high in the triple jump.

Like Sullivan, MaGill was also busy with three events on Monday. The senior lined up in the starting blocks of the 200 meters as well, finishing in seventh place with a time of 23.18 seconds.

Colby Gilmore placed third in the 400 meters, nearly matching his season-best time. Gilmore ran a lap of the track in 51.47 seconds, finishing behind only Cody’s Colton Wood and Riverton’s Parker Walton in the race.

On the girls’ side, Desiree Murray provided Powell with representation in both the 100- and the 300-meter hurdles races. Murray, who opted not to compete in the 400 meters, despite qualifying in that event for the Classic as well, had her best success in the 300-meter hurdles, where she placed second.

The race, which was run immediately following the 400, was won by Worland’s Jessie Eaves in a time of 45.75. Murray nearly matched her season best with a run of 46.76 seconds as the two Class 3A runners finished well ahead of the remainder of the field.

Murray also added a fifth-place finish in the 100-meter hurdles. Her time there was 16.3 seconds.

Sierra Morrow provided Powell with a sixth-place finish in the 1600 meters. Morrow clocked a time of 5:52.49 in the race.

The only other Panthers to compete on Monday were Zach Thiel and Tyler McCauley, who lined up side-by-side in the boys’ 800 meters. The race proved to be a tightly-contested affair as fewer than seven seconds divided the first and last runners. Thiel finished in seventh position in a time of 2:05.91. McCauley crossed in ninth place overall, clocking a time of 2:09.06.

The Panthers return to track action this Saturday at the Cody Trackstravaganza.