Panther boys finish as 3A runner-up

Posted 5/22/12

“It’s pretty amazing how often it comes down to that final race,” Panther track coach Scott Smith acknowledged.

Powell knew its dreams of a repeat state track title were out of reach as the Panthers lined up for the 4x400. Jackson’s lead …

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Panther boys finish as 3A runner-up

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Girls seventh after struggles

The Powell High School boys’ track team captured the 2012 Class 3A state runner-up trophy with a clutch performance in the final event of the state track and field championships. It marked the third time in four years the Panthers lined up for the 4x400 relay with a trophy riding on the outcome.

“It’s pretty amazing how often it comes down to that final race,” Panther track coach Scott Smith acknowledged.

Powell knew its dreams of a repeat state track title were out of reach as the Panthers lined up for the 4x400. Jackson’s lead heading into the final event was insurmountable, but the Panthers were sitting in third place, just half a point behind Douglas. With the Panthers and Bearcats owning the two fastest regional times in the event, fireworks were virtually assured.

As it turns out, most of those fireworks were turned in by the Panthers. Zach Thiel grabbed a lead for Powell on the relay’s second leg after taking the baton from Marshall McArthur, who almost made up the race’s three-turn stagger on the opening leg. Freshman Blaise Gann extended the margin on leg three, leaving anchor man Josh Cragoe with little to do but sprint to the finish line and an almost 4-second victory over the team’s nearest pursuer.

Douglas crossed the finish line in third place behind Cody.

“It feels great,” said Thiel of the relay win, although the senior also showed disappointment as the 4A race ended, denying the Panther foursome a best-of-the-best medal for fastest relay time in the state.

“That’s what really impressed me this weekend,” said Smith. “These guys really went out and competed. When I was looking at the meet before we got here and projecting, I think I had us for about 85 points.”

Instead, the Panthers finished with 101.5 points, finishing less than 10 points in back of Jackson, which won its second state title in three years.

Fueling that increase in points were a number of competitors who had their biggest day of the season on the biggest stage of the season.

Sophomore Garrett Lynch provided Powell fans and coaches with a few nervous moments after scratching on his first two preliminary discus throws. With his back to the wall, Lynch uncorked a throw of more than 163 feet on his final preliminary toss to breeze into the finals. Two throws later, he surpassed the school record he established earlier this season with a throw of 168 feet, moving into the event lead by two inches. That distance held up through the final round of throws, giving Lynch Powell’s only other state title of the weekend.

“I just knew I had to go big,” Lynch said of the clutch preliminary throw that advanced him to the finals.

The sophomore was in the running for a second state title in the shot put after uncorking a season-best heave of 54-2, but had to settle for state runner-up honors. Teammate Vince Sleep, who set a school shot put record the previous week at the 3A West meet, had to settle for third in both the discus and the shot, despite uncorking a personal best of 159-9 in the discus. Garrett Michael was fifth in the shot.

Powell will return the three top throwers in the shot put from the 2012 state track meet next season.

On the infield, the Panthers earned a huge boost in the pole vault. Hayden Cragoe and Brendon Phister each turned in personal bests in the event on Friday to help Powell’s point total soar. Phister added nine inches onto his previous best with a vault of 12-6. Cragoe was one of the last two competitors alive in the event, clearing the bar at 13-6 and narrowly missing on two of his three tries at 14 feet.

Also taking home a state runner-up title as an individual was Josh Cragoe, whose Saturday time of 15 seconds in the 110-meter hurdles was good enough for second place. Cragoe also joined with Gann, Lynch and Marco Borja in the 4x100 relay to produce another state runner-up for the Panthers.

“It was good to get Marco healthy and have him available for that relay,” said Smith, whose 4x100 grouping had been seeded fifth entering the state meet. “He’s just a little faster.”

On the girls’ side, the weekend did not go as smoothly for a Panther girls’ team hoping to garner its second team trophy in as many seasons. Powell struggled to a seventh-place team finish.

For senior Desiree Murray, a four-event champion at the 3A West regional meet, her final state championship meet held a little bit of both the good and the bad. Murray clocked a school-record time of 15.53 seconds in the preliminary heats of the 100-meter hurdles. She went on Saturday to race to state runner-up finishes in both that race and the 400 meters.

Unfortunately, sandwiched between those finals was a devastating spill early in the 300-meter hurdle finals, an event where Murray was expected to finish among the race leaders. Instead, the senior took a nasty tumble to the track early out of the starting blocks.

Murray lay on the track and needed some 30 seconds to regain her composure following the tumble. She jogged the final 200 meters, hopping over the hurdles and reaching the finish line some 40 seconds after the rest of the field, who greeted her with hugs of sympathy.

“I just wanted to cross the finish line so I could get a point for the team,” said Murray.

The painful-looking spill left some speculating whether Murray would be able to compete in her other final races on Saturday. Her head coach was not among those doubters.

“That is the toughest female athlete I’ve coached in my years here,” Smith said. “She’s the sort of kid who will line up and run and you won’t know she’s hurt until she shows up in a body cast at school on Monday.”

Murray did indeed return to the track to capture a runner-up finish in the 400. She also ran the 200 finals, finishing sixth.

“I think the 400 took everything I had,” said Murray after she completed her prep career in the 200. “I’m really feeling it in my joints. It’s catching up to me. I’m feeling old at 18 years.”

That assessment aside, Murray clearly has ambitions to get back on the oval in college.

“I’m going to try and convince the coaches at UW to take a look at me and let me walk on down there,” Murray said. “I just want a chance.”

Sophomore Tori Sleep was the only other member of the Panther girls’ team to capture more than one individual medal. Sleep placed fifth in the shot put and eighth in the discus for a Panther throwing unit that also included Alice Pinter and Shawnea Harrington, who was sixth in the shot.

In the relays, the Panther girls received their best result in the 4x800, an event where they had been the defending state champion. The foursome of Bailey Sanders, Brooke Nisley, Tally Wells and Sierra Morrow ran a season-best time of 10:19.41, but lost a lean at the finish line to finish in fourth place.

Powell added a sixth-place finish in the 4x100 and a seventh-place finish in the 4x400.

“I can’t be prouder of how the kids competed,” Smith said following the conclusion of the meet. “We had a lot of personal bests, which is all you can ask at this time of the year. A lot of kids really stepped up.”

A lot of those kids will be back next season as well. The Panther boys lose Borja, Thiel and Josh Cragoe. Murray and Alice Pinter graduated from the Panther girls’ roster.

“We really were a pretty young team this season again,” said Smith. “A lot of these kids could be back again next year.”

 

How they fared

Boys team scores: Jackson 111, Powell 101.5, Douglas 98, Star Valley 85.5, Cody 56, Torrington 54, Lander 49, Lyman 30, Buffalo 23, Mountain View 23, Pinedale 15, Glenrock 8, Newcastle 6, Wheatland 3.

Girls team scores: Cody 148, Star Valley 100, Douglas 61, Torrington 49, Jackson 48, Rawlins 43, Powell 40, Wheatland 39, Worland 37.5, Lyman 22.5, Glenrock 22, Lander 18.5, Mountain View 15, Buffalo 9, Pinedale 8.5.

Individuals

Zander Andreasen — 1600: 4:44.58 in finals, placed eighth. 3200: 10:17.63 in finals, placed fifth.

Marco Borja — 100: 11.67 in prelims, placed 12th.

Kadi Cooley — Pole vault: 7-6 in finals, tied for 11th.

Hayden Cragoe — 110m hurdles: False start in prelims. High jump: 5-10 in finals, placed sixth. Pole vault: 13-6 in finals, state runner-up. Triple jump: 39-10 in finals, placed 10th.

Josh Cragoe — 110m hurdles: 14.92 in prelims, 15.00 in finals, state runner-up. High jump: 5-10 in finals, placed fifth.

Blaise Gann — 200: 23.51 in prelims, placed 10th. 400: 53.29 in prelims, 51.81 in finals. Placed sixth.

Shawnea Harrington — Discus: 98-1 in finals, placed 16th. Shot put: 36-4 1/2 in finals, placed sixth.

KaDee Harrison — 100: 13.40 in prelims, placed 15th. 200: 27.5 in prelims, placed 12th.

Garrett Lynch — Discus: 168-0 in finals (school record), 3A state champion. Shot put: 54-2 in finals, state runner-up.

Justin Lynn — 800: 2:14.13 in finals, placed 18th.

Garrett Michael — Shot put: 46-8 in finals, placed fifth.

Mikaila Moore — 100m hurdles: 18.15 in prelims, placed 12th. 300m hurdles: 52.24 in prelims, placed 12th.

Gretchen Morretti — 1600: 5:36.54 in finals, placed 10th. 3200: 12:26.27 in finals, placed seventh.

Desiree Murray — 200: 26.11 in prelims, 26.74 in finals, placed sixth. 400: 1:01.29 in prelims, 1:00.84 in finals, state runner-up. 100m hurdles: 15.53 in prelims (school record), 15.69 in finals, state runner-up. 300m hurdles: 47.24 in prelims, 1:22.51 in finals, placed eighth.

Brendon Phister — 300m hurdles: 43.50 in prelims, placed 11th. Pole vault: 12-6 in finals, tied for fifth.

Alice Pinter — Discus: 90-6 in finals, placed 18th. Shot put: 32-2 in finals, placed 12th.

Devin Rausch — Pole vault: 7-0 in finals, tied for 14th.

Bailey Sanders — 800: 2:34.79 in finals, placed 14th. Pole vault: 7-0 in finals, placed 17th.

Tori Sleep — Discus: 110-0 in finals, placed eighth. Shot put: 36-10 in finals, placed fifth.

Vince Sleep — Discus: 159-9 in finals, placed third. Shot put: 53-2 in finals, placed third.

Kalei Smith — 110m hurdles: 16.41 in prelims, 16.21 in finals, placed fourth. 300m hurdles: 44.35 in prelims, placed 12th.

Jada Swires — Long jump: 14-4 1/2 in finals, placed 17th. Triple jump: 32-1/4 in finals, placed 12th.

Zach Thiel — 800: 2:00.77 in finals, placed fifth.

Tally Wells — 1600: 5:52.09 in finals, placed 14th.

Relays

Boys 4x100 — 44.36 Blaise Gann, Garrett Lynch, Marco Borja and Josh Cragoe, state runner-up.

Boys 4x400 — 3:27.57 Marshall McArthur, Zach Thiel, Blaise Gann and Josh Cragoe, 3A state champions.

Boys 4x800 — 8:40.84 Zander Andreasen, Marshall McArthur, Justin Lynn and Zach Thiel, placed third.

Girls 4x100 — 53.56 Mikaila Moore, Brooke Lensegrav, Jada Swires and KaDee Harrison, placed sixth.

Girls 4x400 — 4:21.00 Brooke Lensegrav, Bailey Sanders, SarahJean O’Neill and KaDee Harrison, placed seventh.

Girls 4x800 — 10:19.41 Bailey Sanders, Brooke Nisley, Tally Wells and Sierra Morrow, placed fourth.

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