Another trip to Gillette last Friday saw improvement from the Powell Panther indoor track and field team at the Basin Nation Invite, with one more athlete earning a qualifying mark as the team continues to learn the ins and outs of indoor track.

“We saw some good improvement from many of our kids and we also got to see some new events for some kids as well,” coach Scott Smith said.

Leading the way for Powell was Isaiah Woyak, who placed second and earned a qualifying mark in the triple jump in his first competition of the year with a leap of 41-6 1/2.

“A little bittersweet for Isaiah. He jumped very well but tweaked his ankle. He gave the high jump a try but wasn’t able to overcome the injury,” Smith said.

The next highest Panther finishers came on the girls side, where Kenna Jacobsen was one of two athletes who placed third, coming in the 800 meters with a 2:31.82. Katie O’Brien improved on her initial meet in the shot put with a throw of 38-2 1/4 for third.

Kinley Cooley was Powell’s final top 10 finisher — she placed ninth in the 1600 meters with a 5:51.04.

Since the first meet the Panthers have focused on conditioning and technique, which included working on handoffs for relays that are different from outdoor relays with the runners congested and fighting for positioning each pass.

“Our relay handoffs were night and day better than the first meet,” Smith said. “There is still some room for improvement, but the kids responded well to the teaching and practice we did in the last couple of weeks.”

He noted that one improvement in the understanding of running relays in indoor track came during the girls’ 4x200.

“One in particular was Aramonie Brinkerhoff running the anchor leg of the 4x200,” Smith said. “She was passed early, but came on strong at the end and passed that girl at the finish. It was a great show of resilience on her part.”

This time the Panthers will not have two weeks between meets, and will turn around to compete once again on Friday, this time with the meet hosted by Sheridan in Gillette.

Powell currently has two athletes prequalified for the state meet, but Smith said that qualifying standards do not mean as much as teams can enter up to four in an event regardless, and it does not come into effect unless five or more have met the prequalifying standard.

“3A standards are based on last year’s (first 3A state) results,” Smith said. “Good news is they really don’t mean much unless a team is really deep in an event.”

He noted the one event that it does matter is the shot put, where if you prequalify you don’t have to throw on the first day of state and will automatically qualify for the second day of the meet.

BASIN NATION INVITE

* Denotes state qualifying standard

GIRLS RESULTS

55 meter dash — 49. Averie Warner 8.23, T81. Ashlee Jacobsen 8.51, T164. Sophia Petrie 9.4, 167. McKay Kilkrease 9.45, 174. Alexis Helfrich 9.79

200 meters — 24. Audrey Johnson 29.14, T61. Kenna Jacobsen 31.19, 75. Naomi Whipple 31.57, 76. Ashlee Jacobsen 31.59, 79. Melissa Merritt 31.63, 92. Aramonie Brinkerhoff 32.05, 104. Kate Williams 32.35, T134. Ryann Hutzenbieler 33.6, T151. Lainni Cary 34.5, 157. Sophia Petrie 34.78, 162. McKay Kilkrease 35.61, 170. Alexis Helfrich 37.58

400 meters — 18. Audrey Johnson 1:07.03, 43. Melissa Merritt 1:11.59, 74. Ava Gilliatt 1:21.82

800 meters — 3. Kenna Jacobsen 2:31.82, 12. Kinley Cooley 2:38.12, 22. Brynn Hillman 2:46.18, 23. Myah Rakness 2:46.37, 39. Karee Cooley 2:57.3

1600 meters — 9. Kinley Cooley 5:51.04, 12. Brynn Hillman 6:10.97, 14. Karee Cooley 6:11.75, 28. Salem Brown 6:39, 29. Ava Gilliatt 6:39.97, 33. Gracie Wolff 6:48.28

3200 meters — 17. Salem Brown 14:31.47, 19. Gracie Wolff 14:46.89

55 meter hurdles — 64. Aramonie Brinkerhoff 11.59, 71. Naomi Whipple 12.34

4x200 relay — 8. Averie Warner, Audrey Johnson, Ashlee Jacobsen and Aramonie Brinkerhoff 2:00.87; 14. Naomi Whipple, Kate Williams, Lainni Cary and McKay Kilkrease 2:09.77

4x800 relay — 6. Myah Rakness, Melissa Merritt, Karee Cooley and Kinley Cooley 11:03.07

Long jump — 87. Lainni Cary 10-11 1/2 

Triple jump — 29. Ryann Hutzenbieler 26-9 1/2, 36. Lainni Cary 25-3

Shot put — 3. Katie O’Brien 38-2 1/4*, 53. Anai Torres 25-6

BOYS RESULTS

55 meter dash — 78. Sondre Furuhaug 7.28, 120. Toby Sessions 7.48, T165. Dominick Bieber 7.86

200 meters — 47. Chance Franks 25.31, 75. Tevon Schultz 26.32, 95. Trevion Solberg 26.76, 104. Lincoln Crawford 27.01, 116. Toby Sessions 27.42, T128. Dominick Bieber 27.83

400 meters — 58. Trevion Solberg 1:01.3

800 meters — 20. Liam Taylor 2:19.65, 27. Korbyn Warren 2:21.85, 45. Thomas Shuman 2:39.05

1600 meters — 28. Korbyn Warren 5:09.95, 31. Liam Taylor 5:10.53, 47. Colin Walker 5:41.04, 53. Nathan Varian 5:51.77, 60. Thomas Shuman 6:09.53

3200 meters — 23. Colin Walker 12:22.11

55 meter hurdles — 26. Lincoln Crawford 9.94, 29. Dominick Bieber 10.23

1600 sprint medley — 5. Chance Franks, Sondre Furuhaug, Korbyn Warren and Liam Taylor 4:02.16

Long jump — T14. Sondre Furuhaug 19-1 1/2, T36. Tevon Schultz 17-7 1/2, 60. Lincoln Crawford 16-4

Triple jump — 2. Isaiah Woyak 41-6 1/2*, 16. Tevon Schultz 36-10, Lincoln Crawford 33-4 1/2 

Shot put — T39. Seston Shoopman 35-8 3/4