One of the most competitive 3A girls state meets ever saw a number of events shatter state records, leading to the Powell Panther girls falling just short of a fourth straight state championship, finishing fourth in the team standings despite strong marks throughout.

“The 3A girls were loaded with the most talent spread out over the largest number of teams this year that I can ever remember,” coach Scott Smith said. “Seven of the 18 events had state records broken, and some of those records were really blown out of the water.”

Leading the way for the Panthers was Waycee Harvey, who raced to a second place finish in the 400 meters with a 58.34.

She also finished third in the long jump, improving her school record mark out to 18 feet, 1 1/4 inches. Wheatland’s Lily Nichols won the event and set a new state record with a leap of 18-9 1/2.

Harvey also placed fourth in the triple jump (34-10 1/4) and sixth in the 100 meters (12.87), which had a new record set by Torrington’s Brooklyn Asmus in 11.91.

“Waycee graduating as a school record holder in three individual and one relay record is amazing and she has earned every one of them,” Smith said.

Katie O’Brien also had a strong weekend in the throws, finishing second in the shot put with a throw of 40-5 1/4 and fifth in the discus with a throw of 125 feet even. The shot put had a new state record set by Lander’s Adelyn Anderson with a throw of 44-7 1/4, breaking the previous record of 44-4 1/4 which was set by Powell’s Jesseca Cross in 1992.

Kinley Cooley led the Panthers in the distance races, finishing third in the 3200 meters (11:49.47), fifth in the 1600 meters (5:29.11) and sixth in the 800 meters (2:24.92).

Lauryn Bennett placed fifth in the pole vault clearing 9-6, while also taking eighth in the 300 meter hurdles in 48.91.

Other top eight individual finishes included Kenna Jacobsen taking seventh in the 1600 meters (5:39.77) and 3200 meters (12:25.07) and eighth in the 800 meters (2:27.28); Audrey Johnson sixth in the 400 meters (1:01.03); Paige Sanders seventh in the triple jump (33-5) and Karee Cooley eighth in the 3200 meters (12:28.65).

The top placing relay for the Panthers was the 4x800 relay, taking third with the team of the Cooley sisters, Myah Rakness and Jacobsen in 10:20.5.

Powell finished fourth as a team with 75 points, just two behind Buffalo and seven ahead of Mountain View. Lander won the team title for the girls with 116.5 points to claim its first title since 2001, just edging out Worland in second which finished with 100 points.

The Panthers will say goodbye to a strong group of seniors who were part of three state championships.

“Our senior girls have had great careers in track and other sports with many of them moving on to compete at the next level,” Smith said. “They have been a lot of fun to work with as they have developed over the years.”

Despite graduating a strong class, Smith is hopeful that the Panthers can be a strong team next year with a competitive returning distance crew along with some younger athletes, while also bringing in a strong eighth grade group.

“Our girls, led by our really deep distance crew, look to be very competitive as a team next year, but we will definitely have to work hard to replace this senior group’s leadership and scoring,” Smith said.

STATE TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS

p denotes preliminary round mark

Team scores — 1. Lander 116.5, 2. Worland 100, 3. Buffalo 77, 4. Powell 75, 5. Mountain View 70, 6. Torrington 68, 7. Wheatland 61, 8. Pinedale 41, 9. Douglas 38, 10. Thermopolis 18.5, 11. Rawlins 18, 12. Lovell 11, 13. Glenrock 3, T14. Newcastle and Lyman 2

100 meters — 6. Waycee Harvey 12.87

400 meters — 2. Waycee Harvey 58.34, 6. Audrey Johnson 1:01.03

800 meters — 6. Kinley Cooley 2:24.92, 8. Kenna Jacobsen 2:27.28, 14. Myah Rakness 2:35.39

1600 meters — 5. Kinley Cooley 5:29.11, 7. Kenna Jacobsen 5:39.77, 11. Brynn Hillman 5:50.15, 13. Karee Cooley 5:51.65

3200 meters — 3. Kinley Cooley 11:49.47, 7. Kenna Jacobsen 12:25.07, 8. Karee Cooley 12:28.65, 9. Shelby Zickefoose 12:44.1

100 meter hurdles — 10. Lauryn Bennett 16.86p, 17. Charity Siggins 18.34p

300 meter hurdles — 8. Lauryn Bennett 48.91

4x100 relay — 8. Paige Sanders, Ashlee Jacobsen, Naomi Whipple and Audrey Johnson 53.53

4x400 relay — 6. Lauryn Bennett, Myah Rakness, Naomi Whipple and Audrey Johnson 4:18.59

4x800 relay — 3. Kinley Cooley, Karee Cooley, Myah Rakness and Kenna Jacobsen 10:20.5

1600 sprint medley relay — 7. Naomi Whipple, Paige Sanders, Audrey Johnson and Myah Rakness 4:38.5

High jump — 9. Addy Thorington 5-0, T12. Charity Siggins 4-8

Pole vault — 5. Lauryn Bennett 9-6, T10. Kate Williams 8-6

Long jump — 3. Waycee Harvey 18-1 1/4, 10. Paige Sanders 16-5 3/4

Triple jump — 4. Waycee Harvey 34-10 1/4, 7. Paige Sanders 33-5

Shot put — 2. Katie O’Brien 40-5 1/4

Discus — 5. Katie O’Brien 125-0, 12. Anai Torres 96-8, 14. Nalani Jordan 89-5