PHS tracksters win Rocky Mountain Invite

Brody Karhu breaks school record in pole vault

Posted 4/30/19

Surpassing a mark that stood for over 20 years — and with the former record-holder on hand to witness the feat — Powell High School junior Brody Karhu set the new school standard in the …

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PHS tracksters win Rocky Mountain Invite

Brody Karhu breaks school record in pole vault

Posted

Surpassing a mark that stood for over 20 years — and with the former record-holder on hand to witness the feat — Powell High School junior Brody Karhu set the new school standard in the pole vault Saturday; he cleared a height of 15 feet, 1 inch at the Rocky Mountain Invitational in Cowley.

The Powell High School track and field teams brought home team titles as well, with the Panthers scoring 197.5 points in the six-team field and the Lady Panthers finishing first with 223.5 points. The PHS teams combined to win 12 events, with nine state prequalifying performances.

But the most exciting action of the day was over at the pole vault pit, as Karhu shattered his own personal best of 14 feet, 6 inches and beat assistant coach Greg Bennett’s school record by an inch.

“It was a really cool thing, because the school record was held by Greg Bennett for so many years, and he was right there coaching Brody through it,” said PHS head coach Scott Smith. “Brody was vaulting into a headwind, which is bad, and he still broke the school record.”

Going into Saturday’s meet, Karhu said he really didn’t have an inkling it would be a very special day.

“I was curious to see how things were going to play out, because there was supposed to be a headwind,” he said. “The practice we had on Thursday wasn’t one of my better ones; we were practicing going into a headwind, and I was having a little bit of a hard time with that. So I had no clue that I would accomplish 15 feet.”

Once the competition started, however, Karhu said he felt a lot better about his chances of at least a personal best. When 14 feet, 6 inches came and went, he knew things were clicking.

“I started out at 12 feet, 6 inches, and had some good pop-ups there,” he said. “As I kept going up, I thought, ‘Hey, this could be a good day.’”

After clearing 15 feet, 1 inch, Karhu celebrated with a back flip, then hugged Bennett; he credited Bennett and pole vault coordinator Dan Hunter for his success.

“It meant so much to have coach Bennett there; I couldn’t have asked for a better coach,” Karhu said. “He cares so much about the athletes, and I think he had just as much fun watching me succeed as he did himself. It was a blessing to have him there and be coached by him.”

Bennett said the feeling is mutual.

“Brody’s a heck of a kid, a really coachable kid,” Bennett said. “He’s progressed every year, and he’s earned it, he’s worked hard. He gets to practice early, stays late, and his work paid off. He persevered. I can’t wait to see what we can do the rest of the year. I could see him getting up around the 16-foot mark.”

Karhu tried unsuccessfully to clear 15’ 4 inches, though it’s a height Smith believes Karhu is capable of.

“He’s got more in him; it was so emotional when he made 15 feet, 1 inch,” Smith said of Karhu. “His first two attempts at 15 feet, 4 inches were terrible, but he almost made it on the final one. He’s getting above, he just needs to get more penetration. He’s a good vaulter and an incredibly good athlete.”

 

Lady Panthers

On the girls’ side, the Lady Panthers won six events, led by Sabrina Shoopman, who added the 100 meter dash to her victories in the 100 and 300 meter hurdles.

“Sabrina Shoopman had a good day. We ran her in the 100 meters this week, and she won that, too — and of course she won both hurdles,” Smith said.

Jenna Hillman followed, winning the 200 meter dash, while Emma Karhu won the pole vault, clearing a height of 9 feet, 6 inches and prequalifying for state. Emma Karhu also prequalified in the 300 meter hurdles, finishing second.

Cassidy Miner was first in the shot put, with a toss of 31 feet, 9.75 inches; she also finished runner-up in the discus.

 

Panthers

For the boys, Kaelan Groves prequalified for state in a pair of events, finishing second in the 100 meter dash and pole vault. Jay Cox took the top spot in the 800 meter run, posting a state prequalifying time of 2:00.59.

“Jay [Cox] ran a really good race,” Smith said.

Distance runner Alan Merritt’s state-prequalifying time of 10:27.52 in the 3200 meters was good for second place, while Kadden Abraham finished in the top spot in the 300 meter hurdles with a time of 44.05.

“It was good to see Alan Merritt prequalify in the two-mile, which in my opinion is one of the hardest events to prequalify in, just because kids usually run out of their heads at state,” Smith said. “All in all, we just had a good day.”

The track teams head to Cody on Friday for the Cody Trackstravaganza. Only the varsity athletes will compete in that meet, as Smith and his coaches solidify the roster for regionals in Pinedale next week.

“We’ll have some run-offs and throw-offs as we cut down our numbers substantially,” he said. “We have a lot of kids who are working hard to make the varsity cut before regionals.”

 

2019 Rocky Mountain Invitational Results

Girls Results

Girls Team Results

1. Powell 223.5, 2. Lovell 81, 3. Burlington 72, 4. Rocky Mountain 70.5, 5. Greybull 59.5, Riverside 36.5

100 Meter Dash

1. Sabrina Shoopman 13.30, 3. Jenna Hillman 13.40, 5. Caitlyn Miner 13.41, 9. Jayden Asher 13.99, 13. Sarah Dunkerley 15.08, 14. Kameron French 15.14, 19. Charlotte Wilson 16.18

200 Meter Dash

1. Jenna Hillman 27.37, 3. Emma Karhu 27.96, 7. Jayden Asher 29.68, 12. Kameron French 31.52, 20. Charlotte Wilson 34.23

800 Meter Run

3. Madelyn Horton 2:50.21, 4. Jenna Merritt 3:19.66, 5. Dakota Hansen 3:25.50

100 Meter Hurdles

1. Sabrina Shoopman 16.48, 2. Caitlyn Miner 17.40, 5. Tegan Lovelady 18.96, 5. Abigail Urbach 18.96

300 Meter Hurdles

1. Sabrina Shoopman 48.08, 2. Emma Karhu 49.20, 4. Abigail Urbach 53.74, 7. Tegan Lovelady 1:03.14

4x400 Relay

1. Powell 4:36.66

High Jump

4. Hailee Hyde 4’6”, 6. Gabri Lundberg 4’4”, 9. Kameron French 4’2”, 10. Kylie Kahl 4’2”

Pole Vault

1. Emma Karhu 9’6”, 2. Maddie Hackenberg 8’

Long Jump

3. Maddie Hackenberg 14’1”, 4. Kaitlyn Decker 13’9”, 4. Gabri Lundberg 13’9”, 7. Sarah Dunkerley 13’.5”, 14. Charlotte Wilson 12’3”

Triple Jump

4. Gabri Lundberg 29’8”, 6. Kaitlyn Decker 28’11”, 8. Sarah Dunkerley 26’7”

Shot Put

1. Cassidy Miner 31’9.75”, 3. Isabella Wambeke 29’, 7. Addie Braten 25’6.5”, 11. Megan Good 24’7”, 15. Alissa Staidle 22’3.75”, 19. Hannah Saville 19’

Discus Throw

2. Cassidy Miner 79’7”, 4. Hannah Saville 76’, 5. Addison Braten 75’5”, 6. Traci Gutierrez 73’4”, 8. Isabella Wambeke 69’4”, 13. Megan Good 66’5:, 14. Alissa Staidle 65’

 

Boys Results

Boys Team Results

1. Powell 197.5, 2. Lovell 143.5, 3. Burlington 107, 4. Rocky Mountain 70.5, 5. Greybull 28, 6. Riverside 36.5

100 Meter Dash

2. Kaelan Groves 11.30, 3. Brody Karhu 11.37, 6. Kadden Abraham 11,70, 12. Hunter James 12.55, 14. Kalen Sapp 12.68, 15. Evan Habeck 12.81

200 Meter Dash

3. Kaelan Groves 24.30, 5. Riley Bennett 24.55, 11. Evan Habeck 26.02, 14. Kalen Sapp 26.84, 15. Kaden Salas 27.05

400 Meter Dash

2. Cole Frank 54.40, 3. Dylan Cordes 54.62

800 Meter Run

1. Jay Cox 2:00.59, 5. Ethan Bartholomew 2:14.34, 10. Riley McKeen 2:40.02

3200 Meter Run

2. Alan Merritt 10:27.52, 4. Tyler Pfeiffer 11:13.44, 5. Joey Hernandez 11:33.97, 7. Jace Bohlman 12:41.06

110 Meter Hurdles

3. Kadden Abraham 17.87, 5. Eli Weimer 19.87

300 Meter Hurdles

1. Kadden Abraham 44.05, 2. Eli Weimer 52.81, 4. Thallen Sessions 53.55

4x800 Relay

1. Powell 3:37.56

High Jump

1. Colby Warner 5’10”, 8. Cole Frank 5’4”

Pole Vault

1. Brody Karhu 15’1”, 2. Kaelan Groves 13’

Long Jump

10. Kaelan Groves 16’8”, 11. Dylan Escalante 16’4”, 14. Pedro Tiexiera 15’8”, 17. Kalen Sapp 15’3”, 17. Riley Bennett 15’3”, 19. Kyler Warren 14’9.75”, 21. Colton Decker 14’

Triple Jump

8. Dylan Escalante 36’, 11. Kyler Warren 33’9”, 12. Colton Decker 31’6”

Shot Put

2. Zeke Frankenberry 41’5.5”, 3. Toran Graham 40’11.75”, 5. Canyon Gonzales 39’5.5”, 7. Geordan Weimer 39’2.25”, 8. Lane Shramek 38’11”, 9. Carson Olsen 35’9”, 10. Weston Moore 35’7”, 12. Carter Olsen 34’2.75”, 13. Zach Griffin 34’, 18. Kaden Salas 29’.75”, 26. Josh Wright 24’9.5”

Discus Throw

2. Reece Hackenberg 121’3”, 3. Zeke Frankenberry 120’04”, 6. Canyon Gonzales 110’5”,  7. Geordan Weimer 106’8”, 8. Carson Olsen 106’6”, 10. Carter Olsen 105’3”, 12. Toran Graham 102’9”, 13. Lane Shramek 98’4”, 14. Jaxton Braten 92’4”, 21. Weston Moore 82’11”, 22. Zach Griffin 81.6”, 30. Josh Wright 68’4”

Powell High School, Panther Track and Field

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