{gallery}05_19_09/pole{/gallery} Powell High School pole vaulter Matthew Condie folds himself over the bar on his way to a state-qualifying clearance of 11 feet. Condie's pole vault entry will be just one of 32 state entries the Powell boys' track program will take to Casper in pursuit of a 3A state title this week. Tribune photo by Randal HorobikThe Powell Panthers fought off a late-meet challenge by the defending 3A state champions and rode a wave of personal record performances to capture the 3A West regional boys track title on Saturday in Cody. The Panther girls won their own battle, coming on strong in the afternoon to outpace Lovell and Jackson for runner-up honors.

“This is awesome,” said Panther track coach Scott Smith, who was named the region's coach of the year at the conclusion of the 3A West regional meet. “We had so many kids step up and set personal records, and that's what we like to focus on.”

The regional title was the Panthers' third in four years. For the next week, Smith and the rest of the Powell coaching staff will have plenty to focus on.

Powell's girls qualified 21 event slots to the state track and field championships. The Panther boys will have 32 event slots filled when they go to Casper this Thursday, Friday and Saturday for the season's final meet.

“You can have meets where you score well, but nobody really performs to their potential,” said Smith. “This was not one of those meets. All the kids came out and competed hard and most of them got personal records in their events.”

Rustin Myrick led a sweep of the top three places in the high jump with Kyle Sullivan and Cole Good tying for second place. Myrick added a regional title in the 300-meter hurdles while Sullivan and Josh Cragoe stepped up after Myrick was called for a false start in the 110-meter hurdles and placed 1-2 in Saturday's final.

Drew MaGill added a title in the triple jump and also teamed up with Cragoe, Gavin Mills and Tanner Eden to win the 4x100 relay title. Patrick Sullivan improved upon his 3A-best time in the 400 meters to capture regional honors in that event.

On the girls' side, Stephanie Paul captured Powell's only regional title, winning the 200 meters. Desiree Murray added a runner-up finish in the 300-meter hurdles and the pair teamed up with Alyssa Rodriguez and Kassey MacDonald to place second in the 4x400 relay.

Paul and Rodriguez were also back on the track for the 4x100 relay. Along with Kendra Ostrum and Kami Cooley, the foursome placed second in regional competition. Marquette McArthur placed second in the girls' discus.

After jockeying with Cody for top position throughout much of the meet, the Panther boys found themselves trailing by 12 points as the team standings were updated early Saturday afternoon. Powell overcame that deficit as Myrick, Ty England and Cragoe placed 1-2-4 in the 300-meter hurdles. Securing three of the top seven places in the 200 meters helped add to Powell's then-lead while the Panthers' shot put corps grabbed three of the top six places to guarantee Powell's victory before the 4x400 relay team ever set foot on the track to finish the meet.

“It's big because they (Cody) are the defending state champion, but next week is a completely different meet,” said Smith. “All those east teams will come in and that will juggle the standings and how many points people earn.”

The Wyoming state track and field championships begin Thursday in Casper. The meet runs through Saturday with competition in all four classes taking place simultaneously.

Girls team scores —Cody 192.5, Powell 103.5, Jackson 87, Lovell 86.5, Pinedale 64.5, Worland 48.5, Lyman 36, Kemmerer 31.5.

Powell results: 200-1. Stephanie Paul 28.56, 4. Alyssa Rodriguez 28.74; 400-3. Stephanie Paul 1:03.11, 4. Alyssa Rodriguez 1:03.85, 8. Kassey MacDonald 1:07.35; 800-4. Desiree Murray 2:36.75, 5. Kassey MacDonald 2:36.96; 1600-7. Claire Wetzel 6:18.88; 3200-3. Desiree Murray 13:19.52, 7. Claire Wetzel 13:49.67; 300m hurdles-2. Desiree Murray 50.15; 4x100 relay-2. Stephanie Paul, Kendra Ostrum, Alyssa Rodriguez and Kami Cooley 53.82; 4x400 relay 2. Stephanie Paul, Desiree Murray, Alyssa Rodriguez and Kassey MacDonald 4:21.26; 4x800 relay-6. Claire Wetzel, Tamara Brown, Kassey MacDonald and Skye Albert 11:23.98; High jump-3. (tie) Hannah Pollart 4'11”, 6. Kendra Ostrum 4'11”' Long jump-8. Kassey MacDonald 14'8.25”; Shot put-5. Hannah Groves 30'7”, 6. Marquette McArthur 30'3.25”, 7. Emily Kath 29'9”; Discus-2. Marquette McArthur 95'9”, 5. Emily Kath 85'3”.

Boys team scores — Powell 189, Cody 179, Pinedale 74, Lovell 55.5, Jackson 55, Lyman 53, Worland 19.5, Kemmerer 19.

200-2. Drew MaGill 23.92, 4. Gavin Mills 24.68, 7. Colby Gilmore 25.08; 400-1. Patrick Sullivan 51.24, 4. Kyle Sullivan 53.24, 5. Gavin Mills 54.16; 800-3. Patrick Sullivan 2:04.46, 6. Dallas Robrds 2:07.56, 7. Zach Thiel 2:10.59; 110m hurdles-1. Kyle Sullivan 15.98, 2. Josh Cragoe 16.45; 300m hurdles-1. Rustin Myrick 41.09, 2. Ty England 42.71, 4. Josh Cragoe 43.61; 4x100 relay-1. Gavin Mills, Tanner Eden, Josh Cragoe and Drew MaGill 45.39; 4x400 relay-2. Gavin Mills, Patrick Sullivan, Kyle Sullivan and Rustin Myrick 3:31.4; 4x800 relay-2. Patrick Sullivan, Zach Thiel, Patrick Voss and Dallas Robirds 8:43.44; High jump-1. Rustin Myrick 6'0”, 2 (tie). Kyle Sullivan 5'8” and Cole Good 5'8”; Pole vault-6. Matthew Condie 11', 7. Tanner Eden 10'6”; Long jump-2. Drew MaGill 20'0.5”, 7. Wesley Johnson 18'3.5”; Triple jump-1. Drew MaGill 41'7.25”; Shot put-3. Matt McArthur 48'11.5”, 4. Ryan Brandt 46'10.25”, 6. Casey Borcher 45'3”; Discus-2. Casey Borcher 134'4”, 5. Andrew Young 126'11”, 7. Ryan Brandt 121'.