Worland track off to a solid start

CASPER - The track season is underway and for the Worland High School track team they opened up their season to a solid start at the Glen Legler Invitational on Saturday at Natrona High School.

Senior pole vaulter Josh Garza was the team's only automatic qualifier for the 3A State meet in Casper May 17-19. Garza cleared 12-6 to finish second behind Lander Valley's Nathan Mortherway, who cleared 13 feet.

"Josh Garza AQed in the pole vault and that was great. We had several kids that came close. McKenna Mickelson is really close to qualifying in the long jump. Our 4x100 did well getting second. Our handoffs were not perfect, but when you go down and compete against mostly 4A schools, we were thrilled with getting second," said WHS track and field coach Tracey Wiley.

Freshman McKenna Mickelson showed promise in her first career high school meet. She finished fourth in the long jump with a leap of 15-03.50 and in the triple jump finished sixth, jumping 31-07.25.

The Lady Warrior 4x100-meter relay team (Talon Andersen, McKenna Mickelson, Kylah Mills, Julie Seidel) also performed well, coming in second with a time of 55.42.

The Warrior 4x100-meter relay team (Andy Deniz, Pete Douzenis, Joseph Keller, Luke Mortimer) came in eighth, even with having a late addition to the team.

"Luke Mortimer jumped into that one more Hayden Lambeth. Luke and I were standing there for the high jump and he said he'd do it. We hadn't done any handoffs or anything like that, but Luke is a team player and an athlete, he was even gaining on that last leg," said Wiley about Mortimer joining the 4x100-meter relay team.

Senior discus thrower Maclin Wiley took second in the discus with a toss of 136-08 and was just shy of the 137-06 automatic qualifying mark. The senior will have to wait until he returns from the senior Washington, D.C. trip for another go at qualifying.

"His one throw that he threw out-of-bounds by three inches would have automatically qualified him. With my coach's hat on, it would have been nice to have him qualify before D.C. That's OK, I know he'll get it," said Wiley.

The 4x400-meter relay team (Joseph Keller, Jacob Newell, Charles Rishel, Gabe Webster) for the Warriors placed as well, finishing fourth and crossing the finish line at 3:54.13. This relay team will be among the most competitive for the Warriors and one that can play a critical role in how high they place during the regional and state meets.

"This relay we're going to be looking for some tough competitive kids. If you want to win regionals you need to have a good 4x400 relay team," said Wiley.

The Warriors and Lady Warriors 1,600 medley relay teams did well with Wyoming's newest track and field event. The Warriors finished fourth with a time of 3:57.29 and the Lady Warriors put up a time of 5:31.04 to also finish fourth.

"The markings on the track were a little different for that race. The kids were panicking a bit about that but like I told them, we're all learning. It's different but the kids did well. It's a good race and a fun one because you get to use your sprinters and distance runners. Nothing is written in stone for the relay team so we should have good competition for those spots," said Wiley.

A pair of Warrior underclassmen triple jumpers scored points for their team. Freshman Colton Woffinden and Donavin Koch finished seventh and eighth, respectively.

"Colton Woffinden is going to break 40 this year and he's just an athlete. Donavin has gotten taller and stronger and I look for him to do good things. Having both of those kids, seventh and eighth place, is exciting. I know both kids will break 40 this year, two feet is a lot but I know they'll be contenders come time for Douglas [3A East regional meet]," said Wiley.

This week sees Worland traveling to Cody for the Bronc Invitational. After getting their feet wet against mostly 4A competition, the Bronc Invite will be a good meet for Worland to size up their other 3A rivals. And while the team may not be at full strength yet, Wiley looks to take as many available athletes as she can.

"In the springtime, there are all these other things going on but we'll take whoever is available to go. In Casper it was a majority of 4A schools, going to Cody we'll get to see more 3A teams and get a better idea of the competition for regionals," said Wiley.

Full results from the Glen Legler Invitational are as follows.

Girls

4x100 Meter Relay

2, Worland (Talon Andersen, McKenna Mickelson, Kylah Mills, Julie Seidel), 55.42.

1600 Sprint Medley Relay

4, Worland (Myra Deniz, Kylah Mills, Julie Seidel, Dani Warner), 5:31.04.

Long Jump

4, McKenna Mickelson, 15-03.50.

Triple Jump

6, McKenna Mickelson, 31-07.25.

8, Tallon Andersen, 30-01.75.

Boys

800 Meter

7, Gabe Webster, 2:26.75.

4x100 Meter Relay

8, Worland (Andy Deniz, Pete Douzenis, Joseph Keller, Luke Mortimer), 47.78.

4x400 Meter Relay

4, Worland (Joseph Keller, Jacob Newell, Charles Rishel, Gabe Webster), 3:54.13

1600 Sprint Medley

4, Worland (Charles Rishel, Gabe Webster, Marcus Wiley, Colton Woffinden), 3:57.29.

Pole Vault

2, Josh Garza, 12-06.00.

Triple Jump

7, Colton Woffinden, 38-06.

8, Donavin Koch, 38-00.75.

Discus Throw

2, Maclin Wiley, 136-08.