Carver wins 3A West 110-meter hurdles championship

WORLAND - Building off a strong finish to the regular season, the Worland High School track and field team got off to a good start in the postseason.

Competing at the 3A West regional meet in Lander on May 14-15, the Worland teams brought home 25 medals and are sending 20 athletes to the 3A State meet, which begins today and ends on Saturday.

"The kids did really well. We brought home 25 medals, and I'm taking 20 to state, we're going to be busy this weekend," said WHS track and field coach Tracey Wiley.

Warrior hurdler Aaron Carver brought home a 3A West regional championship. Carver ran a 15.77 and edged out Mountain View's Sam Porter (second, 15.78) to win the 110 hurdles.

Just as Carver edged out Porter, Lander's Gage Gose similarly beat Carver in the 300-meter hurdles. Gose ran a 40.96 to win the 300 and Carver a 40.97.

"He fought and fought, and it was pretty exciting. It was one of those where you weren't sure, but when they called the kids over to the podium and Aaron walked over to first place, and we were all whooping and hollering," said Wiley. "It was the same thing on the 300 hurdles, but on that one, he got second. He got beat out just by a nose."

The Warrior relay teams had a great performance at regionals the 4x100-meter (Marcus Wiley, Aaron Carver, Jonathon Nicholas, Garrett Cole), 4x400-meter (Nathan Harper, Felix Lentsch, Aaron Carver, Marcus Wiley) and 4x800-meter (Jack Bishop, Felix Lentsch, Melvin Croft, Harley Redding) teams all took second place.

"The boys 4x1 was a good race. The 4x4 was a good race too. We were sitting fifth when we got the second handoff, and Felix Lentsch passed four people to get us into first place. He handed off to Aaron Carver - he had just got done running the 300 - and he kept us in first place. You could see he was fighting for everything. We didn't have the best handoff between Aaron and Marcus, Marcus probably didn't take off when he should, but the Lander kid was four feet behind Marcus. Marcus held on, but the Lander kids got him right at the finish line.

"I was proud of the kids; it was so close. We'll tune up our handoffs, but I'm excited for the kids. The boys smiled and said they'll get them at state," said Wiley. "The 4x8 knew they'd have to fight for everything they had. Those relays were great races, and the kids pushed themselves. They fought for everything."

Other standouts for Worland were Dawson Utterback, seventh, 43.71 in the 300-meter hurdles.

"Dawson Utterback fought for that eighth spot in the finals of the 300. That's really exciting to see that, especially for a freshman. Those 300 hurdles are a tough race. He knew he could be there, and now he's got the confidence heading into state," said Wiley.

Ashanti Pedraza finished third in the 800-meter run (2:26.33) and fourth in the 400-meter dash (1:01.97).

"Ashanti Pedraza had a great weekend. She's going in the 400 and 800 and had tremendous PRs in both races. She was bound and determined to stay up with the leaders, she's a fighter and competitor," Wiley.

Jonathon Nicholas cleared 12-11 in the pole vault to finish fourth.

"I'm really proud of Jonathon Nicholas. We don't have a pole vault coach, but he's going to state and went 12-11 at regionals. He's sitting pretty good, and if he continues with that, he'll have a good chance to get on the podium," said Wiley.

Christian Peterson took sixth in both the discus (141-1) and shot put (46-8.5)

"Christian Peterson had a big PR in the discus. We've got two nationally-ranked kids in our conference, [Joseph Turner] from Lyman and [Quinn Lindsay] from Lovell. That was fun to watch, and not every regionals has that. Christian keeps throwing further and further, and I'm excited to see what he'll do at state," said Wiley.

Denali Jones was fifth in the high jump (4-9) and sixth in the discus (105).

"Denali Jones just picked up the discus a few weeks ago and ends up sixth at regionals and going to state in that and the high jump. I joked with her that she should have been doing disc since her freshman year," said Wiley.

Cole Harman, whose been battling injury all season long, finished third in the high jump clearing 5-10.

"Cole Harman has been working through injury, and I know that he'll fight through the pain and go and compete. He knows what he can do. He's a kid who I could have had in the 400, the 4x4 or any of those races," said Wiley.

Practice for the Warriors and Lady Warriors this week involved focusing on the finer details of their respective events and getting the right mindset for the state tournament.

And when it comes to the team's expectations for the final weekend of the season, the Warriors and Lady Warriors want to bring as many medals home as they can.

"We're just maintaining and working on those little details. We'll have a fun practice and do some fun things as a team to relax a bit and be in the right mindset for state," said Wiley. "We brought home 25 medals from regionals, and they told me they want to bring home 25 more from state. Nothing is better than getting up on the podium at state. They've got goals, and they're right there."

Point scorers for the Warriors and Lady Warriors at the 3A West meet are as follows.

LADY WARRIORS

400-meter

4, Ashanti Pedraza, 1:01.97.

800-meter

3, Ashanti Pedraza, 2:26.33.

4x100-meter relay

7, Worland (Ashanti Pedraza, Lecsi Ramirez, Nyssa Leyva, Erika Manahan), 53.95.

4x400-meter relay

7, Worland (Adisyn Rollins, Lecsi Ramirez, Sam Keller, Ashanti Pedraza) 4:25.82.

Sprint medley relay

7, Worland (Marley Downing, Denali Jones, Sam Keller, DeEtte Hofmann), 5:25.99

High jump

5, Denali Jones, 4-9.

Discus

6, Denali Jones, 105.

Shot put

6, Manaia Petersen, 34-7.

WARIORS

100-meter

7, Garrett Cole, 12.13.

400-meter

7, Marcus Wiley, 53.68.

110-meter hurdles

1, Aaron Carver, 15.77.

300-meter hurdles

2, Aaron Carver, 40.97

7, Dawson Utterback, 43.71.

4x100-meter relay

2, Worland (Marcus Wiley, Aaron Carver, Jonathon Nicholas, Garrett Cole), 46.10.

4x400-meter relay

2, Worland (Nathan Harper, Felix Lentsch, Aaron Carver, Marcus Wiley), 3:33.84.

4x800-meter relay

2, Worland (Jack Bishop, Felix Lentsch, Melvin Croft, Harley Redding), 8:44.37.

Sprint medley relay

6, Worland (Nathan Harper, Sam Grzybowski, Colton Woffinden, Harley Redding), 3:55.90.

High jump

3, Cole Harman, 5-10.

Pole vault

4, Johnathon Nicholas, 12-11.

Discus

6, Christian Peterson, 141-1.

Shot put

6, Christian Peterson, 46-8.5.