HSCHS track squeezes in two meets to begin season

While the weather made a mess of their schedule to start the season, the Hot Springs County track and field team finally got their season underway with two meets last week.

The Bobcats and Lady Bobcats competed at the Wheatland Invitational on March 31 and the Greybull Invitational on April 1, their first two meets of the season.

The Wheatland meet was an opportunity that Thermopolis jumped at after having most of their March meets canceled due to weather. It was an early start for the ‘Cats and Lady ‘Cats last Friday, the team left for Wheatland at 4:30 a.m., but it fits right in with this season’s motto.

“Our team theme this year is, ‘When it’s too tough for everyone else, it’s just right for us,’” said HSCHS track and field coach Calder Forcella. “When I told the kids we’d wake up at 4 a.m. and leave at 4:30 for Wheatland, they all repeated our motto. I’ve been super proud of them.”

Forcella added, “Weather has definitely put a damper on things. It’s been getting outside for a few days only to go back into the gym for another few days. We’re fairly young this year, again, but as we move forward and kids get more comfortable competing at the high school level, we’ll see those gains.”

Both the Wheatland and Greybull meets had plenty of competition. Wheatland had 24 teams competing, and Greybull had 14 teams.

With the unevenness of this season, specifically being able to practice outdoors, Forcella and his staff want to use these first meets as practices of sorts.

“There were some nerves and rust we had to shake off because, like for our jumpers and throwers. It was their first time throwing out of the ring or getting in the sand. But the kids went out and competed. It was awesome.

“The kids were a little more confident when we went to Greybull, and they did very well,” said Forcella. “We told the kids going to both meets that we were going to use them as practices. We didn’t care so much about their mark. It was about working on things that would make them better. From an overall team standpoint, everyone did a great job taking that approach. There was a lot of growth from the upperclassmen and underclassmen.”

Ina King was one of the many standouts last week for Thermopolis. Coming off a second-place finish in the triple jump at the 3A State meet last season, the Lady ‘Cat sprinter and jumper picked up where she left off. The junior won the triple jump in Wheatland with a mark of 34-4.75 and qualified for the 3A State meet. She also won the triple jump in Greybull, jumping 33-8.

Also in Greybull, King finished second in the 100-meter (14.07) and 200-meter (29.26) dashes and was fourth in the long jump (14-0).

“Ina King picked up where she left off from last year. She prequalified on her first jump of the year. There was some great competition at the meet in Wheatland, and it was bouncing back and forth the whole time.

“Ina did a good job with what she could control and technique and won the meet. She also ran a great 100 and 200. She didn’t run last year because she was nursing a hip injury. She’s healthy this year and had a great two meets,” said Forcella.

Forcella credited King’s fast start this season to her dedication to training during the offseason.

“She’s had a great offseason in our strength program. She had one of the best attendance records out of the entire team. She’s done a great job in our strength program and has broken a couple of records too. She’s done a great job with her training and is working to be one of the best jumpers and track athletes in the state,” said King.

Lady ‘Cat senior Jayci Basse also had a strong start to her track season. In Wheatland, Basse was eighth in the 400-meter dash (1:05.40). In Greybull, she finished third in the 100-meter dash (14.41), fourth in the 200-meter dash (29.60) and second in the 300-meter hurdles (51.40).

The ‘Cats 4x800-meter team (Ethan Yarrington, Chris Arends, Ryan Arends and Cole Keller) won the event with a time of 9:10.91 in Wheatland and finished first in Greybull, crossing the finish line at 9:1.28.

“Jayci is a senior and has been a multi-event state qualifier for us. She had a great meet in the 100, 200 and 400. We have a freshman boy distance runner, Jadeth Elder, he took ninth in the mile and two mile in Wheatland. He’s young but is showing he’s ready to compete. He’s going to be fun to watch this season.

“The boys 4x8 is a young group of sophomores and one freshman, but they’re picking up where they left off last season. I’m excited to see them continue working in that race,” said Forcella.

Underclassmen make the majority for both teams for Thermopolis this season. Things can get discouraging for younger athletes in the highly competitive 3A class, but Forcella is having his younger athletes focus on the bigger picture.

Forcella wants his athletes to focus on the training, and if they can do that, whether it’s this year or next, they’ll be the ones on that podium.

“The great thing about track is what you put into it is what you’ll get out of it. We just want to see them fall in love with the process, compete with themselves and do what they can to improve. Just because they aren’t winning meets doesn’t mean you aren’t improving. If they can focus on the work, in time, they’ll be up on that podium at meets,” said Forcella.

Thermopolis is in Worland today for the D&D Invitational starting at 10 a.m.

Among the goals, this season for the ‘Cats and Lady ‘Cats are increasing their numbers at the 3A State meet. Last season, between the two teams, Thermopolis brought 11 athletes to state. They’re looking to beat that number in 2023.

“We want to take more kids to state this season. Last year we had 11 kids who went to state. We want to beat that this year. That’s part of our goal for building this program,” said Forcella. “We have a great coaching staff, and participation is up, which is huge in track. Getting kids out and building that competitive culture is where we’re at and what we want to keep building toward.”