WHS track hits the ground running with first meets

While it might have been a longer wait than usual, the Warrior and Lady Warrior track and field athletes did not disappoint in their first meets of the season.

Worland's first track meets of the season came last week with their annual home meet, the D&D invitational, on April 6 in Worland and the Meet-ster Bunny invitational in Cody on April 10.

The D&D invite was a massive meet, with multiple teams from every classification, 4A to 1A. It could have been an intimidating moment for the Warriors and Lady Warriors, and while there might have been a few nerves, it did not deter them.

"That practice before a meet, I tell the kids who will be there," said WHS track and field coach Tracey Wiley. "I tell them not to get wrapped up in the classification of different schools. It's just about going out there and competing. The kids did really well, considering we've hardly been in the pits and got to practice the hurdles.

"The kids stepped up and competed, and I commended them for that. Some were saying they were nervous, but I told them that's a good thing. It means they want to do well, and that's a great thing. And the kids who weren't competing jumped in and helped run the track meet."

Worland hasn't been the only team looking for their first meet of the season. Most teams in the state have had the same weather-related struggles this season as Worland. So when the forecast for the D&D invitational was sunny, more and more teams asked to join the meet.

Once the meet started last Thursday at 10 a.m., 28 teams and 1,000-plus athletes were scattered across Warrior Stadium and the WHS campus. What could have been a nightmarishly long meet turned out to be a highly efficient and well-run meet, thanks to WHS Activities Director Aaron Abel and the countless volunteers who helped the meet finish around 6 p.m.

"We had more and more teams wanting to join our meet. We went from a normal 10-team meet to 28 teams and 1,000-plus kids. Visiting with [WHS AD] coach [Aaron] Abel, you hate to turn teams back, but was it getting too big for us to handle? But that meet went extremely well. We had lots of helpers from the community. We had former track kids who helped out. We got a lot of compliments and thank yous from coaches for letting them come and putting on a great meet.

"It was the first meet for a lot of the teams. It went really well. All the help behind the scenes was a tremendous help. Brenna Abel and Brittany Miller did a great job getting those kids in their lanes and heats. We had two pits of everything going. Each event takes four to five volunteers, and things ran smoothly and efficiently. Shoutout to this community and Coach Abel. It was just wonderful," said Wiley. "Even at the next meet in Cody, the Sheridan and Powell coaches were still commenting about how amazing our meet was and that we should run a big one like that every year."

Getting the Cody meet was another boost for Worland. Competing against 4A Cody, 4A Kelly Walsh, Powell and 4A Sheridan, they built off the success from their home meet and had another batch of athletes qualify for state.

What made Wiley even prouder of her team was the participation. The Cody meet was during the Easter break, so the athletes didn't have to go.

"At first, I was worried about it being Easter Break and how many we'd have in Cody. But we had all but 12 kids go, and those 12 were out of town. The kids were all dedicated and were excited to get another meet.

"We had 10 more AQs in Cody. Cherise [Douzenis] is at a minute in the 400 as a freshman, and we haven't even been able to work outside much. We've done some drills in the 300 but only practiced a whole set once, but Shae Whitlock AQ'd in the 300 hurdles," said Wiley. "The determination of these kids is something."

The Lady Warrior qualifiers were Zena Tapia in the 1600-meter and 3200-meter; Cherise Douzenis in the 200-meter dash and 400-meter dash; Kalistynn Crippen in the 100-meter dash; Shea Whitlock in the 300-meter hurdles; Manaia Peterson in the shot put.

The Lady Warriors also had two relay teams qualify for state in the 4x100-meter relay (Maddy Llloyd, Kalistynn Crippen, Nyssa Leyva, Erika Manahan) and the sprint medley relay (Maddy Lloyd, Lecsi Ramirez, Maci Newell, Zena Tapia). The sprint medley relay's time of 4:27.30 set a new school record.

For the Warriors, Trajn Swalstad qualified in the 1600-meter and 3200-meter, and the 4x100-meter relay (Cale Cheatham, Ethene Burns, Wyatt Dickinson, Angel Ruelas) and 4x800-meter relay (Jack Bishop, Harley Redding, Trajn Swalstad, Ivan Thomas) qualified for state.

The Warrior and Lady Warrior 4x100-meter teams qualifying is more evidence of how determined the Worland athletes are.

Both teams had a small window to practice handoffs, getting just the basics down, but that's all they needed.

"I didn't run our 4x1 teams in our home meet because I had 10 kids sign up for that one. I wanted to hold off and see what their 100 times were. Then work with them on their handoffs. Once I saw those times, I texted the four kids for each team and asked if they wanted to practice handoffs on Friday. All four girls and two boys went, and the other two boys only missed because they were out of town.

"It wasn't perfect in Cody, but those girls were so fast that they got the AQ by two seconds. It was just me and coach [Tammy] Montoya in Cody. My other coaches were still out of town for Easter. With just the two of us, we're all over the place helping everyone. At one point, I look over and see my 4x1 boys working on their own. I was a little nervous. But, like the girls, they weren't perfect, but they were so fast they AQ'd.

After what was essentially a month's delay due to weather, the strong start to the season showcases the toughness and resolve of the Worland athletes.

This week Worland takes the momentum built from those first two meets to the Powell invitational on Saturday. The Powell meet won't be a normal meet for Worland with the WHS prom later that night. Many of the Warriors and Lady Warriors will compete in what they can before they have to head back to Worland.

"Last week, I told the kids I was proud of them. They haven't complained. They haven't quit. It's been frustrating with no meets and going back and forth in practicing indoors and outdoors. I commended them. They're eager and positive. They needed a meet, and, boy, did they show up.

"We've got prom that night. It's just one of those things. I'm not going to take prom from them. We encourage them to at least compete until 1 or 2 o'clock. So most of them won't be in all their events that day. It's worked well in the past, and we make the best of it," said Wiley.