Tapia wins 3200-meter run and breaks 39-year-old school record at WTC

The Worland High School track and field team had five athletes compete at the Wyoming Track Classic on April 28, and sophomore distance runner Zena Tapia stole the show as she broke a 39-year record.

The Classic brought the best of the best to Casper to compete, regardless of school classification, for bragging rights. Using results from this season’s meets, the top eight athletes in the sprinting events and the top 10 athletes in the other events were invited to compete at the Classic.

Tapia was the top seed in the 3200-meter run at the Classic and led wire-to-wire as she crossed the finish line at 11:22.54.

Tapia’s 11:22.54 time broke Francie Faure’s 11:23.53 in the 3200 meters, a school record that stood for 39 years.

“We knew it was going to be a race, and Zena led the whole way,” said WHS track and field coach Tracey Wiley. “The [Natrona County] girl was right behind her. I was at the 200 mark, and I thought, oh my gosh, that the Natrona girl is going to pass her on the final stretch. But Zena was not going to allow that to happen. By the time I walked over there, coach [Tammy] Montoya is like, ‘I think she broke the record.’ I ran and got my bag because I had the records in my bag. When they put the time up on the scoreboard, she had it and officially broke it by a second.”

As news about Tapia’s record-breaking run spread around the track, opposing coaches congratulated the sophomore distance runner on her accomplishment.

“Anybody in the state of Wyoming that knows anything about track knows that Francie Faure is a legend. It was just really neat for Zena to break that record. The coaches know who Francie Faure is and were so excited for Zena. What an accomplishment for Zena because she puts the work in day in, day out at practice. Coach Montoya is very good at what she does and knows exactly how to train them. Those kids work hard every day.”

Worland had four other athletes competing at the Classic. Cherise Douzenis finished third in the 200-meter (26.13) and 400-meter dashes (58.55).

“Cherise was third in the 200 and 400. I told her before the 400 to keep up with [Addie] Pendergrass from Sheridan in lane four. Pendergrass runs a 55, which I knew, but it was a good goal, and Cherise broke a minute and ran 58.55. That’s just really cool, especially for a freshman to compete amongst those top runners in the state,” said Wiley.

Harley Redding ran in the 800 meters, finishing sixth with a time of 2:02.04 and qualified for the 3A State meet.

“Harley snuck in. Yeah, you know, most kids don’t. Harley was right up front the whole first lap. He was determined and had a three-second PR and qualified too. I’m just really proud of Harley. He’s really coming into his own. He’s another kid who has worked hard with Montoya all three years,” said Wiley.

Manaia Peterson made the Classic in the discus, throwing 109-4 to finish eighth, and Trajn Swalstad was seventh in the 3200-meter run (10:17.93).

“Manaia knows what to do, and I was excited for her to compete amongst those girls, mostly seniors,” said Wiley. “Trajn ended up seventh. And he ran an unbelievable two-mile race. He was pretty fun to watch as well.”

After the Classic, Worland was in Riverton on April 29 for the Roy Peck Invitational. The Lady Warriors won the meet with 175.5 points, and the Warriors finished second with 118 points.

Between the two teams, 28 athletes scored points for Worland.

Worland had more athletes qualify for state for the first time in Riverton or added another event.

For the Lady Warriors, Erika Manahan qualified in the 100-meter dash, finishing 10th (13.35); Douzenis qualified in the 100, finishing third (12.85); Kalistynn Crippen qualified in the 200-meter dash running a 27.07 to finish third; Madilyn Glanz cleared the qualifying mark in the triple jump, finishing second with a leap of 33-4.5.

The Warriors had Dawson Utterback qualify in the 300-meter hurdles, running a 42.45 to finish third.

“Cherise ran her normal events, and I had talked to her about running the 100, and so she goes and AQ’d in that. Dawson Utterback AQ’d in the 300 hurdles. He looked really good in practice last week, and I told him, ‘You’re going to do it this weekend.’ Sure enough, he did.

“Kalistynn AQ’d in the 200. Madilynn Glanz has been right on the verge all season with the triple jump. I got to watch it, and I knew as soon as she took off on that first phase that she was going to get it. It just looked good, and her very first jump was 33-4.5,” said Wiley. “She knew she could do it all season, and I was excited for her.”

Worland wraps up their regular season schedule this week with two meets. Today they are in Cody for the Cody Trackstravaganza, and Saturday, in Lander for the Shane Brock Invitational.

These final two meets are the perfect chance for the Worland athletes who are on the verge of qualifying to punch through.

“We’ll go to Cody [today], and that’ll be just more chances for the kids to prove themselves, maybe sneak in some more AQs. Friday, we’ll have pretty light practice and get the lactic acid out of the legs. Then Saturday, we’ll be up early headed to Lander for our last regular-season meet,” said Wiley.