Swalstad defends 3200-meter title and wins 1600-meter

Lady Warriors finish runners-up at 3A State meet

Worland distance runner Trajn Swalstad successfully defended his 3200-meter championship and added the 1600-meter title, too, during last week's 3A State meet in Casper on May 16-18.

Swalstad won the 3200-meter run by a good margin, crossing the finish line at 9:47.43. 

"I won it last year, so I went in thinking, 'Why would I let anyone beat me this year.' I have to go out there to keep my name what it is," said Swalstad about his mindset going into the 3200 meters. "My goal was to go out hard and make them not want to be there anymore. Push them so hard that they question why they are out here."

In the 1600-meter run, Swalstad led for most of the race. Yet, in the final 200 meters, Tanner Johnson of Douglas pushed to overtake the Worland junior. 

With his teammates and Worland fans cheering him on, Swalstad hit another gear in the final 100 meters. Johnson could not keep pace, and Swalstad crossed the finish line at 4:29.36, winning the 1600-meter 3A title.

"I'm yelling at him that the Douglas kid is gaining on him. Then Trajn kicked it in on that final 100," said WHS track and field coach Tracey Wiley. "He ran great and had a great state meet. I'm super proud of him, and he's such a competitor. He works extremely hard year-round, and that's what gets you two state championships."

As a team, the Lady Warriors finished runners-up for the second consecutive season. The Lander Valley Lady Tigers took home the girls 3A team title with 116.5 points. Worland scored 100 points, Buffalo was third with 77 points and Powell fourth with 75.

The Worland girls were aiming for that team championship this season. Each team member performed to their best at state, with many of them setting personal records (PRs).

Unfortunately for

Worland, Lander just had the better meet.

"The girls had big goals and everyone was talking about it. Lander is a super strong team, too. The kids did exactly what they needed to do. They had good PRs and ran their best. The kids were disappointed, but kudos to them. They never quit or gave up. They ran their best, that's just how the cards fell. I'm super proud of them.

"I told the kids the same thing, they ran and competed well. Maddy [Lloyd] was in the 25s in the 200. We got third in the 4x4, which was a good surprise, and Shae Whitlock looked strong running her legs. Kalistynn [Crippen] getting all-state in the high jump was great, and her times were good, too," said Wiley.

Between the two teams, Worland had four all-state athletes. Kalistynn Crippen cleared 5-2 to finish second in the high jump, Noah Mitchell was second in the 110-meter hurdles (14.85), Swalstad in the 3200 meters and 1600 meters and Zena Tapia in the 3200 meters (11:43.84).

Crippen went out at 5-4 but, to that point, was perfect on her jumps, clearing the bar on her first attempt.

To earn all-state, an athlete must finish in the top two of their events or be a member of a winning relay team.

"We had four all-state kids ... That's always exciting to have kids bring home that all-state certificate.

"Off the rankings, you had to jump 5-1, and Kalistynn had jumped that once. She went 5-2 and is barely even 5-2. She had no misses up to 5-4. If the Mountain View girl missed on her third attempt, Kalistynn would have been the state champion. It was a major accomplishment, and I'm super proud of Kalistynn," said Wiley.

Worland also had a few school records broken at the state meet. Cherise Douzenis broke Kathy Van Heule's 200-meter dash record that stood since 1980. Douzenis ran a 25.04 in the prelims to break the record. In the finals, Douzenis finished third with a 25.08.

The Lady Warriors sprint medley (Maddy Lloyd, Timber Decker, Nyssa Leyva, Sabrina Gentzler) ran a 4:24.55 to set the new school mark; and the 4x100-meter team (Maddy Lloyd, Kalistynn Crippen, Nyssa Leyva, Erika Manahan) broke the record they set this season, running a 49.48 and finishing second.

"Cherise broke the school record in the 200. It's been the record since 1980, held by Kathy Van Heule, who ran a 25.08, and Cherise, who ran a 25.04. That was cool to see her do that. Our girls sprint medley with Maddy, Timber, Nyssa and Sabrina got the school record," said Wiley.

Other highlights for Worland at state include Anna Richardson running PRs in the 100-meter hurdles (fifth, 16.03) and 300-meter hurdles (sixth, 47.19).

"The hurdlers this year had amazing competition. Anna went in and did her job and got PRs in both. You can't take anything away from her because she ran her best. She's a competitor and did what she needed to do," said Wiley.

Manaia Peterson threw a PR in the discus, marking at 126-7 and finishing fourth. 

"Manaia had a good PR in the discus. She did well and got to the podium. I'm happy for her as a senior. We're going to miss her leadership in the throws. She has put a ton of time in, and I'm excited to see what she can do in college," said Wiley.

Will Bishop finished third in the 3200-meter run at 10:11.99. Scottie Thomas also ran a PR in the same race and finished sixth at 10:25.42.

"Shout out to Will Bishop and Scottie Thomas. Both boys ran PRs in the 3200 meters and got on the podium," said Wiley.

Freshmen Sabrina Gentzler and Ava Tapia handled the pressure and performed well at state. Gentzler ran the 800 leg for the sprint medley relay team and legs in the 4x800-meter relay and 4x400-meter relays.

Ava Tapia finished fourth in the 3200 meters (11:53.67) and sixth in the 1600 meters (5:33.22).

"Being a freshman at the state venue can be intimidating. Maci Newell had the best quote, 'Man, these kids are fast here!' Sabrina and Ava never wavered. Zena provided good leadership for those young distance runners. Sabrina and Ava stepped up to the plate and did really well and performed well. Now they know what to expect and how state is a whole different game," said Wiley.

Angel Ruelas was injured running in the prelims of the 100-meter dash. Ruelas also ran the anchor leg for the 4x100-meter team, with him out, Worland turned to their alternate, senior Dawson Utterback. 

With just an hour to practice, Utterback and the rest of the 4x100-meter team, Wyatt Dickinson, Will Slagle and Noah Mitchell, worked on handoffs. Even with the limited practice, the team ran a 46.04 and finished seventh.

"I want to give a shoutout to Dawson Utterback. He could be in five events. When Angel went down in the 100, I had Dawson as the alternate because he was only in three events. He stepped right in. 

"Noah usually runs the third leg, but we switched it and had Dawson run that and hand off to Noah. They practiced their handoffs for about an hour. I thought Dawson and the whole team did an amazing job. Dawson never questioned it and just stepped up, and they ended up getting seventh," said Wiley.

As a team, the Warriors finished fifth with 64.5 points. Fourth place was Buffalo with 71 points, Powell was third with 77 points, Lovell was second with 87.50 points, and Douglas took home the team title with 135.50 points. 

"The boys ended up fifth, and I was super proud of them.  They all worked hard and did what they needed to. The distance kids finished better than they were ranked. We will get most of them back next year," said Wiley.

Look to next week's edition of the Northern Wyoming News for a recap of the Worland track and field season.