Warriors beat Buffalo by one point to make history

Worland brings home first boys team championship, an individual champion and five total all-state runners

The 3A State cross-country meet was a historic day for the Worland High School program. The Warriors brought home the first-ever team state championship, and Trajn Swalstad became the first Warrior to win an individual state championship in 33 years.

"The most exciting part was they had to work for it. They've been neck and neck with Buffalo and that constant competition pushed both teams to new heights," said WHS cross-country coach Tanya Kienlen.

The Warriors scored 41 points, beating Buffalo by one point to take the team title at the state meet at the Little America Golf Course in Cheyenne on Oct. 26.

Mountain View finished third with 57 points.

The finish between Worland and Buffalo lived up to the intensity as each team's five scoring runners pushed to score first. Swalstad finished first at 16:08.00, followed by Buffalo's Zach Freise and Ethan Rayo in second and third, respectively. Next to cross the line was Warrior Will Bishop at 17:00.70.

That put the team race to a tie with Worland and Buffalo at five points apiece.

Scottie Thomas was the next Warrior to finish, coming in seventh at 17:24.30, but Cole Rasmuson of Buffalo was right behind him at eighth. That gave Worland the advantage at 12-13.

With the team race so tight, it would come down to the fourth and fifth runners for each team to decide the 3A title. Krew Neighbors finished 13th at 17:47.20, followed by Buffalo runners Ryan Rasmuson and Jace Townsend, scoring Buffalo at 42.

The Warriors had to have their fifth runner cross next, otherwise, it'd go to a tie, where Buffalo had the advantage. Holding off a Cody runner, Warrior Kiyoshi Smith finished 16th at 17:59.40 to put Worland at 41 points and claim the 3A State championship.

However, at the time, the results weren't officially tabulated. As the race finished, everyone associated with Worland and Buffalo channeled their inner Count Dracula to see who won.

"We were No. 1 they were two and three and we were No. 4. So we were tied 5-5. Then you had Scottie at seventh and another Buffalo runner at eighth, and we were up by one. The whole atmosphere made it a nail-biting experience. It was so rewarding when we finally did find out the score," said Kienlen.

The Warriors had an idea that they won but weren't going to celebrate until it was absolutely official. When the Warriors were called out as the 2024 3A State champs, the Worland camp with family, friends and the Lady Warriors burst out into cheers and celebrations as they went to accept their title and stand on top of the podium.

"When we were looking at the scores, I was so lost in the points and was genuinely freaking out," said Thomas about waiting for the official results.

 Finishing runners-up to Evanston last year at state fueled this year's state title run for the Warriors.

"I thought about it every day and every practice," said Smith about losing to Evanston last year. "We've been thinking about it since last year and it's amazing to finally get it done."

The Warriors were also running for last year's senior who didn't get to stand atop the podium. Bishop even ran for his brother, Jack, an alum of the program who graduated in 2023.

"I couldn't let down last year's seniors. They fought to get us here and I wanted to finish it off. I was racing for Jack. He couldn't get the state championship, but I went for it," said Bishop.

Each Warrior had their role to play in Cheyenne, and they all executed it well. Neighbors knew he had to finish near the Top 10 while passing up as many Buffalo or Mountain View runners as possible.

"You just look ahead and find any Buffalo colors and aim for them and get by them," said Neighbors.

Sixth and seventh runners Ethan Miller (30th, 18:46.20) and Kade Garcia (33rd, 18:55.50) weren't scoring runners but did their part to stay ahead of the sixth and seventh Buffalo and Mountain View runners.

"It feels good and that's going to be something go home and talk about," said Miller about winning a championship. "I'm the sixth runner but I wanted to do as much as I could so Buffalo and Mountain View wouldn't score. It was tough and we kept passing each other and I was doing all I could."

For Kienlen, seeing all her runners' hard work and dedication result in a historic championship for the Warriors was priceless.

"This makes me like a proud parent to coach this team. The culture has built itself and they've pushed the limits and they have made it happen," said Kienlen. "Them digging deep and trying to persevere was inspiring to see. They held each other accountable to push the limits. Every mountain run, every Saturday practice, all those hours, every bit was worth it."

On top of the history-making team finish, Swalstad became the first Warrior runner to win an individual championship since Tawn Gopp in 1991.

Swalstad hadn't lost a race in Wyoming all season, but that didn't mean his state title came easy. Zach Freise of Buffalo tested Swalstad, pushing him from the start of the race. He tried pulling away, but Freise stuck to him

"Honestly, I was trying to pull away the whole time," said Swalstad. "My plan was to pull away in the beginning and kind of play the mind games, but he was super strong. On the final hill I heard everybody cheering me on and them cheering on Zach and I just couldn't let that happen. It was tough. I had to really kick hard and dig deep like I never have before."

Freise even led at the second mile, but Swalstad kept his composure, took the lead and in the home stretch pulled away.

"Trajn put in that summer work and being runner-up last year gave him more motivation and drive. That wasn't an easy race for him. Zach held on to him until Mile 2 then he made a strong move and gapped away. It showed his mental strength as a returning senior who had the experience and wasn't going to back down," said Kienlen.

While the Warriors stole the spotlight, the Lady Warriors had an excellent race at state. Ava Tapia finished sixth at 20:11.40 and Zena Tapia was seventh at 20:17. Both Tapias earned all-state honors. Leanne Croft was 17th at 21:28, Timber Decker 32nd at 22:38.30, Ella Garcia was 34th at 22:42.50, Sabrina Gentzler was 47th at 23:55.80 and Asha Partridge was 49th at 24:02.30.

Together, the Lady Warriors brought home a fourth-place trophy, which is impressive since Zena Tapia is the team's only senior.

"I want to commend the girls. The boys were outstanding but the girls were also tremendous. A fourth-place trophy for a team as young as they are with two all-state runners, was phenomenal. They've really set the tone and continue to build that culture as well. It says a lot about the caliber of the team," Kienlen said.

At the end of an eventful weekend, as the Worland bus dropped into Worland, they were greeted by the Worland Fire Department and a train of supporters to escort them the rest of the way into town.

"What makes me even prouder was the support from our community. A huge thank you to the community. It meant so much to the team to come into town and have the firetrucks and caravan of cars waiting for them. Worland is awesome and really stepped up to make them feel valued," said Kienlen. "It was so cool."

A championship parade for the Warriors will be at 10 a.m. on Friday. Look to next week's edition of the Northern Wyoming News for a recap of the Worland cross-country season.