Oiler takes first at state in 2A pole vault competition

Last weekend, the best in the state competed for state track and field titles with only the top eight in each event to medal.

The competition was fierce, the weather was lousy, but the athletes pushed hard to compete in Casper for the Wyoming High School Athletic Association's State Track and Field Meet.

Andrew Oiler broke his own school record with a 13 foot pole vault Thursday. Three weeks ago, he broke the school record at 12'8".

Oiler has been a student of the pole vault since his freshman year, Saratoga head coach Rex Hohnholt said.

"He's on cloud nine right now," Hohnholt said.

If the weather had been better, Hohnholt believed that Oiler could have gone to 13'3" or even 13'6". Despite the rainy weather, Oiler was steady all the way through the event, Hohnholt said.

Oiler placed fourth in the 110-meter hurdles Saturday. Oiler's success in hurdles surprised Hohnholt this year. "He has been working hard and increased his overall strength in the weight room."

With the hard work, Hohnholt said Oiler just kept getting better and the hurdles became second nature to him. "He is steady and focused and I am proud of that," Hohnholt said. It is rare for an athlete who is so focused on pole vault to do well in a track event, but Oiler was able to combine those two events well.

Kelsie Samson made her way to the podium in eighth place Saturday for her eighth place finish in the 1600 meter run.

Samson had struggled with some health issues this year, Hohnholt said, but she continued to work hard every week.

"She is the type of athlete, you wish you had three more of," Hohnholt said. He was happy to see her have so much success her senior year and was thankful to see her get her seasonal best in the 1600-meter run at state.

Samson also competed in the 800-meter, 3200-meter and the 4x800 relay in which the girls placed sixth at state, allowing Samson to return home with two medals around her neck.

Competing with Samson in the 4x800 relay were Katie Loose, Veronica Lincoln and Alicia Zaragoza.

"Katie came on like gang busters," Hohnholt said. "She is a great kid and a great individual, puts in a lot of time and benefits from her hard work."

Loose competes in long distance and besides the 4x800 relay, she ran in the 1600-meter and 3200-meter races, placing 15th and 13th respectively.

Veronica Lincoln's strong suit is not long distance, Hohnholt said, so when she volunteered to fill out the 4x800 team, he was impressed. It was a personal best for the team with a time of 11 minutes 22.89 seconds, an improvement on their regionals time.

Hohnholt was happy to see Lincoln earn a medal for the first time in her track career as she is a senior and graduates Saturday.

"It warms my heart to see the smiles after three of those four receive their first medal at state," Hohnholt said.

Zaragoza ran an excellent leg in the 4x800 relay, Hohnholt said. "(Her excellence) helped that group have such an improvement from the first time we tried it until now."

Meredith Lincoln missed moving to finals in the 100-meter hurdles by one spot. Placing ninth in the preliminaries, one hurdle slowed her down, Hohnholt said.

Hohnholt is expecting her to return stronger next year with her participating in volleyball, basketball and track. "She has benefited from two strong years in track and has had her best times this year. She's had a great season," Hohnholt said.

The Saratoga Track and Field team had two male freshmen qualify for state this year, which is hard to do, Hohnholt said.

Jeremy Detterer and Benjamin Fairbanks are both long distance runners. Detterer placed fifth in the 3200-meter run Thursday and 12th in the 1600-meter run Saturday. Despite the 12th place finish at state, Detterer had his second personal best Saturday. His first personal best was at regionals the week before.

In the 3200-meter, Detterer ran 10:48.98, which was his personal best shaving almost nine seconds off of his regional qualifier.

"Not many freshman can run that fast," Hohnholt said. "(Detterer) knows how to compete and works extremely hard."

Hohnholt added that Detterer is extremely talented and that he would not be surprised if the runners are chasing him within the next two years.

Fairbanks placed 16th in the finals of the 800-meter run, and 12th in the 3200-meter run. Hohnholt said he was really impressed with Fairbanks and his time improvements have been amazing. "He works hard and he is one of the guys to help everyone else improve, he just goes and goes."

Hohnholt said he is extremely happy with these two young men and knows they will continue to get stronger.

"To go from junior high school to high school and make such huge strides, these boys know how to work hard," Hohnholt said.

Sophomore Alex Ziegler had a good showing in the 400-meter dash. Although he didn't earn a medal, he placed 11th of 16 in the preliminary race, just five seconds behind the senior from Big Piney who would win the final race. This was Ziegler's second year at state.

"Ziegler came in loaded for bear," Hohnholt said, but didn't have his best time in the 400. "You could blame it on the weather, but you realize there is a lot of work to do." With several seniors in the 400-meter dash, Ziegler will very easily step in as a contender for next year, Hohnholt said.

Junior Aaron Kerbs had made tremendous strides this year, Hohnholt said. Although he didn't beat his personal best at state, he was still below the 12 minutes that he had broken past earlier in the season.

Hohnholt said he is looking forward to the having the long distance runners compete next year.

The 4x100 relay team had problems with timing which cost them seconds and they placed 10th in the finals. That team included Jaxon King, Marshal Hill, Riley Sandilands and Alex Zeigler. "It takes a lot of concentration and one bobble affects the race," Hohnholt said. "The kids get wired up and take off too soon or too late." Although they didn't medal, Hohnholt was proud of the efforts.

Bradley Bifano placed 14th in the high jump with a 5'4" finish. Bifano had broken his wrist during wrestling season, so it took him a little longer to get ready for state, Hohnholt said.

"He had a good track season."

Bifano was steadily jumping 5'6" in the high jump, but the weather affected him at state. "He can be one to shine," Hohnholt said. "I wish I had 30 Bradley Bifanos on the team because he is really good about doing anything I ask."

Marshal Hill had his best day at state with a finish of 10'6" at the pole vault, Hohnholt said. Hill placed 11th at state – not enough to earn a medal, but considering his seed was at 9'5", the 10'6" was really a really good finish for Hill.

Riley Sandilands was on the 4x100 relay this year and Hohnholt described him as an athlete who came out of nowhere. The senior worked hard in the weight room this year. "He was just a body last year," Hohnholt said, but this year he had some good throws in the shot put. "He went from tweener to productive," Hohnholt said.

Hohnholt reflected on the season as one where a lot of successes did not show at state. "We should have doubled the points at state," Hohnholt said. "I will have to make some changes in the way I coach."

Hohnholt said while he saw change and hard work, he also so complete surprises that he didn't see coming.

"As a coach I think what can we do to be more successful," Hohnholt said.

"Who would not want to be that person that everyone looks at (on the podium)," Hohnholt said.

He is hoping that seeing how competitive state is, the athletes won't just be happy to be at state next year, but they will want to compete as they are more motivated from one year to the next.

"I have been blessed with good kids," Hohnholt said. "They make me proud."