Encampment High School’ (EHS) track team put in a strong showing at the Bobcat Invite in Thermopolis on Friday, with Encampment’s girls’ team leading the way with an overall sixth place finish out of 22 teams that competed.
The team placed well after a meet two weeks ago in Green River, where they faced stiff competition from larger schools, and the disappointment of last week’s meet in Saratoga being canceled due to weather.
But the weather was cooperating, and the team performed well in Thermopolis. “We had good conditions for our meet,” Kegan Willford, EHS’s track coach said. “The temperature was just about right, there wasn’t any rain or anything like that, and we had a lot of kids come out of the meet with their personal best.”
EHS’ Paige Powell took first place in the long jump and the triple jump, leaping to the front of the group with a 15’7.25” long jump and a 31’7.50” triple jump. She also placed third in the high jump with a 4’ 9” performance. Her first place showing in the long jump earned Powell a pre-qualification for state.
McKenzie Powell took third in the 400-meter dash. She also joined teammates Cassidy Little, Micaiah Pantle and Ashlynn Johnson in the 4x800 meter relay, in which the team took third.
Willford has spent earlier parts of the season moving athletes around to find their best events. Even though the weather canceled several events, he is confident that his team members have found their niche. “Pretty much all of our athletes are right where they need to be coming into regionals and state.”
Willford estimates that about 80 percent of the team’s athletes saw personal records this weekend he said, which gives him confidence that the students have found their strongest events and that the team will do well at regionals.
“We ran a lot of the kids in the events they will compete in (at regionals) this weekend,” he said. “Hopefully we can see even more personal bests.”
Regionals will be held this weekend, May 13 and 14, at Lander.
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