Relay team shatters school record held for 31 years

The 3A East Regionals track meet, hosted here Friday and Saturday, saw the 4x800 relay team of Chandra Maddock, McKenna Bomengen, Haley McDermott and Jules Ward shatter a 31 year school record. The team finished with a time of 10:04.19, compared to the previous record of 10:09.00 set in 1986.

Another feat for the Lady Cats was nailing the top three spots in the 3200 meters, with Ward in first at 11:55.09, Tahja Hunt in second with 12:45.56 and Bomengen in third at 12:55.63.

A number of students came away from the meet with All Conference honors, including those on the 4x800 team and Makayla George. True to the trend they've been setting this whole season, the Bobcats continued to break their own personal records – 17 for the girls team, and 15 for the boys.

Overall, the girls came away with second place, scoring 117 points overall. The boys team placed sixth, with 51.5 points.

Coach Ernie Mecca said it was an outstanding day for the track teams, especially with Thermopolis being among the smaller 3A East schools. Mecca noted the boys team is extremely young, and he's proud of our individual event winners. Overall, Mecca said he's tickled with the performance from both teams.

Mecca also expressed appreciation to the administrations, coaches and volunteers who helped make the conference meet possible, and said he heard a lot of compliments from the conference school partners.

Additional girls results are:

Ward – 1600 meters, first, 5:30.62; 25 points

Maddock – 800 meters, first, 2:27.25; 400 meters, third, 1:03.56; 21 points

Bomengen – 800 meters, fourth, 2:32.53, a personal record; 1600 meters, fourth, 5:52.91; 18.5 points

Hunt – 800 meters, 12th, 2;43.11; 1600 meters, second, 5:43.53; 16 points

George – 200 meters, sixth, 28.13; high jump, eighth, 4'9"; triple jump, fourth, 32'3.25", a personal record; 11.5 points

McDermott – 800 meters, third, 2:29.81, a personal record; pole vault, seventh, 6'9"; 3.5 points

Kaylee DeVries – 100 hurdles, sixth, 19.36; discus, 18th, 70'9", a personal record; four points

Aime Robinson – 300 hurdles, sixth, 52.82, a personal record; three points. Robinson also set a personal record in the 300 hurdles preliminaries with a time of 55.18

Liz Rhodes – Discus, 97'0"; shot put, 15th, 27'8.5"; two points

Silvia Hernandez – 100 meter preliminaries, 14.08; 200 meter preliminaries, 29.85; long jump, 12th, 13'7.5"; one point. Both race times are personal records.

Erica Meier – 100 hurdle preliminaries, 21.65; 300 hurdle preliminaries, 56.45; one point. Both times are personal records.

Aspen Jensen – 200 meter preliminaries, 31.10, a personal record; one point

Allie Burton – Shot put, 25th, 22'6"; discus, 15th, 73'4"

The 4x400 relay team of Maddock, McDermott, George and Ward placed first with 4:15.87, and the 4x100 team of Hernandez, Meier, DeVries and Jensen placed fifth with 58.41. George set a personal record in the 4x400.

Coach Mecca said the 4x400 was one of the most exciting he has watched, from beginning to end, as during all four legs they were back and forth with Douglas. The team is extremely close to breaking another school record in the event; the record, set in 2001, currently sits at 4:13.22.

Additional boys results are:

Chandler Maddock – 100 meters, fourth, 11:94; 200 meters, fifth, 23.53; 400 meters, second, 50.77; pole vault, sixth, 10'9". Maddock set a personal record in the 100 meter preliminaries with a time of 11.45.

Cullen Becher – 800 meters, second, 2:04.46; 1600 meters, third, 4:54.82; 17 points.

Kolby George – 1600 meters, seventh, 5:03.75; 3200 meters, fifth, 11:17.05; nine points. Both times are personal records.

Ethan Becher – 300 hurdle preliminaries, 44.18, a personal record; three points

Ryan Johnson – 100 meter preliminaries, 12.52, a personal record; three points

Liam Aaron – Triple jump, 19th, 33'1.5", a personal record

Logan Meier – Shot put, 23rd, 30'9"; discus, 18th, 92'1". Both were personal records.

Jarron Mortimore – 110 hurdle preliminaries, 21.76; 300 hurdle preliminaries, 50.50; triple jump, 20th, 32'5". All were personal records

Chase Snooks – 300 hurdle preliminaries, 50.42, a personal record; triple jump, 22nd, 31'8"

Tyler Kay – Shot put, 29th, 23'6"; discus, 29th, 68'7". Both were personal records.

The 4x800 relay team of Ethan Becher, George, Johnson and Cullen Becher placed second with 8:50.15, and the 4x400 team, featuring the same runners, placed fifth with a time of 3:44.18. George set a personal record in the 4x800. Mecca said this was the first time this particular 4x800 team ran the event, and was impressed with their second place finish.

The tracksters will next see action at the state championships in Casper, currently scheduled for May 18-20, though weather may impact that schedule.