Small Meet, Big Results

The outdoor track & field season is only two weeks old, yet Glenrock High School is already dishing out big performances. The program was among six at the annual Wheatland Invitational March 28 where huddlers and relays had big days, and the Herders accumulated a baker’s dozen top-three finishes to make it a great day in and around the oval.

“At Wheatland for track on the hottest day we’ve had this year, we all got a little sunburn but the kids fought through the heat and we got better as a team,” an enthusiastic head coach Heath Hayes said. “We’ve never had to question effort during practice or competitions.”

The two biggest schools at the meet took the top two places in the team standings with 4A Laramie winning both girls and boys divisions and Douglas finished second in both. Glenrock took third in both standings, with the boys only 12 points behind Douglas, while Wheatland, Kaycee and Hanna-Elk Mountain took the other three spots.
For the girls, Glenrock won the 1,600-meter relay over Kaycee. The quartet of Megann Farley, Taitum Helmey, Gillian Holman and Hayden Lythgoe was the fastest at 5 minutes, 8.46 seconds.

“I will add that many of our kids have surpassed where they were in May 2024. This comes from the work they’ve done in other sports and their great work ethic,” Hayes praised. “We have good senior leadership and the young ones are eager to compete, while getting themselves better for other sports.  We have 43 three-sport athletes on our roster and that is making all Herder sports better. The track staff is very excited for what is in front of us this spring.”

Lythgoe is already thriving in her farewell tour. That continued in the 100 hurdles where she edged out one of Douglas’ top athletes to take second place in 17.61 seconds.
Glenrock scored more points than any team in the 300 hurdles with two fantastic efforts. Helmey took home second place in 52.70 seconds and Lythgoe secured another top-three performance when she crossed the finish line in third at 53.10.

Holman led Glenrock in the 800 where she nabbed sixth and stopped the watch in 3:02.16.

In field events, Farley was the third best in pole vault where she cleared 9 feet.

Lythgoe was best for GHS in triple jump where she hit the dirt in sixth at 30 feet, 11 inches, just ahead of Helmey at 28-8.75.

Sheridan Sarvey took home third in discus with a toss of 86-3. Bailey Cornella was eighth in shot put with a PR heave of 23-10.

The GHS boys also took top honors in the 1,600 relay. The foursome of Talon Humphrey, Brigham Partridge, Ayden Partridge and Caden Tillard was best with a 4:08.98.
Tillard was solid on his own as well and captured third in 110 hurdles where he clocked a 17.47. Glenrock was even better in the 300 hurdles where Preston Sorenson ran his way to the overall in 45.70 and Tillard was one spot back at 46.08.

Brady Dona displayed his quickness among the Laramie and Douglas speedsters in the 100 by taking fifth overall in 11.75 seconds. He was also the fifth fastest Herder in the 200 at 23.95.

The Herders were impressive in the 800 with the athletes in the top six. Owen Partridge delivered second place when he crossed the finish line 2:21.60, while Horn was third at 2:22.47 and Haiden Ward sixth in 2:26.06.

Owen Partridge was GHS’ best in distances where he nailed fourth in the 1,600 in 5:21.0 and freshman Koi Horn delivered a PR of 5:36.0.

In field events, Ayden Lamb launched a new best in pole vault even he took second with a height of 10-6. Ward secured fourth in high jump when he hit 5-8, hitting the mark just before Carson Tomlin also at 5-8.
In throwing events, Declan Federer captured sixth in shot put. He hit a new best mark with a launch of 38-3.

In all, it was a great follow up to the opener in Casper.

“Last week at the Kelly Walsh meet, Brady Dona prequalified for the state track meet in the 100 and this week Megann Farley punched her ticket in the pole vault. For this early in the season, this is great and we have some getting close in other events. Braiden Reid had two big PR times. As a team we had 52 personal best performances,” Hayes said. “This Friday, the 4th, we are at home as host of the Lehner-Finch Invitational. You won’t be disappointed while watching these great kids compete in their event areas.”

The action will begin at 10 a.m.