Relays, distance runners fare well
By Randy Tucker
Sports Writer

CASPER — It was a stellar opening day for Fremont County distance runners and relay teams at the state track and field championships.
Wyoming Indian’s Caleb Her Many Horses dueled with rival Michael Smith of Wind River in the Class 2-A boys 3,200-meter run in the most entertaining individual race of opening day. Her Many Horses fell just short of setting a new state 2-A record and breaking Wyoming Indian’s own record of 9:39.06 set by Steve SunRhodes in 1981.
Her Many Horses pulled away from Smith with 200 meters remaining in the race to finish in 9:40.63. Teammates Slade Spoonhunter and Marlin Medicine Horse finished third and eighth, respectively, and with six additional points from a third-place finish later in the day in the 4x800 meter relay, the Chiefs four-man team led Class 2-A in points with 23 at the close of competition.
Lander swept both the boys and girls 4x800-meter relays. The Tiger quartet of Kendra Siebigteroth, Beryl Coulter, Mallory Swenson and Kristy Ragan avenged a 3-A East regional loss to Glenrock by pulling away from the Herders on the first and second legs of the event to give Ragan a 60-meter advantage on the anchor leg. She held it for the duration of the final two laps, and the Tigers had their first state title of 2009.
LVHS’s Micah Burke and Matt Hurlock battled with favored Jackson Hole for the first two legs of the race with Luke Bromley, taking the baton in a distant second place, running a strong leg to close the gap at the final exchange to just a second. Tigers senior Kyle Noisyhawk drafted behind Jackson’s Damon Smith for 600 meters then broke open coming out of the final curve and sprinted to the win.
Riverton tallied its first points of opening day in the same event with a strong fifth-place finish in the 4-A boys division. Brock Mickelsen, Devin Oldman, A.J. Giannino and Reid McCallum ran in the fourth and fifth positions for most of the race to earn a spot on the awards stand.
In the 2-A boys 4x800 meter relay, Wind River took the lead on a spectacular third leg by Matthew Smith, but brother Michael, with a school-record 3,200 meter run on his legs, was unable to hold it against the Lingle anchorman.
Her Many Horses took the baton in seventh place on his anchor leg and ran a blistering 800 meters in an estimated time of 1:54 to pull the Chiefs quartet to a third-place finish.
Lander’s Brode Bullington finished sixth in the long jump with a leap of 20 feet, 0.75 inches.
In preliminary action, Wind River’s Eric Inman is seeded first in the 200-meter dash while teammates Doug and Trent Jordan are seeded third and fifth in the 110-meter high hurdles. Dubois hurdler Riley Copeland enters Saturday’s 110-meter finals with the second-fastest time in Class 1-A. Yannick Ramsel, also of Dubois, is a finalist with the sixth-fastest time.
Lander freshman Tanner Simpson earned a spot in the 3-A boys 110 hurdles with a sixth-place preliminary time of 17.49.
Dubois sprinters Anna Vanuga and Jamie Walker both reached the 1-A girls 200-meter finals, along with Lander’s Maggie Budd, who is seeded fourth in 3-A in the same event. Tiger teammate Bret Klopp is seeded third in 3-A boys.
Friday’s events feature Her Many Horses and Smith battling again the 800-meter run along with 300-meter hurdle preliminaries for all four classes in both divisions.

Thursday results
3,200-meter run
1A Girls: Adria Grubb, SAR 12:06.01
2A Girls: Amber Henry, MV 12:33.44
3A Girls: Brooke Hughes, GLN 11:54.59, 4. Beryl Coulter, LAN 12:55.85
4A Girls: Nicole Peterson, RS 11:09.60
1A Boys: Hayden Hohnholt, SAR 10:12.52
2A Boys: Caleb Her Many Horses, WI 9:40.63, 2. Michael Smith, WR 9:46.64, 3. Slade Spoonhunter, WI 10:24.67, 8. Marlin Medicine Horse, WI 10:57.47
3A Boys: Ethan Slight, COD 10:05.38, 4. Luke Bromley, LAN 10:27.02
4A Boys: Dominick Robinson, GIL 9:26.25
4x800-meter relay
1A Girls: Saratoga 10:38.31, 6. Dubois (Jade Hathaway, Callie Finley, Sara Suda, Helene Gaudin) 12:03.04
2A Girls: Lingle 10:24.04
3A Girls: Lander (Kendra Siebigteroth, Beryl Coulter, Mallory Swenson, Kristy Ragan) 10:19.00
4A Girls: Sheridan 9:45.45
1A Boys: Little Snake River 8:29.24, 5. Dubois (Joe Bartlett, Stephen Hoadley, RJ, Roberts, John Lee) 9:41.92
2A Boys: Lingle 8:29.44, 2. Wind River (Pete Babione, Matthew Smith, Lex Leonhardt, Michael Smith) 8:32.76, 3. Wyoming Indian (John Redman, Marlin Medicine Horse, Slade Spoonhunter, Caleb Her Many Horses) 8:4.65
3A Boys: Lander (Luke Bromley, Kyle Noisyhawk, Micah Burke, Matt Hurlock) 8:24.51
4A Boys: Gillette 8:11.43, 5. Riverton (Brock Mickelsen, Devin Oldman, AJ Giannino, Reid McCallum) 8:37.66
Long jump
3A Boys: 1. Daniel Hancock, DOUG 21-8.25, 6. Brode Bullington, LAN 20-0.75