By MARLYS GOOD
Coach Albert Henderson and 26 Husky tracksters (16 boys, 10 girls) are headed to the 1A State Track Meet in Casper that opens Thursday (today).
The boys are coming off a successful 1A West Regional Meet in Lander where they ran, hurdled, jumped and heaved their way to the championship with 149 points. Snake River battled Burlington down to the wire but had to settle for second with 138 points. The two outdistanced the rest of the field, including Dubois, who finished in third place with 86 points, and Cokeville in fourth with 77.
Eric McNiven won all four of his events, the 100-, 200-, 400- and 800-meter runs, Ben Mancusso cleared the bar at 6-2 to win the high jump, and Shawn Christiansen soared 14-0 on his way to the pole vault championship.
The three will lead the contingency of Huskies.
Coach Albert Henderson said, “I think the boys have a chance to compete for the state title.”
Mancusso suffered a hip pointer in the 400-relay and whether he will be able to compete at state is questionable. The freshman had pre-qualified in the hurdles, and his first place 6-2 mark in the high jump was a personal best. Henderson said if Mancusso is not good to go, “We could lose points in those events.”
The good news is that the 400-meter relay team had already AQed “and we’re allowed to substitute another runner for Ben.”
McNiven’s four first places were no real surprise — he’s been doing it all season. “Anytime someone can win four events, it shows they are strong,” Henderson said. He said, “Shawn Christiansen went 14-0 in the pole vault, a season best. It wouldn’t surprise me to see him attempt 14-6 or higher in Casper. But it depends on weather conditions; they are so critical in this event.”
Burlington will have athletes competing in every event except the 300-meter hurdles, “and that is going to be costly to us.“ Looking at 1A teams from the state, Henderson said, “Snake River is a good, young team and have a lot of talent. I think Upton and Hulett from the other side, but I think the teams from our side are maybe a little stronger.”
Lady Huskies third
The Lady Huskies finished the West Regional with 115.50 points, just 5.5 points back of co-champions Cokeville and Snake River. Dubois finished in the top four with 102.5 points.
Lyndsey Wardell broke her own personal best in the 300 hurdles with a time of 47.06, and freshman Ashley Wardell qualified for state with her personal best mark of 29.06.5 in the triple jump. The 400-relay team also qualified for state. “We performed about where we have been,” Henderson said.
The Lady Huskies will have to scramble and scratch to defend their track title against talented teams like Cokeville, Snake River and Guernsey. “I think Cokeville and Guernsey will be battling for first — maybe Snake River. I (see) Burlington and Dubois battling for fourth.” But that’s on paper. With the heart and determination of the 10 state-qualifying athletes, anything could happen.
West Regional results
Boys: Team results in order of finish: Burlington, Snake River, Dubois, Cokeville, Hanna, Ten Sleep, Meeteetse, Encampment, St. Stephens, Farson.
100: 1st, Eric McNiven, 11.77; 6th, Jacob Mancusso, 12.36; 8th, Shawn Christiansen ,12:48.
200: 1st, McNiven, 23.81.
400: 1st, McNiven, 50.12; 6th, Landon Tolman, 55.24.
800: 1st, McNiven, 2:04.20; 3rd, L. Tolman, 2:08.31; 8th, Ammon Howard, 2:13.09.
1,600: 5th, L. Tolman, 5:10.26; 8th, Howard, 5:15.29.
3,200: 8th, Lance Schatz, 12:05.39.
110 hurdles: 3rd, George Anson, 16.63; 4th, Sam Davidson, 17.26; 5th, S. Christiansen, 17.38.
1,600 relay: 5th ,Burlington (Gary Hibbert, Howard, Zach Lash, Matt Cozzens), 3:51.37.
3,200 relay: 3rd, Burlington (L. Tolman, Howard, Hibbert, Cozzens), 9:06.26.
High jump: 1st, Ben Mancuso, 6-02; 3rd, S. Davidson, 5-10; tie for 5th, Anson, 5-06.
Pole vault: 1st, Christiansen, 14-00; 4th, Ben Cook, 11-00.
Long jump: 2nd, J. Mancusso, 19-10; 3rd, S. Davidson, 19-05.75.
Triple jump: 3rd, S. Davidson, 39-09.50; 8th, Brandon Wardell, 26-07.50.
Discus: 4th, Jacob Nicholson, 112-08.
Shot put: 5th, Nicholson, 39-00.
Girls: In order of finish: Cokeville/Snake River (tie for first), Burlington, Dubois, Meeteetse, Farson, Hanna, Fort Washakie, Ten Sleep, Encampment.
800: 7th, Julie Davidson. 2:45.77.
1,600: 4th, J. Davidson. 6:22.42.
3,200: 6th, Jamie Dehl. 15:16.60.
100 hurdles: 2nd, Lyndsey Wardell. 16:87; 3rd, Paige Neves, 16.88.
300 hurdles: 1st, L. Wardell. 47.06; 4th, P. Neves, 50.78.
400 relay: 4th, Burlington (Sadie Neves, Tia Williams, Janet Davidson, Ashlee Wardell), 59.05.
1,600 relay: 4th, Burlington (Alysha Henderson, Janet Davidson, Julie Davidson, Esme Zubia), 4:33.90.
3,200 relay: 2nd, Burlington (Henderson, Julie Davidson, Williams, Dehl), 11:21.53.
Pole vault: 1st, P. Neves, 8-06; 3rd, S. Neves, 8-00.
Triple jump: 1st, L. Wardell, 32-07; 7th, A. Wardell,29.06.50.
Discus: 3rd, Henderson, 86.03; 8th, Dehl, 80-05.
Shot put: 4th, Janet Davidson, 30-09.25