Clifford sets school record

By: 
Nathan Oster

Rebels rise to challenge of big-school meet in Worland
 

The last two weekends of competition produced several highlights for the Riverside Rebel track team, including the eclipsing of a school record that stood for 30 years.
Johnna Clifford was certainly on top of her game in Burlington on March 29. Three times, she went 16 feet or better in the long jump. Her best mark, a 16-6 1/2, topped the school record of 16-6 set by Tara Hopkin in 1994.
The Rebels followed that up with a “a number of impressive performances” at last Thursday’s D&D Invitational in Worland.  It wasn’t an ideal day — wind was a limiting factor in most events.
Riverside’s only win of the day came in the 1,600-meter relay, where Wyatt Daly-Patterson, Lane Owen, Ryder Kozisek and James Bassett ran a  4:15.37.
Competition was fierce.  Only the Riverside girls, who placed fourth with 47 points, prevented the four 3A teams (Worland, Powell, Lovell and Thermopolis) from sweeping the top four spots in the boys and girls divisions.  The Powell boys and Worland girls took top honors.
Coach Jason Mitchell cited several outstanding performances.
Ty Strohschein placed second in both the 100 and 200. In each, he was beaten by Caden Nelson, a sophomore from Powell.  Mitchell said Strohschein won the fast heat in the 100, but Nelson beat his time in the next heat.  In the 200, Strohschein came within a tenth of a second of a PR.  And in the discus, Strohschein threw 117-4, which was good for fifth.
Other highlights included James Bassett’s “phenomenal” anchor leg on Riverside’s 1,600-meter sprint relay, where he teamed with 200 runners Gavyn Cervantes and Lane Owen and 400 runner Ryder Kozisek.
The 400-meter relay team of Reece Whisenant, Avery Clifford, Wyatt Daly-Patterson and Strohschein qualified for state with a time of 46.23.
Clifford and Daly-Patterson produced PRs in the long jump, going 18-9 and 18-6, respectively.
The Lady Rebels continue to excel in the sprints, jumps and relays.
Kennedy Bassett placed fourth in what Mitchell described as “the fastest heat of sprinters we’ll see this year until state finals.”  She also took fourth in the 100-meter hurdles.
Vinaya VanderPloeg placed third in the 400 (1:01.30) and sixth in the 200 (27.76).
Bassett, VanderPloeg, Clifford and Dakota Cervantes, meanwhile, continue to post the fastest 1A times in the 400-meter relay.   They ran a 52.76, good for second place.
There were several strong field event performances, with Johnna Clifford placing fourth in the long jump, Dakota Cervantes placing third in the pole vault and Varissa Olsen reaching the finals in the Shot Put.

This week
With nothing on tap this weekend, the Rebels can rest up for a busy next week as they compete Tuesday in Red Lodge, Mont., and Friday in Shoshoni.

Correction
In last week’s issue, it was reported that Dakota Cervantes finished second in the pole vault in Burlington.  She and another jumper went out at the same height, but Cervantes had fewer misses on the day which meant she placed first.
We apologize for the error.

D&D INVITE IN WORLAND
GIRLS DIVISION: Worland 209.5, Powell 196, Lovell 55, Riverside 47, Thermopolis 45, Burlington 41, Cody  23.5, Shoshoni 7.5, Ten Sleep 6, Greybull 3.5.
100 METERS   — 4, Kennedy Bassett, 13.58.
200 METERS — 6, Vinaya VanderPloeg, 27.76.  7, Bassett, 28.13.
400 METERS – 3, VanderPloeg, 1:01.3.
100 HURDLES — 4, Bassett, 18.13.
LONG JUMP — 5, Johnna Clifford, 14-8.
400 RELAY — 2,  Riverside (Bassett, Dakota Cervantes, Johnna Clifford, VanderPloeg), 52.76.
1,600 RELAY — 2, Riverside (Brinley Longshore, Clifford, Varissa Olsen, Cervantes), 5:07.39.
POLE VAULT — 3, Cervantes, 7-6.
BOYS DIVISION: Powell 157.5, Worland 122, Thermopolis 108, Lovell 83, Burlington 78, Riverside 46.5, Cody 32, Ten Sleep 22, Greybull 14, Shoshoni 11, Meeteetse 4.
100 METERS — 2, Ty Strohschein, 11.78.  7, Reece Whisenant, 12.35.
200 METERS — 2, Strohschein, 23.62.
3,200 METERS — 8, James Bassett, 12:26.38.
400 RELAY — 4, Riverside (Whisenant, Avery Clifford, Wyatt Daly-Patterson, Strohschein), 46.23.
1,600 RELAY — 1, Riverside (Wyatt Daly-Patterson, Lane Owen, Ryder Kozisek, James Bassett), 4:15.37.
LONG JUMP — 5, Clifford, 18-9.
TRIPLE JUMP — 6, Clifford, 38-4.
DISCUS — 5, Strohschein, 117-04.

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