Bulldogs win the team title at Lovell Invitational

Hosting the Lovell Invitational on Saturday, the Lovell Bulldogs impressed the home crowd with some strong performances on the home track and field facility, with the boys taking the team title.
Though not as warm as the previous week in Powell, the meet featured very good weather, coach Joshua Sanders said.
“There was no wind. It was excellent, perfect weather,” Sanders said.
Lovell topped the six-team field with 148 points, edging Worland with 142.5 points. Powell was third with 127.5 points, followed by Burlington at 76 points and Rocky Mountain and Greybull with 11 points each.
The athlete of the week for the Lovell boys is junior Gavin Robertson, who won the 100-meter dash, set a personal record in the long jump and was part of the winning 400-meter relay team.
Robertson won the 100 in a time of 11.49, just 2/100ths of a second off his personal record.
“He’s had a fantastic year,” Sanders said of Robertson. “He’s qualified (for the state track meet) in four or five events, and he seems to be improving every week. He’s ultra-dialed in and focused. He pays attention to what he needs to do to improve.”
Robertson placed first in a strong LHS field that saw Owen Walker place third in 12.16 (personal record), Blake Wilson fourth in 12.19, Kaeson Anderson seventh in 12.41 (PR) and Nate Cornia ninth in 12.44 (PR).
Senior Adnan Khan placed third in the 200-meter dash in 24.05, tying his personal record, and the team of Khan, Robertson, Wilson and Walker won the 400-meter relay in 44.84.
“They (sprinters) have been working on some top speed mechanics – at top speed what the body’s position should be,” Sanders noted.
Sophomore Matthew Newman ran the 400-meter dash for the first time and won the event in a time of 51.65, qualifying for the state tournament. Fellow soph Jacob Thomas ran the 800 for the first time this season and set a new personal record, covering the two laps in 1:14.19 to place sixth.
Newman also placed second in the 300-meter intermediate hurdles in a personal record time of 41.38. Kaeson Anderson placed sixth in the 44.20.
In longer distance races, senior AJ Clark placed sixth in the 1,600 meters in 5:00.19, and sophomore David Durfee was eighth in 5:13.80, a personal record. Junior Stetson Asay placed seventh in the 3,200 meters, running a time of 11:41.78.
The Bulldogs entered a pair of relay teams for the first time this season. The 1,600-meter sprint medley relay team of Talon Burton, Jarrett Allen, Taggart Shumway and Thomas placed second in a time of 4:05.97, and the 1,600-meter foursome of Cornia, Parker Anderson, Clark and Thomas placed third in 3:50.58.
Lovell jumpers continued to excel at the home meet, with five placers (and one almost placing) in the long jump, two in the triple jump and three in the high jump.
Robertson won the long jump with a leap of 20-11, and Walker was second at 20-2, Parker Anderson fourth at 18-6¼ (PR), freshman Cornia sixth at 18-4 (PR), Wilson seventh (18-1¼ and Dean Anderson tied for 10th at 16-8¼.
Khan won the triple jump, hitting the sand at 42 feet, and Allen was fourth at 37 feet.
“Parker Anderson, Nate Cornia and Jarrett Allen had a great meet with their jumps,” Sanders said. “Parker is performing well, and Nate, as a freshman, has been impressing me.”
Walker won the high jump, clearing 6-4, with Kaeson Anderson third at 5-8, Parker Anderson seventh at 5-4. Junior Shumway cleared 11-6 to place fifth in the pole vault.
Sophomore Halen Strom continued to impress in the throws, placing third in the shot put with a personal record toss of 42-6 and winning the discus with a throw of 138 feet.
Sophomore Kyle Wilson placed third in the discus with a fling of 110-5, and Tazz McArthur placed seventh at 103-11, a personal record.
Other Lovell boys results in the home meet were:
100m dash – Dean Anderson 22nd, 13.38, Jett Hessenthaler 25th, 13.94; 200m dash – Jarrett Allen 14th, 27.57, Hessenthaler 17th, 29.38, Robert Capers 19th, 29.82; 800 meters – David Durfee 11th, 2:24.28; 1,600 meters – Jaxen Clark 15th, 6:16.07 (PR); long jump – Capers 16th, 14-7 (PR); pole vault – Owen Edwards ninth, 10-0, Talon Burton 13th, 9-6; shot put – Tazz McArthur 13th, 34-9½ (PR), Kyle Wilson 19th, 32-11, Elijah Montanez 24th, 31-5, Sam Cordova 26th, 31-2; discus – Dean Anderson 18th, 91-5 (PR), Allen 21st, 87-2½ (PR), Cordova 23rd, 84-1, Montanez 26th, 74-8.
Girls results
Powell and Worland tied for the team title in the girls division, each team racking up 188 points, and Lovell was third with 54 points.
Coaches named senior Summer Teter as the female athlete of the week. Teter qualified for State in the shot put with a personal record throw of 34-11, good for third place, and she also set a PR in the discus, placing fifth with a toss of 104-10, shattering her personal record by 25 feet.
Senior Carissa Lindsay placed second in the shot put at 35-5½, freshman sister Celeste fourth in 34-2. Celeste placed fourth in the discus with a toss of 104-11, Carissa sixth in 103-2.
“We went two, three, four in the shot put and four, five, six in the discus,” Sanders noted. “I think it’s good to have other people similar to you in an event. You push each other.”
Celeste Lindsay placed fourth in the long jump with a leap of 14-1, and freshman Jaelen Mayes placed seventh at 13-6¼.
Freshman Kandace Asay placed sixth in the 200-meter dash, running the half lap in 29.26, and freshman Brooklin Clark placed fourth in the 300-meter low hurdles in 52.66.
The 400-meter relay team of Asay, Becca Nichols, Kaitlynn Robison and Clark placed second in 54.68, and like the Lovell boys, the Lady Bulldogs entered two relay races for the first time.
The 1,600-meter relay team of Hallie Cornia, Hannity Felkins, Mayes and Jenna Hessenthaler placed third in a time of 4:54.84, and the quartet of Asay, Robison, Clark and Nichols placed third in the 1,600-meter spring medley relay in 4:45.96.
“Our focus there was to see if we could get a couple of relay teams who could qualify at Regionals,” Sander said.
Other Lovell girls results in the home meet were:
100m dash – Kaitlynn Robison 17th, 15.09, Hallie Cornia 19th, 15.21, Jaelen Mayes 25th, 15.56, Candace Walker 32nd, 16.49; 200m dash – Walker 22nd, 34.70; 800 meters – Keyanna Walker 11th, 2:51.44; long jump – Cornia 17th, 12-4½; triple jump - Sadie Wassmer ninth, 29-9, Walker 11th, 29-5, Hannity Felkins 12th, 29-2, Jenna Hessenthaler 15th, 27-8¼; shot put - Felkins 14th, 26-5½, Haley Sanders tie-18th, 24-10, Ella Spanier 23rd, 24-1; discus – Sanders 13th, 82-3, Spanier 27th, 59-10 (PR).
Local meet
The Bulldogs are scheduled to make the short drive to Cowley this Saturday for the Rocky Mountain Invitational, though RMHS athletic director Rod Winland said rainy weather could force the meet to be cancelled, with a decision to be made by Friday at noon.
If held, the meet will begin with the 3,200-meter relay at 9:30 a.m., plus field events. Running events continue at 10:15 a.m.
Sanders said he was also hoping to take some athletes to the Wyoming Track Classic all-class best-of-the-best meet Friday in Casper.