Lovell thinclads strong at Rocky Mountain Invitational

The Lovell High School track and field athletes appear to be rising to the challenge as they look toward the regional and state meets.

Competing in Cowley Saturday for the Rocky Mountain Invitational, the Bulldogs won the girls division and placed second in the boys. The Lady Bulldogs racked up 170 points to edge Powell, which finished with 164.5 points. And the Lovell boys trailed Powell 207.5-145.5 by the end of the day.

Coach Joshua Sanders was pleased with his team’s performance on a mildly cool day.

“This was our best meet all year,” Sanders said. “We had 32 placers/scorers on the girls’ side and 22 placers on the boys’ side. The girls had 20 PRs (personal records) and the boys 16.

“Our mid-distance and (long) distance runners had really strong outings (with the mild weather).

“It was a good sign, a sign that we’re going in the right direction across the board.”

Girls results

Sanders named junior Brooklin Clark as the female athlete of the week. Clark recorded a PR in the triple jump and qualified for State with a jump of 34-4, placing fourth.

“That’s an outstanding PR,” Sanders said. “She’s been working through some frustrations. She didn’t jump great at Worland, then in the following two weeks didn’t have a good board. And then it all came together.”

Clark also won the 100-meter intermediate hurdles in 17.46 and the 300-meter low hurdles in 51.71, both times her best of the season so far, though not quite PRs.

Sanders said he was also impressed with freshman Brynnlee Spanier, who set two personal records in the throws, placing seventh in the shot put with a toss of 32-9 and 10th in the discus at 86-11.

“She was just short of 33 feet (in the shot). That impressed me,” Sanders said. “She’s number three on the (all-time) freshman list.”

Celeste Lindsay won the shot put with a throw of 37-6, Morgan Harshman fifth at 34-7 (PR) and Christina Zollman eighth at 32-6.

Sanders said he loved junior Kandace Asay’s run in the 1,600 meters. Asay placed second in a time of 5:45.29 in her first competition in the event. He said she seems destined for success in the longer distance races.

“Caleb (Sanders, distance coach) is even looking at moving her up to the two-mile (3,200),” Josh Sanders said. “She’s a really dedicated, hardworking runner.”

Freshman Bonnie Buchholz placed seventh in 7:01.25, a PR.

In the sprints, freshman Macie Anderson ran a PR and won the 100-meter dash in 13.47, and senior Becca Nichols placed second in the 200, running the half lap in 27.70. The two joined Ali and Avery Walker to win the 400-meter relay 52.04, topping their time from the Powell meet. The team of Kylie Carabay, Isabella Martinez, Kaycie Marberry and Lindsey Scheid-Leonhardt placed third in 1:05.18.

Two Lady Bulldogs placed in the 400-meter dash. Freshman Toree Herman placed fifth in a time of 1:09.27, and Marberry crossed the finish in eighth in 1:17.15.

Sanders said he was happy with the team’s 800-meter runners, with three young runners in the top eight. Freshman Eliza Wagner placed fifth in 2:42.97, a personal record, and fellow frosh Gracie Angell placed seventh in 2:45.87, also a PR. Sophomore Caylee Herman placed eighth at 2:45.98.

The coach also noted the performance of junior Candace Walker in the 3,200 meters, placing eight in a personal-record time of 14.45.92, a PR by nearly two minutes.

Young hurdlers excelled on Saturday. Freshman Myles May placed second in the 100-meter hurdles in 17.84 (PR) and third in the 300-meter hurdles in 55.87, and sophomore Ava Edwards placed seventh in the 100 hurdles in 18.86 and fourth in the 300s in 57.03.

The Lovell 1,600-meter relay team of Nichols, Asay and the Walker sisters was the only entrant and won the race in 4:27.69.

In the jumps, Ali Walker placed second in the long jump at 15-8, a smidge ahead of sister Avery, who placed third at 15-7½. Anderson placed fourth with a leap of 15-1¾, a PR. Ali set a PR in the triple jump, placing second at 36-3, and Avery was third at 36-0. Nichols placed fifth with a leap of 33-8¾.

Anderson placed fifth in the high jump, clearing 4-7, a PR, and sophomore Claire Shumway competed in the pole vault for the first time, following in the footsteps of brother Taggart, and placed eighth by clearing 6-6.

Other Lovell girls results in Cowley were:

100m dash – Ava Edwards 14th, 14.88, Jaycie Allen 20th, 15.14, Lindsey Scheid-Leonhardt 26th, 15.46, Claire Shumway 29th, 15.68, Alynna Monterde 30th, 15.76 (PR), Sofia Khan 33rd, 16.36 (PR), Kylie Carabay 36th, 17.07 (T-PR), Isabella Martinez 40th, 18.80 (PR); 200m dash – Shumway 19th, 32.72 (PR), Marberry 22nd, 33.34, Scheid-Leonhardt 23rd, 33.51, Carabay 27th, 36.59 (PR); 800 meters – Candace Walker 13th, 3:03.29; long jump – Allen ninth, 14-½, Edwards 10th, 14-0, Shumway 15th, 13-7 (PR), Khan 21st, 12-3, Monterde 26th, 11-5½; triple jump – Gracie Angell 15th, 28-9; shot put – Haley Sanders 17th, 27-0, Randi Ayotte 22nd, 25-1 (PR), Caitlyn Allen 26th, 23-7, Ariana Nuttall 32nd, 20-3 (PR), Sady Espinoza 33rd, 19-8; discus – Morgan Harshman 11th, 85-11½, Caitlyn Allen 13th, 80-2 (PR), Sanders 19th, 75-0, Christina Zollman 21st, 73-1½, Ayotte 30th, 61-6, Espinoza 35th, 51-9, Nuttall 39th, 47-11.

Boys results

Sanders named Halen Strom as the male athlete of the week, as the senior won both the shot put and discus in Cowley. He threw the shot 49-7 and the discus 138-1½.

“Halen is one of the most dedicated track and field athletes,” Sanders said. “He does indoor, he does outdoor, and he always worked hard at it. He’s a leader who has committed to it the whole four years of high school. He’s a good example as far as his technique for younger athletes.”

Senior Tazz McArthur also had a strong meet, placing fourth in the shot put with a throw of 41-1 and fourth in the discus at 129-9. Senior Kyle Wilson had a big throw in the discus, popping off a personal-record throw of 130-5½ to place third, and Grant Hill was eighth at 121-7, a PR.

Sophomore Hunter Krei wowed the audience in the 100-meter dash, running a personal-record time of 10.99.

“This is the first FAT (fully automatic timing) run (at LHS) under 11 seconds in this (FAT) era,” Sanders said. “That’s a tremendous time, and it qualifies him for the (Wyoming) track classic.

“Hunter has a good initial burst of speed, and he’s progressed really well, even though he’s had to sit out of certain things for injuries.”

Lovell’s school record is held by Brandon Hessenthaler at 10.76, but it was set in 1995 as a handheld time before the fully automatic timing system came into being, Sanders noted.

Krei also ran a leg of the 400-meter relay team that placed first in 43.78, just off the school record time of 43.65 set in 2024 and matched in 2025. Joining Krei Saturday were Kaeson Anderson, Nate Cornia and Matthew Newman.

Since two different teams hold the record at 43.65 and must be listed twice on the record board, Sanders said he jokes with assistant coach Gavin Robertson, a member of both record-holding teams, that he wants the current team to beat the record so he only has to list one team.

The 1,600-meter team of Anderson, Newman, Krei and Jacob Thomas ran as the only entrant and won in a time of 3:46.33.

Newman won the triple jump with a leap of 46-9, and though just short of his school record jump of 47-5, it is the third longest jump on school history, Sanders noted. He also won the 300-meter intermediate hurdles in a time of 39.29. Anderson placed second in the triple jump at 40-5.

Senior Owen Walker won the long jump at 20-11 and placed second in the high jump, clearing 6-3.

“He was close at 6-5,” Sanders noted. “I hope he’s trending up, and I think he is.”

Anderson tied for third in the high jump, clearing 5-9, and Owen Edwards placed second in the pole vault at 12 feet.

Thomas ran well in the 400 meters, placing third in a time of 53.68, and freshman Isaac Sanders placed eighth in the 1,600 meters, running the “metric mile” in 5:15.87, a PR by 15 seconds. Gabe Buchholz also set a PR in the 1,600, finishing ninth in 5:55.50.

Cornia placed second in the long jump, hitting the sand at 18-5¼, and Anthony Garcia placed fifth at 17-9.

Other Lovell boys results in Cowley were:

100m dash – Jacob Thomas 11th, 11.92 (PR), Nate Cornia 13th, 12.00, Anthony Garcia 19th, 12.39, Brandon Jasso 29th, 13.02 (PR), Karson Seitz 31st, 13.07, Kelvin Robertson 33rd, 13.17 (PR); 200m dash – Cornia ninth, 24.77, Robertson 16th, 27.87 (PR); 800 meters – Isaac Sanders 11th, 2:25.92; long jump – Dean Anderson 10th, 16-6, Seitz 13th, 16-1; pole vault – Jasso 12th, 7-6; shot put – Brody Muller 12th, 37-1, Sam Cordova 20th, 33-9, Grant Hill 22nd, 33-7, Gage Pillow 38th, 28-3, Kajyn Cliame 40th, 27-10 (PR), Christian Garcia 41st, 27-9 (PR), Tejeo Scheeler 43rd, 27-2, Michael Cornia 48th, 25-10, Issac Blau 49th, 25-7; discus – Joaquin Scheeler 12th, 108-8½ (PR), Cordova 18th,105-6 (PR), Anderson 22nd, 100-8 (PR), M. Cornia 30th, 91-2, C. Garcia 33rd, 84-10½ (PR), Robertson 38th, 80-0 (PR), Pillow 46th, 72-11, T. Scheeler 50th, 69-1 (PR), Cliame 58th, 60-2, Blau 60th, 51-6.

Home meet

The Bulldogs will host the Lovell Invitational Saturday at the LHS track and field facility with action beginning at 9:30 a.m. with the 3,200-meter relay and six field events: boys high jump, boys long jump, boys shot put, girls triple jump, girls discus and girls pole vault. The 3,200-meter run will follow at approximately 10:30 a.m., followed by other running and field events.