Moss breaks 28-year school high jump record

A longtime Rocky Mountain track and field record went down Friday when Rocky senior MacKelle Moss cleared 5-4 in the high jump to eclipse the school record set by Jessica Minchow (Flood) in 1996.

Both Moss and teammate Kaitey Christensen have been chasing the record, each having cleared 5-1 during their junior season (2023). At the Cody meet on March 21, Moss had cleared 4-7 and knew she had to make some adjustments.

Friday at the Burlington Invitational, Moss was on her game, not missing a jump until 5-4 and tying for first place in the event with Davdine King of Thermopolis.

“It was pretty awesome to see MacKelle break a 28-year record,” head coach Tobee Christiansen said. “Her timing is good, and she’s been working in the weight room, too.”

Christensen was also strong in the high jump Friday, clearing a season best 5-10 to place fourth, and sophomore Keylee Christiansen placed seventh at 4-2.

“They’ve been working at it, working on their form,” Coach C said.

It was a good day for track Friday, Christiansen noted, and he said the Grizzlies continue to hone their craft.

“We were trying different events and stuff,” he said. “It was good to see kids out competing and lowering their times.”

Moss captured first place in two other events, as well. She won the 400-meters in 1:02.58, a little over a second shy of her personal record.

“She’s got that long stride,” Christiansen said. “She’s deceptively fast. It’s about getting in good enough shape so you can push when you hit the wall. It’s just a matter of where you hit it.”

The Rocky Mountain 400-meter relay team of Shelby Wambeke, Brittly Boettcher, Moss and Christensen cruised the oval to win the race in a time of 53.20, a time just about 2/10ths of a second from the school record, Christiansen noted, adding, “We’re not pushing any boundaries yet.”

In other field events, freshman Charlee Welling continued to show promise in the long jump, placing third with a jump of 13 feet, with sophomore Emma Sponsel fourth at 12-7 and sophomore Evynn Alvarez fifth at 7-11½.

Christiansen tied for fourth in the triple jump at 26-11¾, and Sponsel was close behind in sixth at 26-9½. Coach Christiansen said the jumpers are doing well despite facing some tough weather during practice the previous week.

Keylee Christiansen placed third in the pole vault, matching her personal record at 7  feet, and sophomore Layla Gardner placed fourth at 6-6.

“We need to get Keylee over that next height,” Coach Christiansen said. “She had a pretty good attempt on her third one. She just didn’t get turned all the way. Layla is getting back into it.”

In the throws, senior Rylee Winland won the shot put with a toss of 30-3½, essentially matching her performance at Cody (30-4).

“She’s always been pretty consistent with her shot put,” the coach noted.

Junior Elliahna Scheeler set a new personal record in the discus, throwing 85-7 to place third, with Winland fourth at 79-3 and Katelynne Herren fifth at 73-3, also a PR.

“Elliahna’s creeping up there in the discus,” Christiansen said. “This is her first year doing it. It’s a matter of time and repetition.”

Scheeler nearly placed in the shot put, as well, finishing ninth with a personal record toss of 22-9¾.

Boettcher placed fourth in the 100-meter intermediate hurdles with a time of 18.96, and Christiansen said her times will fall as the season progresses.

“She’s four-stepping everything,” he said. “We’ve got to get her back to three-stepping.”

Boettcher also placed seventh in the 100-meter dash in a time of 14.22, just behind fellow junior Wambeke, who was sixth in 14.16. Christensen placed ninth in 14.42.

Boettcher placed sixth in the 200-meter dash in 29.89, Welling seventh in 29.93 and junior Tarynn Schoening eighth at 30.68.

Senior Gwynff Bodtke remarkably ran both the 1,600 meters and the 3,200 meters in the same afternoon. She placed fourth in the 1,600 in 7:49.17, taking eight seconds off her time from Cody, and she won the 3,200 meters in 17:44.83.

The Lady Grizz finished second in team scoring in Burlington with 126.5 points, trailing only host Burlington with 144.5 points.

Other Rocky girls results in Burlington were:

100m dash – Ella Pierce 15th, 15.46 (PR), Emma Sponsel 19th, 16.13 (PR), Layla Gardner 23rd, 16.42, Evynn Alvarez 26th, 16.77 (PR); 400 meters – Evynn Alvarez eighth, 1:24.66, Ellie Alvarez ninth, 1:34.96; shot put – Katelynne Herren 10th, 22-8¼, Evynn Alvarez 16th, 14-6 (PR).

Boys results

Junior Hudson May had a strong day for the Rocky boys, placing in two running events.

May won the 800 meters in a time of 2:08.19 and placed seventh in the 100-meter dash in 12.28, setting a new personal record.

“He didn’t run the time he wanted in the 800, but
he got boxed in,” Christiansen said. “He wanted 2:04 or 2:05, but he still ran a good race.”

Sophomore Will Watts set a PR in both the 100 and 200 Friday. He placed fifth in the 200 in 25.87 and finished 11th in the 100 at 12.57. Sophomore Landon Pruett nearly placed in the 200, finishing ninth in 25.87, and Lafe Files finished 10th in 26.46.

Freshman Sam Loyning ran strong in the 400-meter dash in his first outing of the spring, placing fourth in a time of 57.32. Pruett placed sixth in 59.50, Files seventh at 59.6.

“He’s a good runner,” Christiansen said of Loyning. “He’ll run a decent mile this year, too.”

Freshman Paul Shetler carved 29 seconds off his time in the 1,600 meters from the Cody meet, running the four laps in 5:47.70.

Senior Jacob Bischoff tied for seventh place in the high jump, clearing 5-2, and freshman Joaquin Scheeler placed seventh in the discus with a toss of 85 feet.

“He’s brand new to it,” Christiansen said of Scheeler in the discus. “He just needs reps.”

Other Rocky boys results in Burlington were:

800 meters – Jacob Bischoff ninth, 2:28.28, Sam Loyning 10th, 2:34.41, Noah Bisbee 11th, 2:40.23, Paul Shetler 12th, 2:59.55; 1,600 meters – Matthew Crosby 10th, 6:56.67; long jump – Paul Seratt 16th, 12-0, Race Moorehead 17th, 11-11¾; triple jump – Joaquin Scheeler 10th, 32-11; shot put – Scheeler ninth, 32-1¾.

The Grizzlies are off this weekend, since the school will be on spring break, and will next compete at the L.A. Kohnke Invitational in Powell on
Saturday, April 13.