Wrapping up the season with the Best of the Best meet in Lander, the Powell Middle School Cub boys’ track and field teams made their mark, with eighth grader Karcher Foley breaking the school record in the long jump.

His record came multiple times during the meet,  shooting past the previous school record twice and finishing with the new record of 19 feet, 5 inches to win the event.

“Karcher came out ready to rock,” assistant coach Amanda Haney said.

She said that broke not only the previous school record set in 1993, but the Best of the Best record as well.

The eighth grade boys had one other victory at the Best of the Best, as Keaton Bennett once again won the pole vault, clearing 10-6 and winning by 3 feet over his nearest competitor.

“Keaton came very close several times this season to breaking the school record, which happens to be his dad’s, but the wind at the Best of the Best did not work in his favor,” Haney said. “There is a good chance he will break records in the coming years.”

Other top three individual finishes included a second place finish in the triple jump from Foley (36-6) and a third place finish from Bennett in the 200 meter hurdles (27.99).

Both eighth grade relay teams finished in second place, as the team of Bennett, Foley, Braxton Nelson and Cobey Khan were second in the 4x100 (48.95) and the team of Brayden Benander, Santiago Gutierrez, Cash Peterson and Noah Young placed second in the 1600 sprint medley (1:57.5).

On the seventh grade side the Cubs had several top eight finishes in Lander.

Russell Goolsbey had the highest individual finish, taking fourth in the pole vault clearing 7-0, while Mason Cheatham finished just behind him on jump attempts to take sixth, also clearing 7-0.

The other top eight finish for the seventh graders was Justin Marquez, who placed sixth in the shot put with a throw of 31-10 1/4.

Haney said that the Best of the Best was unique this year, as a meet in Rawlins was canceled which allowed more teams to attend in Lander, increasing the number of teams to around 40.

“This level of competition is very similar to what these kids would see at the Wyoming Track Classic held in Casper at the high school level,” Haney said. “In addition to the high levels of competitions, athletes battled 40-plus mile per hour winds.”

No team scores were kept at the meet, but Haney said that several athletes were able to finish the season with personal best performances against some of the top competition in the state.

“Overall this has been a track season to remember,” Haney said. “All the coaches are very pleased with all the athletes and look forward to next season.”

BEST OF THE BEST

No team scores were kept

EIGHTH GRADE

100 meters — 9. Braxton Nelson 12.81, 19. Cobey Khan 13.04

200 meters — 4. Karcher Foley 24.95, 8. Braxton Nelson 25.31, 9. Cobey Khan 25.48

100 meter hurdles — T4. Keaton Bennett 15.58

200 meters hurdles — 3. Keaton Bennett 27.99, 14. Brayden Benander 30.87

4x100 relay — 2. Keaton Bennett, Karcher Foley, Braxton Nelson and Cobey Khan 48.95

1600 sprint medley relay — 2. Brayden Benander, Santiago Gutierrez, Cash Peterson and Noah Young 1:57.5

Pole vault — 1. Keaton Bennett 10-6, 4. Landon McDonald 7-0

High jump — 5. Braxton Nelson 5-2, T20. Santiago Gutierrez 4-8

Long jump — 1. Karcher Foley 19-5, 27. Brayden Benander 14-5

Triple jump — 2. Karcher Foley 36-6

Discus — 12. Levi Cox 105-0 1/2

SEVENTH GRADE

200 meters — 13. Justin Marquez 27.49

400 meters — 26. Isaiah Torres 1:05.95

800 meters — 15. Russell Goolsbey 2:40.16

1600 meters — 9. Isaiah Torres 5:52.19

4x100 relay — 6. Russell Goolsbey, Forest Kleinfeldt, Justin Marquez and Isaiah Torres 55.47

Pole vault — 4. Russell Goolsbey 7-0, 6. Mason Cheatham 7-0

Triple jump — 17. Russell Goolsbey 29-8, 31. Forest Kleinfeldt 27-7 1/2, 32. Blake Wood 27-6 1/2

Shot put — 6. Justin Marquez 31-10 1/4, 12. Morgan Rodriguez 30-7 1/2