The end of the spring season is fast approaching, and the Panther boys’ track team got back to winning ways on Saturday as it won the Rocky Mountain Invitational in Cowley.

Overall, the Panthers used a mix of depth but also had four individual first place finishes and a 4x800 meter relay victory to help push them ahead of second place Lovell and third place Burlington.

Those first place finishes came from a pair of juniors, as Hyrum Jeide won both of the hurdle races and Daniel Merritt won the 1600 and the 3200 in state qualifying times.

Jeide tied for first in the 110 meter hurdles in a time of 16.46 and also won the 300 meter hurdles in a time of 42.61. Merritt ran away from his competition sweeping the long distance races, winning the 1600 with a time of 4:42.15 and the 3200 with a time of 10:25.81.

Merritt was part of the 4x800 relay team that earned a
qualifying time for state of 8:46.31 along with seniors Ethan Bartholomew, Dylan Escalante and junior Jace Hyde.

Overall, the Panthers used depth to help win the competition, as they had half of the placements in both of the throwing events, 110 hurdles and the 1600 meters.

As the season quickly approaches its end, Panther track coach Scott Smith said his players are beginning to identify all the athletes they plan to take to regionals while working on what events they will participate in.

“We are getting closer to the ‘whos’ and can start zeroing in on the ‘hows’ for the next couple of weeks,” Smith said. “We are really asking our kids to keep working hard but to increase their focus to get the continued improvements and consistency they will need at regionals and state.”

Powell gets the opportunity to show those improvements on Thursday this week, as the team heads to Cody on Thursday to take part in the Cody Trackstravaganza, which starts at noon.

The Panthers will then make a short trip south to Thermopolis on Friday to take part in its invitational beginning at 1 p.m.

After these two meets, the Panthers head on the road next weekend to take part in the 3A West Regional meet on Friday and Saturday, May 13 and 14.

Smith said they are shoring up the regional roster and continue to work on specific techniques, which he expects will have the most successful athletes to continue improving at this time of year.

Full results from the Rocky Mountain Invitational are below; all times are handheld.

Rocky Mountain Invitational

* Denotes state qualifying mark

Team scores: 1. Powell 193.2, 2. Lovell 115, 3. Burlington 114.7, 4. Rocky Mountain 94.7, 5. Riverside 62.9, 6. Greybull 40.5, Meeteetse 32

100 meters: 17. Sam Whitlock 12.58

200 meters: 4. Marshall Lewis 24.49, T5. McKale Foley 24.78, 8. Evan Whitlock 24.84

400 meters: 5. Dylan Escalante 55.62, T6. Ethan Bartholomew and Evan Whitlock 55.77, T10. McKale Foley 56.58, 15. Ben Whitlock 59.06

800 meters: 8. Breckin Streeter 2:29.65, 9. Francis Rogers 2:31.06, 11. Jon Hawley 2:40.84

1600 meters: 1. Daniel Merritt 4:42.15*, 5. Jace Hyde 5:04.56, 6. Nelson Ho 5:22.56, 7. Breckin Streeter 5:26.40, 12. Francis Rogers 5:50.56, 13. Jon Hawley 5:52.40

3200 meters: 1. Daniel Merritt 10:25.81*

110 meter hurdles: T1. Hyrum Jeide 16.46, 3. Simon Shoopman 16.86, 4. Stuart Shoopman 16.90, 5. Eli Weimer 17.24, 9. Jeremy Harms 19.14, 10. Wyatt Heffington 21.27

300 meter hurdles: 1. Hyrum Jeide 42.61, 3. Simon Shoopman 44.64, T6. Stuart Shoopman 46.24, 11. Wyatt Heffington 52.24, 12. Jeremy Harms 52.64

4x100 meter relay: 6. Adam Williams, Sam Whitlock, Zach Ratcliff and Toran Graham 50.20

4x800 meter relay: 1. Ethan Bartholomew, Dylan Escalante, Jace Hyde and Daniel Merritt 8:46.31*

1600 meter sprint medley: 2. Hyrum Jeide, Marshall Lewis, Evan Whitlock and Ethan Bartholomew 3:54.69

High jump: 3. Eli Weimer 5’, 10”, T4. Isaiah Woyak 5’, 8”, T6. Jace Hyde 5’, 6”

Pole vault: 2. Jeremy Harms 10’, 10”, T6. Wyatt Heffington and McKale Foley 9’, 10”

Long jump: 2. Zach Ratcliff 20’, 6”, T7. Marshall Lewis 18’, 0”, 10. Sam Whitlock 17’, 6 1/2”, 15. Jon Hawley 15’, 9”, 16. Evan Staidle 15’, 8”, T17. Tevon Schultz 15’, 7 3/4”, 22. Seegar Wormald 15’, 3”, 25. Sam Blough 13’, 7”

Triple jump: 2. Isaiah Woyak 39’, 10 1/4”, 9. Dylan Escalante 36’, 6”, 11. Evan Staidle 35’, 1/2”, 14. Seegar Wormald 33’, 1 3/4”, 15. Tevon Schultz 32’, 10 1/4”, 22. Cole Young 28’, 9”, 23. Sam Blough 27’, 8 1/4”

Shot put: 2. Toran Graham* 50’, 9 1/2”, 3. Sheldon Shoopman* 50’, 0”, 4. Lane Shramek 45’, 2”, 5. Sam Belmont 42’, 7 3/4”, 9. Dusty Carter 34’, 9 1/4”, 11. Jonathan Harms 34’, 1 3/4”, 13. Jase Hall 33’, 1 3/4”, 14. Doug Bettger 33’, 0”, 21. Colin Wilson 29’, 1 1/2”, 25. Jacob Eaton 24’, 7 3/4”, 28. Jacob Harms 24’, 7 3/4”, 29. Baylor Harvison 23’, 8”

Discus: 2. Sheldon Shoopman* 138’, 7”, 4. Toran Graham 121’, 2”, 5. Sam Belmont 109’, 9”, 6. Dusty Carter 108’, 0”, 9. Lane Shramek 103’, 0”, 14. Jonathan Harms 84’, 5”, 15. Colin Wilson 84’, 2”, 16. Jase Hall 80’, 3”, 18. Jacob Harms 78’, 1”, 19. Doug Bettger 77’, 8”, 27. Jacob Eaton 66’, 5”, 32. Baylor Harvison 62’, 5”