The Powell Panther girls’ track and field team stayed in the mix for a podium finish at a competitive state championship meet in Casper, earning one individual championship and a fourth place trophy.

Audrey Johnson recorded the individual win for the Panthers in the 400 meters. 

She earned the top seed in the preliminary round and was the only runner in 3A to finish under a minute in either race, winning the championship race with a time of 59.07 seconds.

“Audrey works very hard and is always willing to do what is best for the team — so it was great to see her win that race,” coach Scott Smith said.

In addition to the individual champion, another strong showing came in the distance races, where the Panthers accumulated a number of points in a competitive field.

Kinley Cooley took the top spot for Powell in the three distance races, as she placed fourth in the 3200 meters with a time of 11 minutes, 38.5 seconds, fifth in the 1600 meters with a 5:22.99 and seventh in the 800 meters with a 2:24.29.

Karee Cooley added a seventh place finish in the 3200 meters as she finished in 11:44.25.

The 4x800 relay team of the Cooley sisters alongside Shelby Zickefoose and Kenna Jacobsen earned a second place finish with a time of 9:47.59.

“The distance girls have been great all year and they showed very well against very tough competition,” Smith said. “The girls 4x800 was four seconds from a new school record. They could have broken the record and still taken second, which just shows how tough the distance competitions were.”

Some other top finishes for the Panthers included Paige Sanders who placed third in the triple jump leaping 36 feet, 10 inches, and seventh in the long jump leaping 16-6; Johnson placed fifth in the 200 meters with a 27.29; Nalani Jordan placed fifth in the shot put with a throw of 35-6 3/4 and sixth in the discus with a throw of 117-8 while Averie Warner took seventh in the 100 meter dash with a time of 13.44.

“Nalani and Paige both are very hard workers that have shown improvement through the year. They are also competing at a time where the level of competition is way above what it was just a few years ago,” Smith said. 

Powell added another second place team in the 1600 sprint medley relay, as the quartet of Kindyle Floy, Sanders, Johnson and Jacobsen finished with a time of 4:23.16.

The Panthers also had some younger competitors nearly make the finals in their first time at the state meet, with Smith noting they have a bright future ahead in the sprints and hurdles.

“It was very nice to see our young sprint/hurdle girls really come on at the end of the year and have a great competition,” Smith said. “They are going to be forces to reckon with next year.”

In the team race the Panthers stayed competitive with a majority of the field, as Lander ran away with 149 points, nearly doubling second placed Cody with 75.

Worland ended in third with 70 points just ahead of the Panthers, who finished with 67.

“It was a tight race for second this year and with a couple of changes we could have been second,” Smith said. “Hats off to Lander though as they were clearly loaded this year.”

Powell will say goodbye to a number of points getters from this year’s team, as they graduate a number of athletes from the distance team. However, a significant portion of the team returns next year with a strong middle school program adding more talent.

3A state championships

P denotes preliminary mark

Team scores — 1. Lander 149, 2. Cody 75, 3. Worland 70, 4. Powell 67, 5. Torrington 60, 6. Douglas 58.5, 7. Buffalo 53.5, 8. Pinedale 39.5, T9. Mountain View and Lovell 35.5, 11. Newcastle 30, 12. Wheatland 11, 13. Burns 10, 14. Rawlins 4, 15. Lyman 2, 16. Glenrock .5

100 meter dash — 7. Averie Warner 13.44, 9. Kindyle Floy 13.28p

200 meters — 5. Audrey Johnson 27.29

400 meters — 1. Audrey Johnson 59.07

800 meters — 7. Kinley Cooley 2:24.29, 9. Kenna Jacobsen 2:25.91, 11. Karee Cooley 2:26.77

1600 meters — 5. Kinley Cooley 5:22.99, 9. Karee Cooley 5:28.25

3200 meters — 4. Kinley Cooley 11:38.5, 7. Karee Cooley 11:44.25, 11. Kenna Jacobsen 12:19.42, 12. Shelby Zickefoose 12:31.9

100 meter hurdles — 11. Abigail Visocky 17.98p

4x100 relay — 7. Averie Warner, Addy Brown, Paige Sanders and Kindyle Floy 51.71

4x400 relay — 4. Kindyle Floy, Eleasah Horsley, Autumn Kidd and Audrey Johnson 4:13.28

4x800 relay — 2. Karee Cooley, Shelby Zickefoose, Kenna Jacobsen and Kinley Cooley 9:47.59

1600 sprint medley relay — 2. Kindyle Floy, Paige Sanders, Audrey Johnson and Kenna Jacobsen 4:23.16

Pole vault — T11. Kate Williams 8-6

Long jump — 7. Paige Sanders 16-6

Triple jump — 3. Paige Sanders 36-10

Shot put — 5. Nalani Jordan 35-6 3/4

Discus — 6. Nalani Jordan 117-8, 10. Anai Torres 103-4

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