{gallery}04_30_09/track{/gallery} Powell High School's Cole Good eyes the bar during an attempt at the Cody Trackstravaganza. Good and the rest of the Panthers' track roster will be back in action on Friday at Thermopolis and at the Wyoming Track Classic in Casper. Tribune photo by Randal Horobik Remainder of team heading to Thermopolis Call it a best-of-the-best event. Call it a reward for hard work or a tune-up for May's regional and state competitions. However you choose to frame it, those attending the Wyoming Track Classic in Casper this Friday will tell you there's definitely something different in the air. “Before a race, you look to the side of you and you know all these guys are within a second or two of you,” said Panther senior Rustin Myrick. “You just go, yeah, this is going to be a race.”

Myrick will be the busiest member of the Panthers' Classic contingent on Friday. The senior has clocked the second-fastest 300-meter hurdle time in the state this season and enters Casper third on the board in the 110-meter hurdles. Myrick also qualified in the high jump.

Despite the caliber of the competition he'll face, Myrick views the meet as more fun than competition.

“The big meets we focus on are regionals and state,” said Myrick. “This is more fun. You still want to do well, but it's more fun.”

Joining Myrick in Casper will be teammates Patrick Sullivan (400), Drew Magill (triple jump), Dallas Robirds (800), Matt McArthur (shot put) and Kyle Sullivan (high jump). On the girls' side, both Stephanie Paul and Alyssa Rodriguez are in the 400-meter field. Desiree Murray will run the 800 for the Panthers.

Additional Powell entries are possible as the event roster wasn't scheduled to be finalized until late Wednesday, after today's (Thursday) sports section went to press.

Athletes qualify for the WTC based on their performances during the regular season. In races that are run in lanes, the field features the eight fastest times recorded in the state. In distance races and field events, the field features the top 10 competitors, as well as any ties.

If students opt not to attend the event, the next-best performer is cycled into the field.

“This is an average sized field for us,” said Panther track coach Scott Smith. “It varies from year to year based on the quality of competition throughout the state, but it's a nice reward for these kids and gives them something to aim for early in the year.”

The Classic is just one event on the Panthers' Friday track calendar. Team members not attending the WTC will be in action at Thermopolis as track season quickly crescendos toward regional and state competition.

“We've got kids that are still trying to earn automatic qualifier times or distances,” said Smith. “These late meets give them a chance to do that.”