SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb. – The Torrington High School track and field team opened the season with a strong showing at the five-team Binfield Invite on Friday afternoon in Scottsbluff, Nebraska.
The Lady Blazers won five events, while the Blazer boys won six. Seven individuals in 12 events, as well as two relays, have already punched their tickets to May’s state championships in Casper after only one meet.
No team scores were kept, but Torrington joined Scottsbluff, North Platte (Nebraska), Gordon-Rushville (Nebraska) and Lingle-Fort Laramie at the meet.
Freshman Brooklyn Asmus won two of the five events for the Lady Blazers, winning the 100-meter dash in 12.68 seconds and the 200-meter dash in 26.10 seconds.
Asmus beat out teammates Alyssa Wundercheck, who finished second in the 100 in 13.16 seconds, and senior Julie Le Nezet, who finished sixth in 14.15 seconds. Le Nezet also finished fifth in the 200-meter dash in 29.86 seconds.
The Lady Blazers also picked up two relay wins. The 4x100 team of Natalie Hawes, Le Nezet, Trishell Pontarolo and Wondercheck won in 53 seconds, while the 4x400 team of Asmus, Wondercheck, Pontarolo and Marissa Moorehouse won in 4 minutes, 20.80 seconds.
The other win went to Moorehouse in the triple jump. Her leap of 34 feet, 4 inches beat out Pontarolo by more than two feet. Wundercheck finished second in long jump at 16-3, edging Moorehouse by an inch. Le Nezet placed 10th at 14-4.
The Lady Blazers also had several other top finishes for the day.
Amberly Froerer finished third in the 1,600-meter run in 6:12.85, while Callie Taylor was third in the two-mile run in 13:32.57.
In hurdles, freshman Natalie Hawes finished second in the 300 in 50.27 seconds and was third in the 100 in 17.84 seconds, while the 4x800 relay team of Natalie Long, Froerer, Taylor and Tiffany Krueger finished runner-up in 10:53.30.
In other field events, Teryn Stokes finished second in shot put at 33-8.5 and was sixth in discus at 86-01, while Karlee Mathson was eighth in discus at 73-11. Pontarolo was fourth in high jump, clearing 4-10, while Long’s height of 6-6 was good for seventh in pole vault.
In the boys’ division, senior Brendan Flock led the team with a pair of wins and setting a new school record along the way.
He claimed the win in the 100-meter dash in 11.02 seconds, while teammate Dylan Packard placed fifth in 11.82 seconds. Flock set a new Torrington High School record in 22.08 seconds in the 200-meter dash.
Torrington also picked up wins from junior Zab Munoz, senior Benjamin Fuller and senior Aydan Loya.
Fuller scored wins in long jump and the 300-meter hurdles. Fuller won long jump with a leap of 21-8 and the 300 hurdles in 42.41 seconds.
In the distance events, Munoz won the 3,200-meter run in 10:41.54. He also finished third in the mile in 5:03.49.
In the middle-distance races, Loya won the 800-meter run in 2:02.22, beating out Tyler Nicolay and Jorey Asmus, who finished eighth and ninth, respectively. Loya also finished fourth in the 400-meter dash in 54.19 seconds.
In field events, junior Trey Parriott led a large group of throwers with a third-place finish in shot put with a throw of 46 feet. Junior Brayden Frazier was seventh at 42-8.25, while Brayden Hime was 13th and Ryan Baker 14th.
Frazier led the Blazer throwers with a nineth-place finish in discus 110-8. Baker was 12th, and Parriott placed 18th.
A pair of THS pole vaulters placed in the top eight. Senior Bryant DeMott was sixth at 10 feet, while sophomore Barrett Eicenberger was seventh at 9-6.
Torrington is back in action this weekend at the Wheatland Invite on Thursday. Field events get underway at 9:30 a.m. with running events at 10:30 a.m.
