SCOTTSBLUFF – The Torrington High School boys’ and girls’ track teams hit the ground running, jumping and throwing at the annual season-opening Binfield Invitational in Scottsbluff on March 22.
The Lady Blazers garnered second place, tallying 125 points as a team while the Blazers secured third place with 68 points.
Sophomore Brooklyn Asmus captured gold in both the girls’ 100-meters and 200-meters, punching her ticket to state in each event. Asmus crossed the finish line for the 100-meter dash in 12.44 seconds and timed the 200-meters in at 25.51 seconds, more than 3.5 seconds ahead of the runner-up, Moxie Peterson, of Scottsbluff.
Senior Tyler Bennick dominated boys’ throwing events, clinching first place in the shot put with a state-qualifying mark of 51 feet, 2 inches and winning the discus with a state-qualifying throw of 143-03. Bennick’s mark in discus landed more than 11 feet farther than the second-place finisher, North Platte’s Ian Caudy.
Junior Callie Taylor snagged gold in the girls’ long-distance 3200-meters, posting a time of 13 minutes, 53.65 seconds. Taylor beat the runner-up, Tyrah American Horse, of Gordon-Rushville, by nearly 10 seconds.
Clocking the girls’ 300-meter hurdles in with a state-qualifying time of 48.67 seconds, sophomore Natalie Hawes won the event. The sophomore finished 0.48 seconds ahead of the competition, Scottsbluff’s Paige Horne. Hawes also earned a state berth in the 100-hurdles with a second-place finish at 16.83 seconds.
In the girls’ triple jump, sophomore Trishell Pontarolo bagged first place with a state-qualifying leap of 34-10. Pontarolo beat the second-place finisher, Scottsbluff’s Allie Darnell, by two feet, six inches.
Asmus, senior Alyssa Wondercheck, Pontarolo and sophomore Natalie Long won the girls’ 4x400-meter relay, timing in at 4:20.57. The team crossed the finish line nearly 15 seconds ahead of Lingle-Fort Laramie and earned a state berth in the process.
Senior Trey Parriott punched his ticket to state with a second-place finish in the boys’ shot put at 47-11 ¼.
Wondercheck ran a state-qualifying time in the 100-meters, picking up second place at 13.20 seconds.
“It was great to get that first meet out of the way,” coach Russell Stienmetz said. “With several freshman out on the team, this was their first time competing at the high school level. It was a great day overall for our inexperienced track athletes all the way to the veteran athletes. We had several pre-qualify for state, which is huge.”
Girlsí top eight
Torrington dominated the 100-meter finals, snagging the top five placings, led by Asmus and Wondercheck. Junior Jaycee Hurley pulled into third place, posting a time of 13.88 seconds. Hawes came in fourth place at 13.55 seconds with Pontarolo in fifth at 13.79 seconds.
Long secured third place in the 800-meters, crossing the finish line in 2:35.47. Junior Tiffany Krueger snapped up fifth place in the event at 2:43.40 with Taylor in eighth place at 2:56.29.
Krueger obtained fifth place in the 1600-meters, timing in at 6:40.44.
Hurley achieved third place in the 300-meter hurdles, clocking in at 51.08 seconds.
In the shot put, junior Teryn Stokes came in fifth place, hitting a mark of 30-09. Stokes placed sixth in the discus with a throw of 92-09. Freshman Kaia Jacobson took seventh place in the shot put at 27-10 ¾.
Three Lady Blazers broke into the top eight in the pole vault, led by Long in fourth place at 8-00. Freshman Esperanza Chavez finished fifth with a mark of 7-06. Fellow freshman Sophia Wilson placed sixth at 7-00.
Wondercheck garnered third place in the long jump, clearing 15-10. Freshman Kadence Schamel placed eighth in the event with a mark of 13-04.
In the triple jump, freshman Ava Mattis came in fourth place at 30-05.
Boys top eight
The Blazers performed well in mid-distance and distance events. Senior Zabdiel Munoz captured second place in both the 800-meters, clocking in at 2:15.43, and the 3200-meters, at 11:01.61.
Junior Tyler Nicolay pulled into fourth place in the 800-meters, crossing the finish line in 2:21.93.
In hurdles, freshman Beau Martinez placed fourth in the 300-meters, at 49.46 seconds, and fifth in the 110-meters with a time of 19.31 seconds.
Parriott earned seventh place in the discus, launching the projectile 115-00.
Junior Evan Hellus picked up second place in the triple jump with a leap of 39-03 ½. Hellus went on to place third in the long jump at 19-03 ½.
