Alumnus takes over as coach at Burns

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Travis Romsa, an alumnus of Burns High School, has been hired as the head football coach at his alma mater.

Romsa, a 2014 graduate from Burns and later an all-America offensive lineman at Chadron State, was named as the new head coach for the Broncs on Tuesday via a Twitter post from Burns AD Barry Ward.

Romsa said via email Wednesday to wyoming-football.com that he has coached in Burns for the past three years. He has been both an assistant football and basketball coach for the Broncs in that time.

Romsa replaces Brad Morrison, who resigned after four seasons.

For more on Romsa’s hiring, check out Wednesday’s Wyoming Tribune Eagle.

Cheyenne South and Pinedale have also hired new head coaches for the upcoming season. Other programs in Wyoming seeking new head coaches this year are Jackson, Rawlins, Cokeville, Glenrock, Moorcroft, Big Piney and Farson. If you know of other head coaching changes in the state, please email me at pschmiedt@yahoo.com.

–patrick

Jackson’s Joyce takes over at Teton, Idaho

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Jackson’s head football coach the past five years will now be the head coach for nearby Teton High School in Idaho.

David Joyce, who led the Broncs to back-to-back Class 3A title game appearances the past two seasons, has been hired for the same role at Teton, which is in Driggs, Idaho.

Joyce said via email Wednesday with wyoming-football.com that his family moved to the Idaho side of the border two years ago, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, when he and his wife purchased a home in Victor.

With his children in ninth, eighth and second grades, the commute to Jackson the past two years was tough on the family as a whole.

“This is gonna make family life a lot easier on our family,” Joyce said. “I have absolutely loved Jackson and coaching at Jackson, and will cherish the last five years, but it was not sustainable to live in Jackson with three kids or commute long term.”

Jackson activities director Mike Hansen said Joyce submitted his resignation about a week ago. Hansen also said the position is open for applications.

Hired with a history of turning around struggling programs, Joyce helped Jackson become a Class 3A force. After Jackson went 0-9 in Joyce’s first season in 2017, the Broncs went a combined 33-13 in the next four seasons. Jackson made the Class 3A semifinals in each of those seasons, a school record for consecutive semifinal qualifications, and was runner-up to Cody in both the 2020 and 2021 seasons.

Jackson and Teton have played each other for each of the past 21 seasons; Jackson’s season opener on Aug. 26 will come against Teton.

Other programs in Wyoming seeking new head coaches this year are Rawlins, Burns, Cokeville, Glenrock, Moorcroft, Big Piney and Farson. Meanwhile, Cheyenne South and Pinedale have hired new head coaches for the upcoming season. If you know of other head coaching changes in the state, please email me at pschmiedt@yahoo.com.

–patrick

Big Piney coach takes Utah HC job

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Big Piney head coach Ryan Visser will leave his post with the Punchers to become the next head coach at Mountain Crest High School in Hyrum, Utah.

Visser posted his farewell to Big Piney on Twitter on Thursday.

He was hired at Big Piney in 2019. Visser’s teams at Big Piney went 16-12 the past three seasons, qualifying for the postseason in Class 2A in 2019 and 2021. The Punchers are scheduled to join Class 1A nine-man in 2022.

Other programs in Wyoming seeking new head coaches this year are Rawlins, Burns, Cokeville, Glenrock, Moorcroft and Farson. Meanwhile, Cheyenne South and Pinedale have hired new head coaches for the upcoming season. If you know of other head coaching changes in the state, please email me at pschmiedt@yahoo.com.

–patrick

State championship totals: Who’s got the most?

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The simplest measure of the success of an overall athletics program is the number of state championships it has won.

By that simple measure alone, Campbell County stands alone at the top of Wyoming’s athletics echelon.

The Camels have won 212 state championships, dating back to the school’s first title, a boys basketball championship in 1958. Since then, the Camel boys have won 103 state championships in each of the 10 sports the school offers, while the Camel girls have won 109 titles in 10 sports, nine of which the school currently has.

Campbell County is one of just six schools in Wyoming to have at least 100 state championships to its name, through championships won in the winter season of 2021-22. The others are Jackson (192), Cheyenne Central (191), Natrona (181), Laramie (141) and Lander (101).

The only school now open that doesn’t have a state championship is Cheyenne South, which opened about a decade ago. Arvada-Clearmont, Hulett and Rock River have just one championship apiece in their histories.

The first state championship was awarded at the 1918 boys basketball state tournament. In all, 2,935 championships have been earned, with 1,792 going to boys teams and 1,143 to girls teams.

Obviously, it’s easier for bigger schools to win more championships, as they offer more sports. The Class 1A school with the most championships, unsurprisingly, is Cokeville, with 87. The Panthers far outdistance second-place Snake River and its 35 championships. The Class 2A school that ranks highest is Pine Bluffs, with 46 championships, followed closely by Wyoming Indian with 40.

The single best year for championships belongs to Campbell County, as well. The Camels won 10 championships in both the 2000-01 and 2008-09 school years. Jackson and Campbell County have also won nine titles in a single school year before, while Star Valley, Jackson and Campbell County have won eight in a year.

The most championships for boys in a single year is six, most recently by Laramie in 2017-18 but also by Campbell County three times, in 2008-09, 2007-08 and 1998-99. The girls record is seven titles, set by Campbell County in 2000-01.

Championships have been awarded across 13 boys sports in 31 different classifications, while girls titles have been awarded in 13 sports in 28 classifications. Dig deeper into each sport on Champlists.

Championship winners are not fully available for all sports. Sports with holes in their championship records include boys and girls alpine and Nordic skiing, as well as potential missing titles in girls golf.

Total championship tallies are below. Click the headers to sort by that column.

–patrick

SchoolsTotalBoysGirls
Albin13112
Arvada-Clearmont101
Basin431
Big Horn351421
Big Piney16142
Buffalo432815
Burlington362214
Burns25619
Byron22202
Campbell County212103109
Carpenter110
Cheyenne Central19113061
Cheyenne East693930
Cheyenne South000
Chugwater220
Cody663135
Cokeville874146
Cowley990
Dayton220
Deaver-Frannie660
Douglas723438
Dubois963
Encampment1679
Evanston26188
Farson880
Fort Laramie110
Glendo211
Glenrock22193
Goshen Hole440
Green River504010
Greybull20155
Guernsey-Sunrise12102
Hanna651
Hulett101
Huntley220
Jackson1929498
Kaycee1165
Kelly Walsh794336
Kemmerer18126
LaGrange18180
Lander1016140
Laramie1419348
Lingle241113
Lovell362313
Lusk351916
Lyman22139
Manderson606
Medicine Bow220
Meeteetse844
Midwest440
Moorcroft17116
Mountain View271413
Natrona18111071
Newcastle18135
Pine Bluffs461333
Pinedale21147
Powell574116
Rawlins19109
Riverside532
Riverton221111
Rock River110
Rock Springs644816
Rocky Mountain15105
Saratoga23158
Sheridan896029
Shoshoni16133
Snake River352312
Southeast23176
St. Mary’s/Seton422
St. Stephens1091
Star Valley936429
Sundance211011
Ten Sleep19109
Thermopolis37316
Thunder Basin514
Tongue River301020
Torrington443410
University Prep550
Upton23185
Veteran550
Wheatland281117
Wind River990
Worland654322
Wright291316
Wyoming Indian40346
Yoder220

Burns’ coach steps down after four seasons

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Burns head coach Brad Morrison has resigned his position leading the Broncs.

Morrison’s resignation was first reported Thursday on Twitter by the Wyoming Tribune Eagle’s Jeremiah Johnke.

Morrison had been Burns’ coach the past four seasons, going 15-19.

Other programs in Wyoming seeking new head coaches this year are Rawlins, Glenrock, Moorcroft, Cokeville and Farson. Meanwhile, Cheyenne South and Pinedale have hired new head coaches for the upcoming season. If you know of other head coaching changes in the state, please email me at pschmiedt@yahoo.com.

–patrick

Updates: Big Piney, Moorcroft, Cokeville, Guernsey-Sunrise

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A few quick updates over the weekend:

Fixed the score for the 1959 Class B eight-man championship game on Nov. 14, 1959; Big Piney beat Moorcroft 25-12, not 15-12.

Added Cokeville’s 45-6 victory against Big Piney on Oct. 23, 1953, in Cokeville.

Updated the location of the November 1935 game between Cokeville and Inkom, Idaho; it was in Cokeville. The date is still unknown but was between Nov. 6 and Nov. 9.

Corrected Guernsey-Sunrise’s coach for 1995; it was Dean Rahmig, not Trevor Williams.

All of the updates have been made on all the relevant pages.

–patrick

Moorcroft head coach takes new opportunity in Montana

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Moorcroft’s head football coach is taking a new teaching and coaching job in Montana, leaving the Wolves’ top football coaching spot open.

Travis Santistevan, a native of Lusk, has spent the past four years as head football coach in Moorcroft.

Santistevan said via email to wyoming-football.com Thursday that he will move to Baker, Montana, before the next school year and will teach and coach there.

The Moorcroft position is listed as open on the Crook County School District No. 1 website.

The Wolves have opted down to play Class 1A nine-man football the past two seasons, as a lack of players has kept Moorcroft from playing at the Class 2A level. The Wolves will continue to do so for the next two years. As a consequence of opting down from Class 2A, Moorcroft is ineligible for the playoffs.

Under Santistevan, the Wolves went 3-5 for three consecutive years before finishing 0-8 last year. The program has had one winning season in the past 20 years.

Other programs in Wyoming seeking new head coaches this year are Rawlins, Glenrock, Cokeville and Farson. Meanwhile, Cheyenne South and Pinedale have hired new head coaches for the upcoming season. If you know of other head coaching changes in the state, please email me at pschmiedt@yahoo.com.

–patrick

NFF Wyoming Chapter names award finalists

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The Wyoming Chapter of the National Football Foundation has named its 10 scholar-athlete finalists for the 2021 season.

The winners were chosen from 73 nominees, who were announced in January. Each of the 10 finalists earns a $1,200 college scholarship, while the winner earns an additional $1,200 scholarship. The winner will be decided by 40% football ability, 40% academic achievement and 20% on extracurriculars and work in their communities and schools.

–patrick

Farson coach Applequist steps down after 10 years

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Farson head football coach Trip Applequist has resigned after 10 seasons leading the Pronghorns.

Applequist confirmed his resignation via email to wyoming-football.com on Monday.

“It was an agonizing and difficult decision to step down as football coach,” Applequist wrote. “It has been a cherished experience and I have been so fortunate. I have had the opportunity to work with the most amazing and dedicated young men who have inspired the community and me personally. I have also been given the opportunity to work with an amazing coaching staff who are really the source of all the success that our program has seen. The support of the parents, administration, and community has been incredible.”

Applequist led the Pronghorns to two state championships and four appearances in title games in his decade as head coach. Combined, Farson has gone 66-29 with Applequist at the helm, including state championships and 11-0 seasons in both 2018 and 2020. Farson finished as runners-up in both 2016 and 2017.

Farson finished 3-4 last season, just missing the Class 1A six-man playoffs. The position was listed as open on Sweetwater County School District No. 1’s job listings for head coaches.

Applequist said he was interested in pursuing other passions, including a planned trip in June to climb Alaska’s Denali.

“The athletes deserve a coach that has the time and desire to commit to what it takes to be successful,” he wrote. ” … I am sad to be leaving football coaching behind, but excited about the possibilities ahead. I love high school football, and look forward to watching and cheering from the stands.”

Other programs in Wyoming seeking new head coaches this year are Rawlins, Glenrock and Cokeville. Meanwhile, Cheyenne South and Pinedale have hired new head coaches for the upcoming season. If you know of other head coaching changes in the state, please email me at pschmiedt@yahoo.com.

–patrick

Moody named head coach at Cheyenne South

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Former Greybull head coach Eli Moody has been named the head coach at Cheyenne South.

The Wyoming Tribune Eagle first reported Moody’s hiring on Friday.

Moody, a Lovell native and former University of Wyoming player, was Greybull’s head coach for the 2018, 2019 and 2020 seasons, twice taking the Buffaloes to the playoffs. He was an assistant coach for Cheyenne South last season.

He takes over for Dan Gallas, who retired at the end of last season. South enters the 2022 season on a 20-game losing streak, the longest active losing streak in the state.

Other programs in Wyoming seeking new head coaches this year are Rawlins, Glenrock and Cokeville. Meanwhile, Pinedale has hired a new head coach for the upcoming season. If you know of other head coaching changes in the state, please email me at pschmiedt@yahoo.com.

–patrick