Wyoming’s last two missing track and field champions

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Securing Wyoming’s track and field champions has been an arduous task, but we’re almost there.

Of the 8,274 individual and relay champions in state history, we’ve located 8,272.

Do the math: We’re missing two. Just two. We have 99.9758% of all the champions in state history.

But those last two… the completionist in me really wants to find them.

In short, both “Stat Rat” Jim Craig and I have exhausted all of our resources. We’ve looked up and down every available newspaper and yearbook we can get our eyes on. Time and again, we’ve come up with nothing.

This post is my best attempt at logic-ing our way to finding the last two we haven’t yet found.

The good news? Both missing champions are from 1969, so there’s a good chance both of our missing champions are still alive, or someone is alive who knows who was the champ.

So I’m asking you, dear reader, to help us find the 1969 Class B boys long jump champion and the 1969 Class C boys discus champion — the 0.0242% of champions we don’t have yet.

Here are my best guesses as to who MIGHT have won those titles.

1969 Class B boys long jump: My best guess is Byron’s Dan Williamson. Williamson won the Class B triple jump and set a new state record in the process and also won the 120-yard hurdles. He also long jumped in the Meet of Champions after the state meet with a personal best of 21 feet even, the best among all Class B or Class C long jumpers. Other teams that could have had the champion include Upton, Cowley, Shoshoni, Cokeville, Lingle, Morton, Guernsey-Sunrise and Mountain View. Who it’s NOT is Burlington’s Larry Johnson, who won the regional meet long jump championship over Williamson the week before state; it can’t be Johnson because Burlington didn’t rack up enough team points at state to have had even one individual champion. It’s also NOT Joe Phipps from Glenrock, who also won his regional meet but was not listed among Glenrock’s individual track champs in the Herders’ yearbook. It’s also NOT Williamson’s Byron teammate Rick Tanner, who won the high jump, pole vault, shot put and 110 hurdles (let’s see someone try to pull THAT four-event sweep off in 2024), but had his individual titles stop there. Similarly, it also was NOT Upton’s Jim Mosley, who won the 100, 220 and 440 but won no other individual titles.

1969 Class C boys discus: My best guess is Arvada’s Les (Leslie) Drake. Drake won the discus title at the Class C North regional meet and also won the shot put at state. But he’s not listed in his own school’s yearbook as any kind of champion, which is kind of weird. Other teams that could have had the champion include LaGrange, Deaver, Manderson, Rock River, Carpenter, Ten Sleep and Medicine Bow. Of that group, Carpenter’s Ed Poelma had the best chance of challenging Drake, but his regionals mark was 10 feet short of Drake’s regionals mark.

So, if you know someone who knows Dan Williamson from Byron, or Leslie Drake from Arvada… or you know someone who does… can you give ’em a call on my behalf? Ask them if they won these events 55 or so years ago? Let us know what they say?

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We’re also still missing two first names — a Sims from Mountain View who won the Class B boys high jump championship in 1961, and a Jurich from Reliance who won the Class B discus and shot put championships in 1935.

As for times and marks, we’re still missing a few of those, too:

  • The winning mark for Class B shot put champion Rick Tanner from Byron in 1969 (can you tell the newspaper coverage of the 1969 state track and field meet was awful?)
  • The winning time for Lyman’s Class B 880 relay team in 1951
  • The winning time for Natrona’s all-class 880 relay team in 1936
  • The winning time for Worland’s Carl Dir in the all-class 100 in 1927
  • The winning time for Thermopolis’ all-class mile medley relay team in 1927

And that’s it. Of those 8,274 individual and relay champions, we have full names and marks for 8,263 of them. That’s 99.87%. That’s not bad. But it’s soooo annoyingly close to 100%.

Maybe with your help, we could get there.

–patrick

Way-too-early top fives for 2024’s Wyoming high school football season

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It’s tradition ’round these parts to start looking ahead to next season as soon as the last one ends. The cycle never ends. With that in mind, despite being eight months away from the first practice and nearly nine months away from the first game, now seems to be a good time to figure out which teams may be the best entering 2024.

And, yes, it’s too soon to do this. But that’s part of the fun. When I did this last year, I got two eventual champions right, and two other champions were ranked second. And I whiffed on one (coughTorringtoncough). That’s the fun, though — as expectations change, as players move or leave or return and as coaches change, so will expectations. The preseason rankings in August may look quite different. For now, though, here’s who I have as my top five teams in each class:

Class 4A
1. Sheridan: Normally, I absolutely despise it when someone pulls out the cliche of “they’re No. 1 until someone beats them” to describe who should be ranked first in a preseason poll. Yet here I am. Because with three straight titles and 31 consecutive victories behind them, and a lack of returning talent elsewhere in 4A, I think the Broncs — despite just one returning first-team all-conference player, that being kicker/punter Ty Gilbertson — deserve that respect.
2. Campbell County: Straight up, no other team in 4A returns as much talent as the Camels do. With five returning first-team all-conference players, a mark three better than any other squad, this could be Campbell County’s finest season in years.
3. Thunder Basin: Cort Catlin and Logan Mendoza are two of just four returning first-team all-staters across the entirety of Class 4A, and they’re both with the ‘Bolts this fall. That’s a good place to start for a team that’s a consistent contender.
4. Cheyenne East: In another case of respect for a program over respect for returning numbers, the Thunderbirds return only one first-team all-conference player (senior lineman Jesse Kirkbride) but have tons of program momentum.
5. Natrona: The Mustangs have two first-team all-conference players back in seniors Rogan Potter and Tucker Sides. Normally, that wouldn’t be enough to be an immediate contender, but in 2024, where all bets are off, they should help make NC a title threat.
Wild card: Cheyenne Central. The Indians also return a pair of first-team all-conference players in seniors Brycen Bailey and Tate Berry. Gain a little confidence early in the season, and Central could be one of 4A’s toughest teams. (Side note: 4A should have a lot more parity this fall…)

Class 3A
1. Star Valley: How original, I know. But the Braves return six all-state selections from last year’s title team, including senior quarterback Smith McClure, and should be the prohibitive favorites entering 2024.
2. Cody: How original, again. But the Broncs, last year’s runners-up, like Star Valley return six first-team all-state selections, including senior quarterback Maddax Ball. As frustrating as a Cody-Star Valley title game might seem to every other 3A team, you can’t deny what both these programs have accomplished over the past decade. Everyone else is chasing these two.
3. Powell: It’s a wide gulf between Star Valley and Cody and the rest of 3A this year — combined, the remaining 10 teams in 3A have just seven all-staters returning, where Cody and Star Valley have six each. But Powell, with its three all-staters in senior linemen Doug Bettger and Dusty Carter and linebacker Keona Wisnewski, are the biggest threat to the hierarchy.
4. Buffalo: After the top three, it’s a crapshoot, but Buffalo’s three returning all-conference selections, led by all-state senior lineman Hayden Jawors, is the most among 3A’s returners.
5. Douglas: If linebackers are the core of a defense, then the Bearcats will be set. All-stater Carter Archuleta and all-conference pick Cash Tillard, both seniors, will help Douglas reload.
Wild cards: Torrington, Riverton and Evanston. Yes, it’s a cop-out to pick three wild card teams, but so what? Torrington moves up to 3A after winning the 2A title last year, its first title since 1990, and returns enough talent to be immediately competitive. Meanwhile, Riverton and Evanston both had resurgent seasons last year and could be in the mix again if they get development deep on the roster.

Class 2A
1. Big Horn: The Rams have two big things going for them. First, they’ve been to Laramie each of the past two years, coming up just short of a title last year and winning it all in 2022. Second, they’re the only team in 2A this year that has more than one returning all-state choice, those being seniors Avon Barney and Kolby Butler.
2. Mountain View: People tend to overlook just how dominant Mountain View was in last year’s regular season, winning every conference game except one by double digits — and even that one was by eight. With three all-conference players back, led by junior all-state quarterback Justus Platts, the Buffalos should be right back in the title conversation.
3. Worland: The Warriors, in returning four of their five all-conference selections (including all-state lineman Brody Thiel), were already going to be a resurgent team in 2024. Moving from 3A to 2A immediately makes them a title threat in a classification where depth is at a premium, but they’ll have to adjust to a new coach.
4. Cokeville: The Panthers have four returning all-conference players, all seniors, tied with Big Horn and Worland for the most in 2A. Depth is always a concern for 2A’s smallest school, but the Panthers handle it every season. They’ll be right there to contend.
5. (tie) Lyman and Lovell: Yes, it’s a cop-out to pick two teams in the No. 5 spot, but so what? Both return a pair of all-conference players, and all-staters Davin Crosby (Lovell) and Max Gregory (Lyman) should help make each one competitive. Oh, and yes, the West is absolutely loaded this season.
Wild card: Newcastle. Looking for a team on the rise? Check out the Dogies, whose three all-conference returners is second only to Big Horn in the East. Trouble is, none of those three will be seniors in 2024.

Class 1A nine-man
1. Lingle: Maybe the Doggers just needed some more experience to break through. After all, with all four of their all-state choices and six of their eight all-conference choices — both tops in 1A nine-man — coming back this year, it makes sense to see the Doggers on top of a preseason list like this.
2. Pine Bluffs: The Hornets should again be a contender thanks to four returning all-conference choices and all-state senior Shawn Shmidl leading the way.
3. Rocky Mountain: Not many teams return the experience the Grizzlies do, who had to play a lot of inexperienced players last year due to graduation losses. That should pay off this year, with five all-conference choices and senior all-stater Tucker Jackson fronting the effort.
4. Lusk: The Tigers get back a pair of all-state picks (senior Jackson Smith and sophomore Raynce Brott) and all four of their all-conference players. Not a bad place to start.
5. Southeast: The Cyclones will have a new coach for the first time this century, but the cupboard isn’t bare as all-staters Ayden Desmond and T.J. Moats lead a team that’s got enough returning to contend with nine-man’s best.
Wild cards: Big Piney and Wind River. Yes, neither one of last year’s championship-game teams are listed here. That’s with good reason. Combined, they return just two all-state/all-conference players (one apiece) and will have to get young players to step up in a hurry to return to their lofty heights of 2023.

Class 1A six-man
1. Burlington: Here’s a number for you: Burlington returns four all-state selections this year, all seniors. Combined, all the other teams in six-man have three. The defending champs are in good shape for a repeat.
2. Snake River: The Rattlers should be in great shape to challenge for a title, as well. Seniors Bridger Cozzens and Mason Jones were all-state picks, and the program — despite losing in the six-man championship — still has great momentum.
3. Riverside: All-state senior Curtis Strohschein leads a Rebel team that returns three all-conference players from its nine-man team last year. As they move to six-man this year, the Rebels should be immediate title contenders.
4. Encampment: After six-man’s top three, no other team returns even a single all-state selection. Encampment, though, with senior all-conference picks Tyrel Brown and Gunner Henrie, looks like on paper to be the best of the rest.
5. Kaycee: The Buckaroos consistently play beyond their numbers, and in a muddled group of potential contenders, Kaycee could be the best of the bunch despite a lack of depth.
Wild cards: Meeteetse and Hanna. Both the Longhorns and Miners will be young teams in 2024, but those young cores bode well for the future — and potentially the present.

Who do you have as your potential champs, or your potential teams that everyone might be overlooking? Leave a comment and let me know what you’re thinking, way too soon ahead of the 2024 season.

–patrick

Stienmetz, Hammond named Shrine Bowl head coaches for 2024

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The head coaches for the 51st Wyoming Shrine Bowl all-star football game have been selected for this summer’s game in Casper.

Russell Stienmetz of Class 2A champion Torrington will be the head coach for the South, while Rob Hammond of Class 3A Buffalo will lead the North.

Assistant coaches will be selected next, with player selections to follow. The game will be June 8 in Casper.

Hammond was the head coach for the North in 2019, a 29-19 victory for the North team.

The North leads the all-time series 26-20-3, but the South won last year’s game 27-24.

–patrick

Using Pythagorean win expectations in Wyoming high school football to find the most surprising seasons in state history

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If you just look at the cumulative effect of NSI Academy’s scores from the 2007 season, you would not have expected much from the Wolves.

For the year, the Wolves were outscored 281-150.

And with a score differential like that, what kind of record would you expect?

Well, there’s some math we can do to figure that out.

Using something called the Pythagorean expectation, the Wolves — who played 10 games that season — would have been roughly expected to finish with a record of about 2-8. After all, most teams with that kind of score differential across that many games finish with about that kind of record.

But the Wolves finished 6-4. They won 4.2 more games than the Pythagorean model would have expected them to.

And across more than 100 years of Wyoming high school football, the Wolves’ 4.2 wins above expectation is the highest difference for a single team in state history.

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Here’s the math part, as simplified as I can make it: In short, the Pythagorean expectation model looks at a team’s scoring differential and then tries to estimate what a team’s win-loss record should be based on that differential alone. For example, a team that goes 4-4 and finished with a scoring differential of zero would have a Pythagorean score of 0.0 — and the logic follows that you’d expect a team that scored as many points as it gave up to have a .500 record.

A positive Pythagorean score means you won more games than the model would predict; a negative Pythagorean score means you lost more. (For a breakdown of the math used in this post, check out Wikipedia’s article on Pythagorean expectation.)

For a more recent example of the Pythagorean model, let’s look at the 2023 season, and two teams that share a both a 2023 victory total and a first letter: Worland and Wright.

Worland, playing in Class 3A, finished 3-6. Wright, a Class 1A nine-man team, finished 3-5. So we would expect their point differential to be about the same, right?

Well… Would you believe that Wright outscored its opponents 201-124, while Worland was outscored 286-69?

The Pythagorean expectations vary greatly because of those totals. Through that math, we would have expected Wright to win 6.1 games out of its eight with that kind of scoring margin. Instead, Wright won three, giving Wright a score of negative 3.1 (3 wins minus 6.1 predicted wins = negative 3.1). Meanwhile, we’d expect Worland to win 0.3 games out of its nine, so the Warriors’ Pythagorean score is a positive 2.7 (3-0.3=2.7).

In short: With their score differentials, Wright should have won about six games; Worland should have won zero. Instead, both teams won three games. Together, they were the biggest outliers of the 2023 season, Wright the team with the lowest number of victories from what would be expected from their season point differential, Worland the highest.

But they are still far from some of the biggest single-season outliers we’ve ever seen.

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Across the 5,469 Wyoming high school football seasons where a team played at least five games, the Pythagorean expectations correctly predicted a team’s record within one game in 3,596 cases, or about 66% of the time. (Yes, I ran the math for all 5,469.)

The outliers, though — like NSI’s 2007 season — are the most interesting.

NSI’s 2007 season was by far the biggest outlier on the positive side. On the negative side, well… meet Rawlins, whose 1928 team had a Pythagorean win expectation of 7.3 wins over their eight games. The Outlaws finished the season with a 151-56 point differential. Still, Rawlins only mustered a 3-3-2 record, a Pythagorean win expectation that was -4.3 fewer than expected. It’s the lowest mark in state history.

Oddly enough, just two years later, basically the same thing happened to Rawlins, which tied with Green River’s 1940 team for the second-worst Pythagorean outcome in state history. That year, Rawlins outscored opponents 112-41 and had a Pythagorean win expectation of 8.2 across nine games. The Outlaws went 4-4-1, a -4.2 below expectations.

The Pythagorean expectations can also be extrapolated to predict winning percentage, as well. Below are some of the best and worst outcomes we’ve seen using the Pythagorean expectations model for teams that played a minimum of five games in their season:

Best Pythagorean win differences (overachievers)
1. NSI 2007 (+4.2): Predicted 1.8 victories, actual record 6-4, point differential 150-281
2. Gebo 1932 (+3.6): Predicted 1.4 victories, actual record 5-3, point differential 66-126
3. Cheyenne East 2008 (+3.4): Predicted 3.6 victories, actual record 7-3, point differential 207-263
4t. Glenrock 1995 (+3.3): Predicted 1.7 victories, actual record 5-4, point differential 85-157
4t. Greybull 1991 (+3.3): Predicted 1.7 victories, actual record 5-3, point differential 93-161
4t. Kemmerer 1981 (+3.3): Predicted 1.7 victories, actual record 5-4, point differential 80-146
7t. Cody 1926 (+3.2): Predicted 1.8 victories, actual record 5-2, point differential 72-113
7t. Natrona 1945 (+3.2): Predicted 1.8 victories, actual record 5-4, point differential 75-134
7t. Big Piney 2007 (+3.2): Predicted 2.8 victories, actual record 6-3, point differential 122-169
10t. Evanston 2021 (+3.1): Predicted 1.9 victories, actual record 5-4, point differential 135-238
10t. Torrington 1980 (+3.1): Predicted 0.9 victories, actual record 4-3, point differential 42-94
10t. Lovell 1976 (+3.1): Predicted 0.9 victories, actual record 4-5, point differential 64-161
13t. Midwest 1956 (+3.0): Predicted 1.0 victories, actual record 4-5, point differential 65-160
13t. Cody 1953 (+3.0): Predicted 1.0 victories, actual record 4-4, point differential 113-261
13t. Pine Bluffs 1975 (+3.0): Predicted 1.0 victories, actual record 4-4, point differential 65-147
16t. Rawlins 1931 (+2.9): Predicted 1.1 victories, actual record 4-3-1, point differential 47-103
16t. Wright 2005 (+2.9): Predicted 4.1 victories, actual record 7-4, point differential 123-153
18t. Ten Sleep 1978 (+2.8): Predicted 1.2 victories, actual record 4-4, point differential 66-139
18t. Cody 1978 (+2.8): Predicted 1.2 victories, actual record 4-5, point differential 60-132
18t. Star Valley 1974 (+2.8): Predicted 1.2 victories, actual record 4-4, point differential 79-162
18t. Superior 1955 (+2.8): Predicted 1.2 victories, actual record 4-4, point differential 84-172
18t. Lingle 1925 (+2.8): Predicted 0.2 victories, actual record 3-7, point differential 58-274

Worst Pythagorean win differences (underachievers)
1. Rawlins 1928 (-4.3): Predicted 7.3 victories, actual record 3-3-2, point differential 151-56
2t. Rawlins 1930 (-4.2): Predicted 8.2 victories, actual record 4-4-1, point differential 112-41
2t. Green River 1940 (-4.2): Predicted 7.2 victories, actual record 3-2-3, point differential 94-37
4. Cheyenne Central 1920 (-4.0): Predicted 8.0 victories, actual record 4-3-2, point differential 98-40
5t. Torrington 1925 (-3.9): Predicted 6.9 victories, actual record 3-4-1, point differential 159-72
5t. Green River 1965 (-3.9): Predicted 5.9 victories, actual record 2-3-3, point differential 115-74
5t. Lingle 1936 (-3.9): Predicted 7.9 victories, actual record 4-2-3, point differential 71-31
8. Torrington 1922 (-3.8): Predicted 7.8 victories, actual record 4-5, point differential 222-101
9t. Kemmerer 1956 (-3.7): Predicted 7.7 victories, actual record 4-4-1, point differential 149-70
9t. Green River 1929 (-3.7): Predicted 6.7 victories, actual record 3-2-2, point differential 72-20
11t. Sheridan 1954 (-3.6): Predicted 7.6 victories, actual record 4-3-2, point differential 168-81
11t. Natrona 1936 (-3.6): Predicted 10.6 victories, actual record 7-1-3, point differential 156-40
11t. Kemmerer 1931 (-3.6): Predicted 9.6 victories, actual record 6-2-2, point differential 169-46
11t. Rawlins 1940 (-3.6): Predicted 9.6 victories, actual record 6-3-1, point differential 191-52
Since 2000:
1. Burlington 2005 (-3.5): Predicted 8.5 victories, actual record 5-4, point differential 322-101
2. Mountain View 2000 (-3.3): Predicted 8.3 victories, actual record 5-5, point differential 253-131
3. Wright 2023 (-3.1): Predicted 6.1 victories, actual record 3-5, point differential 201-124
4t. Rock Springs 2019 (-3.0): Predicted 7.0 victories, actual record 4-6, point differential 246-172
4t. Sheridan 2020 (-3.0): Predicted 10.0 victories, actual record 7-4, point differential 390-148
6. Pine Bluffs 2011 (-2.9): Predicted 7.9 victories, actual record 5-4, point differential 196-84

Best Pythagorean win percentage differences (overachievers)
1. Superior 1944: Predicted win percentage 0.083, actual win percentage 0.600, difference +0.517, point differential 21-58
2. Cody 1926: Predicted win percentage 0.256, actual win percentage 0.714, difference +0.459, point differential 72-113
3. Gebo 1932: Predicted win percentage 0.178, actual win percentage 0.625, difference +0.447, point differential 66-126
4. Torrington 1980: Predicted win percentage 0.129, actual win percentage 0.571, difference +0.442, point differential 42-94
5. Rawlins 1931: Predicted win percentage 0.135, actual win percentage 0.563, difference +0.428, point differential 47-103
6. Lovell 1942: Predicted win percentage 0.158, actual win percentage 0.583, difference +0.425, point differential 38-77
7. NSI 2007: Predicted win percentage 0.184, actual win percentage 0.600, difference +0.416, point differential 150-281
8. Greybull 1991: Predicted win percentage 0.214, actual win percentage 0.625, difference +0.411, point differential 93-161
9. Sunrise 1949: Predicted win percentage 0.208, actual win percentage 0.600, difference +0.392, point differential 100-176
10. Guernsey 1937: Predicted win percentage 0.215, actual win percentage 0.600, difference +0.385, point differential 33-57
Since 2000:
1. NSI 2007: Predicted win percentage 0.184, actual win percentage 0.600, difference +0.416, point differential 150-281
2. Big Piney 2007: Predicted win percentage 0.316, actual win percentage 0.667, difference +0.351, point differential 122-169
3. Evanston 2021: Predicted win percentage 0.207, actual win percentage 0.556, difference +0.349, point differential 135-238
4. Cheyenne East 2008: Predicted win percentage 0.362, actual win percentage 0.700, difference +0.338, point differential 207-263
5. Saratoga 2015: Predicted win percentage 0.070, actual win percentage 0.375, difference +0.305, point differential 98-291

Worst Pythagorean win percentage differences (underachievers)
1. Sundance 1933: Predicted win percentage 0.834, actual win percentage 0.333, difference -0.500, point differential 79-40
2. Gebo 1930: Predicted win percentage 0.884, actual win percentage 0.400, difference, -0.484, point differential 59-25
3. Sunrise 1939: Predicted win percentage 0.875, actual win percentage 0.400, difference -0.475, point differential 59-26
4. Wheatland 1981: Predicted win percentage 0.816, actual win percentage 0.375, difference -0.441, point differential 133-71
5. Cowley 1925: Predicted win percentage 0.576, actual win percentage 0.143, difference -0.434, point differential 82-72
6. Lingle 1940: Predicted win percentage 0.931, actual win percentage 0.500, difference -0.431, point differential 132-44
7. Torrington 1925: Predicted win percentage 0.867, actual win percentage 0.438, difference -0.430, point differential 159-72
8. Torrington 1922: Predicted win percentage 0.866, actual win percentage 0.444, difference -0.422, point differential 222-101
9. Rawlins 1942: Predicted win percentage 0.916, actual win percentage 0.500, difference -0.416, point differential 107-39
10. Rawlins 1930: Predicted win percentage 0.915, actual win percentage 0.500, difference -0.415, point differential 112-41
Since 2000:
1t. Burlington 2005: Predicted win percentage 0.940, actual win percentage 0.556, difference -0.384, point differential 322-101
1t. Wright 2023: Predicted win percentage 0.759, actual win percentage 0.375, difference -0.384, point differential 201-124
3t. Mountain View 2000: Predicted win percentage 0.828, actual win percentage 0.500, difference -0.326, point differential 253-131
3t. Pine Bluffs 2011: Predicted win percentage 0.882, actual win percentage 0.556, difference -0.326, point differential 196-84
5. Lusk 2019: Predicted win percentage 0.803, actual win percentage 0.500, difference -0.303, point differential 304-168

–patrick

A new look for game results on wyoming-football.com

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This week, wyoming-football.com has transitioned to a new way of displaying game-by-game results on both team and year pages.

The new table-based display allows for a more dynamic and consistent way of showing game scores that also provides more consistency between and among pages than the old text-based display allowed. It also allows for more dynamic searching and filtering of results, allowing users to find out more about their favorite teams, rivalries, seasons and more.

Click here for a primer on how to use the new score display to its full potential.

This new approach has been a thought of mine for years, but only recently — thanks to the financial support of wyoming-football.com’s page sponsors — could I buy the kind of technical support I needed to implement the change. I don’t want to get too lost in the techno-babble here, but the quickest way to explain it is that all game results come from one place and are loaded on demand rather than the results themselves resting on any one page. What that means is when I do an update, I can do one update to the database rather than updates to the year page and each team page. And the benefit you get is the chance to have more of an opportunity to comb through those results to find exactly what you’re looking for.

Thanks to my wife, Charlynn, for sharing a bit of web development expertise beyond my understanding for helping me make it work.

If you see anything that looks weird or incorrect as you explore the new display, please let me know!

–patrick

Updates: Powell, Lovell, Glenrock, Moorcroft, Sundance, Huntley, Coaches Project

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Two games with the wrong winners have been fixed and updated. In both games, it was a case of the original source I looked at having the winner and score wrong:

Powell beat Lovell 7-0 on Sept. 3, 1954; I had Lovell winning by the same score.

Huntley beat Glenrock 12-7 on Sept. 10, 1965; I had Glenrock winning 17-12.

I also fixed the score for Sundance’s 41-27 victory against Moorcroft on Oct. 2, 1963; I had listed 40-21.

I also knocked off some missing coaches’ names from the Coaches Project:

Basin’s coach in 1930 was Frank Sharrar and 1948 was Martin Darling. … Burns’ coach in 1940 and 1941 was Bill Fiegenbaum. … Cokeville’s coach in 1927 was Okie Blanchard. … Cowley’s coach in 1924 was Andrew “Red” Willis and 1948 was Harry Mangus. … Guernsey’s coach in 1931 was Ray Frink. … Shoshoni’s coach in 1945 was Bill Gibney and in 1946 was Bob Porter. … Star Valley’s coach in 1928 was Newell Peterson. … Ten Sleep’s coach in 1940 was Ralph Crowton.

I also found the first initials for Lovell’s coach in 1923, C.H. McClure; added the full first name for Manderson’s coach in 1940, Harold Bender; and corrected the spelling for Sunrise’s coach in 1943, Jack Secrest.

All the updates have been made on all the relevant pages. As always, if you see anything that looks wrong on this site, please let me know: pschmiedt@yahoo.com.

–patrick

Updates: Star Valley, Wheatland, Sunrise, Guernsey, Albin, Huntley, Hawk Springs, Deaver, Super 25

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I’ve tracked down a few more dates, locations and scores for some missing games, including several for Star Valley:

Found the date for Star Valley’s Oct. 21, 1949, game with Malad, Idaho; found the location for Star Valley’s Oct. 29, 1948, game vs. Malad, Idaho (it was in Afton); and the dates for four Star Valley games in 1945: the Oct. 5 game against Downey, Idaho; the Oct. 19 game at Paris, Idaho; the Oct. 20 game at Superior (yes, the Braves played two road games in one weekend); and the Oct. 26 game at Montpelier, Idaho.

Found the score for Sunrise’s 43-0 victory against Albin on Sept. 24, 1954.

Found the date for the Sept. 15, 1967, game between Huntley and Lyman, Nebraska.

Found the score for Albin’s 23-14 victory against Hawk Springs on Nov. 11, 1941; I knew Albin had won, but I didn’t know the score.

Fixed the date and added the location for Bridger, Montana’s, 7-6 victory against Deaver-Frannie on Oct. 21, 1939, in Bridger.

Fixed the date and added the location for Sunrise’s 12-0 victory against Wheatland on Nov. 1, 1935; it was in Sunrise. Also noted that Wheatland’s game scheduled with Manville on Nov. 1 was not played.

Corrected the date for Guernsey’s game with Sunrise on Sept. 29, 1934; I originally had Guernsey playing two games on Sept. 28, one with Manville and one with Sunrise. Guernsey played two games that weekend, with the Sunrise game coming a day after the Manville game.

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

Also, the Casper Star-Tribune released its Super 25 team recently. That team has been added to the Super 25 page on this site, as well.

–patrick

Wyoming prep hoop coaches: The 1930s

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Editor’s note: This post was written by “Stat Rat” Jim Craig, formerly of Lusk and now of Cheyenne, who has provided significant help to the research on Wyoming sports history.

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The time span of 1929 through 1939—the aptly coined “Dirty Thirties”—was a decade of hardship for the entire United States as the country was rocked by The Great Depression, triggered by a collapse of the stock market in October of 1929. Unemployment during that time rose to a staggering high of 24.7% in 1933 and remained above 14% from 1931 to 1940. Those raised during that era—that Tom Brokaw labeled “The Greatest Generation”—experienced challenges that toughened their resolve, encouraged economy as well as thrift and fostered a “can-do” approach to facing serious issues of day-to-day living. My father, for one, graduated high school in 1928 and took six years to complete his civil engineering degree, attending for a year of schooling then working menial jobs for a semester to save up enough for another year of college, repeating that process until he earned his bachelor’s degree in 1934.

The Great Depression didn’t spare Wyoming, and school systems felt the economic crunch along with the rest of the country. Athletic seasons were suspended due to the economy; for example, Lusk’s 1932 football season was suspended. The Lusk citizenry volunteered to help with the situation by offering car pools and coaching help, but the true problem was lack of money to outfit the team and alas, the season was cancelled. A common occurrence I’ve found in my research were gatherings called “Hard Times” dances, proof that the state’s population shouldered the hardships with good humor and Cowboy State spirit.

Those listed on the chart below were some of the luckier citizens as their coaching records are proof of employment during a time when many had no jobs. However, coaching back then was quite the chore. To coach in the 1930s meant you were a coach for all sports—most likely the school’s only coach—meaning football, basketball and track seasons. A quick check in Patrick Schmiedt’s superb tome on all things Wyoming prep football, “A Century of Fridays,” shows that 20 of the 21 listed below coached football during that time—the exception being no football program in Pine Bluffs. Coaching was a young man’s endeavor, as the time invested in practice, home games, and road games (many coaches drove their own cars—filled with players—to and from opposing courts) would be time spent away from home for a family man. Yet, due likely to the scarcity of jobs during the 30s, more coaches taught/coached in Wyoming for all ten years of the 1930s than the combined total of the 1940s and 1950s decade-long coaching stints.

Top 1930s Basketball Coaching Records by Wins
CoachSchool(s)SeasonsWinsWin%Q-FactorMedalChamp
*Okie BlanchardRock Springs; Natrona102330.883100%70%4
John PowellCheyenne Central102090.73990%20%1
Floyd ForemanLaramie101940.75590%70%2
Wendell PoulsonByron; Lovell91710.78489%11%0
Glen RogersWheatland91390.59133%11%1
Cliff WilsonKemmerer; St. Michael’s81150.67363%13%0
Ken NoddingsSundance; Powell101140.54550%10%0
Lou NeelyEvanston71030.67843%14%0
*Joe BushThermopolis61020.73950%0%0
Fred ChezSheridan7980.62871%0%0
Alva StrawNatrona6910.62683%0%0
Henry HartwellMidwest10870.4080%0%0
Eldon BoydCokeville10860.50310%0%0
John EngstromRawlins8810.56363%0%0
Wallace RollinsCowley5780.74380%20%0
Victor ReavesCampbell County4720.67975%0%0
Melvin LarsonPine Bluffs7710.47714%0%0
Loyd NelsonUpton8680.4690%0%0
LaVerne JungWorland5680.60760%0%0
James JiacolettiManderson; Superior; Kemmerer8630.460%0%0
Walter DowlerUniv. Prep; Basin; Rock Springs4590.6750%25%1

Q-Factor=percentage of times qualified for the state tourney

Medal=percentage of times finishing 1st, 2nd, or 3rd

*Wyoming Coaches Association Hall of Fame member

(Two notes about the chart’s data: 1. There was only one classification back then. What should total 10 state championships for the decade is actually nine. No state tourney was held in 1936 due to a scarlet fever epidemic. 2. The 29-30 State Tourney was open to all teams. Teams were sorted into Classes A, B, C, and D according to the male school enrollments. Champions in each division would play for the state title. Rather than count all 54 teams eligible, to count a team as a qualifier, I took the last four teams remaining in each division. Having played three or four days of double elimination would count as the qualifying portion of the tourney and winnowed the 54 down to 16—four in each class).

As he did in the 1940s and 1950s, Okie Blanchard dominated the decade, leading in wins, win percentage, Q-factor, and championships as well as tying with Laramie’s Floyd Foreman for medal finishes. Cheyenne’s coach John Powell, Big Horn Basin coach Wendell Poulson and the aforementioned Foreman notched up nifty numbers with winning percentages topping 75%.

Hall of Fame?  This decade’s group is almost totally ignored by the Wyoming Coaches Hall of Fame, but it’s understandable, given that the group began bestowing that honor in the mid-1980s, almost a half century since most of the above paced the sidelines. That’s unfortunate as the numbers above show several deserving candidates. In a few months I’ll have the 1960s chart completed as my work on the 1967-68 season is almost completed and I’m only missing data from the 1968-69 campaign.

As Sheridan chases state record, Byron’s alleged 43-game win streak comes under the microscope

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As Sheridan enters the 2024 season on a 31-game winning streak, the talk of a state record is inescapable.

Sheridan is just three games away from tying, and four games from breaking, the winning streak of 34 games set by Laramie from 1959-63. The Broncs are also six games from breaking Worland’s unbeaten streak of 36 games (34-0-2), set from 1953-56.

Already, Sheridan’s winning streak is the longest of the past 60 years of Wyoming high school football.

But four games from the winning streak record and six games from the unbeaten streak record, another football winning streak from a Wyoming high school looms like a ghost over them all.

Now-defunct Byron High School, a community in northwestern Wyoming that now provides a big chunk of the students for Rocky Mountain High School, has a streak that could top them all.

The Eagles, in a streak from 1945 to 1950, won 43 consecutive games. Or 42. Or 35. Or 33. Or 28. Or maybe it was a conference winning streak. Not sure.

That uncertainty of the actual length of the streak keeps it from being listed at the claimed length of 43 on this site’s state record streaks.

We do know when the streak ended. Here’s a portion of a report in the Billings Gazette from Oct. 14, 1950:

“The Cowley Jaguars, relying heavily on a good passing attack, defeated the Byron six-man football team, 35 to 6, at Byron Friday to halt a 43-game winning streak by the Eagles who established a national record. The Big Horn Basin conference defeat was the first for Coach W.A. Mower’s team since 1944.”

Yep. A Wyoming team held the national six-man record for consecutive victories.

Well, allegedly.

Of the 43 games claimed as a part of this streak, only 28 can be verified — one to end the season in 1945, four in 1946, five in 1947, seven in 1948, eight in 1949 and three to start the season in 1950.

Trying to count Byron’s 43 victories feels like chasing ghosts, a pursuit of phantom games that exist only in a tally but not independently, separate from it.

The problems in the count are immediately evident from the report above. We know Byron lost at least one game in 1945, that a 34-12 loss to Bridger, Mont., on Oct. 26. Already, we have a direct contradiction to the idea in the article that the streak started in 1944. That said, the loss to Bridger was a nonconference game, and Byron’s last conference loss did come in 1944, that a 54-6 loss to Basin.

So maybe the streak was just conference games? If the Bridger loss in 1945 isn’t counted, the streak grows to 33. Byron’s final game of the 1944 season was a 46-0 loss to the Heart Mountain JV team. If you don’t count that nonconference game, then the streak grows to 35, with that 48-point loss to Basin interrupting the win streak — except, one thing. We don’t know what date the Basin game was played on.

With all that in mind, we have a much harder time figuring out when the streak started in the midst of all of that rigmarole.

Finding the starting point isn’t the only problem. Games also might be missing from the middle of the streak.

A Nov. 6, 1946, Billings Gazette report says Byron had “six conference wins” during the 1946 season by a total margin of 241-66 for the Eagles’ “second undefeated season.” (Again, are we not counting that Bridger loss in 1945?) But only four games in that season are accounted for. Chasing ghosts.

A year later, a Nov. 15, 1947, Billings Gazette report says the 1947 Eagles finished 6-0 in conference play with a scoring margin of 271-66. But only five games are listed in the article — not coincidentally, the five games listed on this site. The game had to come before Oct. 17, though… as an Oct. 20, 1947, report in the Gazette noted Byron’s victory against Cowley was the team’s fourth consecutive victory that season. On this site, it’s Byron’s third game. Another phantom.

Finally, as the Eagles polished off another championship in 1949 by beating Reliance in the title game, another Billings Gazette report said the title-game victory was Byron’s 40th in a row over a five-year period; another Gazette report earlier in the month said Byron hadn’t lost since losing to Bridger in 1944. Two problems: Byron and Bridger didn’t play in 1944; they played in 1945. And a five-year period only goes back to 1945.

To get to 43 victories between the Bridger loss on Oct. 26, 1945, and the Cowley loss on Oct. 13, 1950, the Eagles would have played more than eight games per season. It’s possible… but knowing the Eagles only played six games in 1947, right in the middle of the streak, puts a big question mark on the veracity of that mark of 43. Right now, no full season in Byron’s streak has more than eight verified games.

In short, right now, the only way Byron’s streak gets to 43 consecutive victories is if you don’t count losses. And, well, that’s antithetical to the idea of a winning streak. Even then, we’re still eight games short.

Let’s make this a little more confusing. A note in the May 3, 1951, Casper Star-Tribune said the “Six-man Football” magazine listed Byron’s national record at 42 games, not 43. The Billings Gazette echoed the 42-game mark in an article in December of that same year. The reason for all this attention to Byron’s record at the end of 1951? Well, the record, whatever it was, did not last a year. Claremont, South Dakota, overtook Byron for the national six-man record and had won 44 straight by the end of the 1951 season on its way to a 61-game winning streak.

I have always been hesitant to list Byron’s alleged 43-game winning streak as Wyoming’s best. The math just never added up. The ghosts are just too elusive.

Yet, as Sheridan engages in a chase for state records this fall, I felt it was important to at least acknowledge the possibility that the Eagles did, indeed, win 43 straight. It’s possible the Eagles have had the record all along. It’s possible that Sheridan could go 12-0 again in 2024 and still only have enough victories to tie Byron for the record.

But I don’t believe in ghosts. I believe in what I can see. For now, I see 28 games. And for me, that’s what Byron’s win streak has to be.

–patrick

2023 season records: A quick glance at this year’s top performers in Wyoming high school football

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Information from the 2023 season has been added to wyoming-football.com. Take a look around and let me know if you see anything weird, incorrect or misspelled.

Some of the more notable or interesting things that happened in 2023, as noted on the site:

Individual records: In all, 15 players reached the top 10 for either single-game or single-season performances in 2023.

Jackson’s Seb Brunner and Riverton’s Nick McIntosh finished third and fifth, respectively, in receiving yards in a season. Brunner finished with 1,205 yards, while McIntosh had 1,122.

Powell’s Trey Stenerson finished fourth all-time in receiving yards in a game with his 249-yard effort against Douglas.

Cheyenne East’s Cam Hayes finished seventh all-time in passing yards in a season with 2,762. Hayes also produced the No. 4 game all-time in passing yards, throwing for 457 in a loss to Sheridan during the regular season.

In nine-man, where records only go back to 2020, three players reached the top 10 in rushing yards in a season: Riverside’s Try Strohschein (fifth at 1,575 yards), Moorcroft’s Braydnn Terry (eighth at 1,382 yards) and Big Piney’s Caden Clifford (ninth at 1,286 yards). Three players also reached the top 10 in receiving yards in a season: Lusk’s Nathan Miller (third at 757 yards), Big Piney’s Karsyn Gurr (fifth at 634 yards) and Pine Bluffs’ Shawn Shmidl (sixth at 568 yards). In passing yards, Pine Bluffs’ Justin Lerwick finished fifth all-time with 1,485 yards, while Lusk’s Jackson Smith was seventh at 1,260 yards.

Miller also set nine-man’s single-game receiving yards record with 271 yards against Lingle. Miller also put up the No. 6 all-time game with 177 yards against Big Piney. Smith finished second in nine-man passing yards in a game with 397 against Lingle.

Dubois’ Wyatt Trembly finished third all-time in six-man in rushing yards in a season, putting up 2,201.

In a single game, Hulett’s Cash Huven notched 258 receiving yards against Kaycee, a mark good for No. 2 all-time. Snake River’s Seth Maxson put up 387 rushing yards against Dubois to finish eighth all-time.

Coaching records: The coaching records remained mostly intact, with no new coaches cracking 100 victories. However, Lyman’s Dale Anderson (98 victories) and Wright’s Larry Yeradi (96 victories) moved within striking distance for 2024. Coaches entering the top 100 all-time included Sheridan’s Jeff Mowry, Snake River’s Jack Cobb and Buffalo’s Rob Hammond. In all, 18 of the top 100 are current coaches, although two — Southeast’s Mark Bullington and Dubois’ David Trembly — have announced their retirements. Bullington ranked sixth all-time and second among active coaches with 172 victories, while Trembly was sixth among active coaches and 28th all-time with 106 victories.

Scoring records: Two Class 4A offenses set record paces with their offenses this season. Sheridan set the state 11-man record for points in a season with 608, while Cheyenne East finished third all-time with 566 total points. Sheridan’s average of 50.67 points per game was good enough for third all-time among 11-man teams, trailing only 2018 Big Horn (52.45 ppg) and 1924 Kemmerer (51.4 ppg).

Burlington, which averaged 64.4 points per game, finished eighth all-time in average points per game regardless of classification.

Three games from 2023 entered the top 10 in combined points. Kaycee’s 93-62 victory against Hulett is third all-time with 155 combined points. Burlington’s 80-73 playoff victory against Encampment is tied for fifth all-time at 153 combined points and also took the top spot as the highest scoring playoff game in state history. Burlington’s 80 points is also tied for eighth all-time for single-game points in the postseason by one team. Also in the top 10 is Hulett’s 79-72 victory against Midwest, which is tied for seventh with 151 combined points.

Meanwhile, Hulett set an unwanted record by giving up 615 points, the most points ever allowed by a team in state history. Hulett’s 68.33 points allowed per game ranked ninth in state history. Meanwhile, Midwest finished seventh on that list this season, allowing 69.00 points per game over its seven games this season.

Cheyenne East also crept into the top 10 in 11-man points allowed, giving up 448 to finish 10th.

Streaks: Two teams set long winning streaks in 2023. Sheridan will enter 2024 on a 31-game winning streak, the second-longest verified streak in state history behind Laramie’s 34 straight from 1959-63. Sheridan’s unbeaten streak is also fifth all-time.

Snake River also saw its 30-game winning streak come to an end in the state championship game. The Rattlers’ winning streak is tied for third-longest in state history, while their unbeaten streak is tied for sixth.

Cheyenne South’s losing streak reached 38 games, tied for the state record. The Bison’s home losing streak reached 18 games, also tied for the state record for losing streaks and second-longest for winless streaks. South’s road winless/losing streak reached 24 games, the fourth-longest road losing streak and sixth-longest road winless streak. Pinedale also ended its losing streak this season at 23 games, one of the 20 longest such streaks in state history, and ended its home losing streak at 16 games, tied for seventh-longest.

Snake River continued its hold on second place for scoring streaks, having scored points in 147 consecutive games back to 2009. Star Valley is now fourth on that list with points in 128 consecutive games back to 2012, while Sheridan is seventh with 107 consecutive games with points back to 2015.

Cokeville notched its 36th consecutive winning season, extending its state record, while Sheridan finished with its 17th consecutive winning season, No. 2 all-time behind Cokeville’s streak. Cokeville also had its 38th consecutive non-losing season (at .500 or better), also a state record.

Laramie set a state record for consecutive losing seasons. The Plainsmen’s 23rd consecutive losing season broke a tie with Newcastle from 1984-2005. Laramie still trails Wyoming Indian’s 24 consecutive non-winning seasons by one season.

Moorcroft moved up to fourth all-time with its 15th consecutive losing season, while Worland and Wyoming Indian moved into a tie for fifth with their 14th consecutive losing seasons. Cheyenne South and Wright are tied for eighth with 13 consecutive losing seasons. Wright has also gone 17 seasons without a winning season (.500 or worse), tied for fifth all-time.

Other notables: Sheridan’s championship was its 30th, an extension of its state record. The Broncs were the only Wyoming team to finish undefeated this season. … Star Valley won its 14th state title, Big Piney its ninth, Torrington its fifth, Burlington its third. … Casper Christian wrapped up its first full varsity season. … Cokeville continued to be the top-ranked team in all-time winning percentage at .730. Natrona leads the victories total with 632, while Sheridan is the only other school above 600, with 626. … Snake River set a state record with 24 consecutive weeks ranked No. 1, a streak that will be active entering the preseason poll for 2024. … Star Valley is now fifth all-time with 83 consecutive weeks being ranked in the weekly polls. Cheyenne East is 12th at 70 consecutive weeks, while Cody and Thunder Basin are tied at 16th with 63 consecutive weeks ranked.

–patrick