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

The champions, all-state teams and state results from the spring sports season have been added to champlists.com. Here’s a quick rundown of some of this spring’s highlights:

Softball: Thunder Basin won its second consecutive state championship after beating Cheyenne East in the championship. Three players earned their third consecutive all-state selection: Campbell County’s Avery Gray, Cheyenne East’s Trista Stehwien and Thunder Basin’s Lauren O’Loughlin. Gray is a junior.

Soccer: The boys teams from Thunder Basin and Worland and the girls teams from Kelly Walsh and Cody won team titles. Thunder Basin’s title was its first, while Worland (15-0-1) won its fifth title in a row, not including the canceled 2020 season. KW’s title was its first since 2005, while Cody, which went 17-0, won its second in a row and fifth in the past six state tournaments. Eleven players earned their third all-state nod, with Cody’s Ally Boysen, Jessa Lynn and Reece Niemann, Jackson’s Taya McClennen, Lander’s Delaney Sullivan and Laramie’s Allison Beeston earning those honors for girls and Cody’s Matt Nelson, Douglas’ Jackson Hughes, Sheridan’s Colson Coon, Thunder Basin’s Caleb Howell and Worland’s Court Gonsalez for boys’ teams. McLennen is a junior.

Track and field: Cheyenne Central’s girls won their fifth consecutive state track meet, while Powell won its third straight and Saratoga its second straight. Big Piney won the remaining girls title. Eleven girls state meet records fell: 4A and overall 400 (Addie Pendergast, Sheridan, 54.62); 1A 1600 (Bryli Groll, Cokeville, 5:21.44); 1A 3200 (Groll, 11:50.81); 1A 300 hurdles (Addison Barnes, Cokeville, 44.92); 3A 4×100 relay (Worland, 49.97); 1A 4×100 relay (Riverside, 50.82); 4A and overall 1600 medley relay (Cody, 4:12.26); 3A 1600 medley relay (Rawlins, 4:14.04); 1A 1600 medley relay (Burlington, 4:33.15); 4A and overall 4×800 relay (Cody, 9:26.48); 4A and overall long jump (Taliah Morris, Cheyenne East, 19-8.5).

Natrona, Powell, Big Horn and Burlington all won boys track titles. Natrona’s boys won their 24th state championship, tying Cheyenne Central for the most in state history. Nine boys state meet records fell: 2A 400 (Cody Hape, Burns, 48.46); 2A 800 (Colby Jenks, Big Piney, 1:53.64); 2A 3200 (Owen Burnett, Kemmerer, 9:26.38); 3A 110 hurdles (Gage Gose, Lander, 14.24); 3A and overall 300 hurdles (Gose, 36.10); 2A 300 hurdles (Jenks, 38.22); 2A 4×100 relay (Big Horn, 43.88); 4A 1600 medley relay (Sheridan, 3:32.09); 2A 1600 medley relay (Kemmerer, 3:37.26).

Four all-time best marks fell this season, including three at the state track meet. Gose turned in a 36.10 in the 300 hurdles at state, the only boys’ mark to fall this year. Pendergast ran a 23.58 in the 200 at the Trojan Invite in April, the only individual girls’ mark broken in 2023. The other two all-time bests set this year were in relays, as Cody set the best marks in both the 1600 medley relay (4:12.26) and the 4×800 relay (9:26.48), both at state.

If you see anything on the site that looks incorrect, give me a shout and let me know. 🙂

–patrick

A preliminary heat of the Class 1A girls 100-meter dash at the 1989 state track and field meet may have been the greatest race ever run in Wyoming track and field history.

If you believe the results.

In one heat, an existing class record for the 100 was broken* by four different runners.

First, some context: Michelle Thompson of Encampment had set the record for the 1A girls 100 in the 1987 state track preliminaries with a 13.00. In more than nine years of Class 1A 100-meter dash races at state before that, no 1A runner had ever been below 13.

Encampment senior Brandy James set a new record* by winning her heat in 12.25 seconds, beating the existing record by three-quarters of a second. And Albin senior Chris Brown was only one-one hundredth off that pace with a 12.26.

Also in the heat were Big Horn freshman Dawn Holder, who ran a 12.50, more than a half second faster than the record, and Hanna junior Kim Bonner, who ran a 12.72, whose fourth-place finish in the heat in and of itself would have chopped off more than a quarter-second off the existing record.

In one heat, four runners not only beat* that record of 13.00, they shattered it.

In the other 1A heat, Big Horn’s Anna Hubbard won — with a 13.51, apparently more a second and a quarter slower than the other heat. Albin’s Becca Brown was second at 13.77, Encampment’s Tami Levandowski was third at 14.01 and Hanna’s Sarah Briggs was fourth at 14.55.

In the finals, though, times from these record-setting* runners increased* precipitously. Chris Brown won, with a time of 13.26 — apparently, exactly one second slower than her preliminary time*. James, the record*-setter, finished second at 13.28. Hubbard, the winner of the “slow” heat, finished third at 13.45. Becca Brown was fourth at 13.65, Holder fifth at 13.78 and Bonner sixth at 13.82.

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By now, you’ve figured out that this heat was special. Here are the differences between the times* ran in the preliminaries and the times ran in the finals for the top six finishers.

RunnerPreliminary heatFinal heat (place)Difference
Chris Brown, Albin12.2613.26 (first)+1.00 seconds
Brandy James, Encampment12.2513.28 (second)+1.03 seconds
Anna Hubbard, Big Horn13.5113.45 (third)-0.06 seconds
Becca Brown, Albin13.7713.65 (fourth)-0.12 seconds
Dawn Holder, Big Horn12.5013.78 (fifth)+1.28 seconds
Kim Bonner, Hanna12.7213.82 (sixth)+1.10 seconds
“Fast heat” participants are in bold.

Based on the results above, we can surmise that in this “fast” heat, one of three things happened:

  1. Four runners, all in the same preliminary heat, ran the races of their lives and all broke the existing class record by more than a quarter-second each, only to run times that were all at least one full second slower during the championship heat, AND ran times that were more than a second better than anyone else in the second heat, AND ran times they could not even come close to duplicating in the final (or at any other time in their high school careers), OR…
  2. The timing was off for the first heat, and who knows what the times were? OR…
  3. The times were mis-reported as 12-point-whatever instead of 13-point-whatever.

My guess is No. 3. My guess is the record-setting run that James has had credit for the past 33 years was actually a 13.25, a quarter-second off what was the existing record but exactly in line with what she ended up running in the final. My guess is the wrong person has been credited with a state record this whole time.

The Wyoming High School Activities Association, for 33 years, has implicitly said No. 1 is what happened.

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Here’s where it gets crazy — this wasn’t the only time the timing failed on a girls 100-meter dash trial IN THIS MEET.

Something equally suspicious happened in Class 3A girls. And that one was caught.

In that classification, four runners in the second preliminary heat of the 100 all turned in 3A record*-breaking times, led by Torrington’s Robyn Young at 11.83 seconds. Following her were Thermopolis’ Betsy Snook (11.97), Wheatland’s Gina Sorenson (12.18) and Jackson’s Jennifer Goetz (12.30).

The existing Class 3A record at the time was the 12.45 run by Wheatland’s Ronda Munger in 1983. Just like in 1A, four girls, all in the same heat, had just destroyed* it.

And Young’s timed 11.83, as well as Snook’s timed 11.97, beat* the existing all-class state record of 11.99, set by Central’s Betty Jackson in 1982.

The winner of the other 3A girls 100 heat, the “slow” heat, was Jackson’s Heidi Eggers, who ran a 12.84.

So, yeah, these times seemed unusual. Sure, Young was the defending Class 3A girls 100-meter dash champion. Her winning time in 1988, though? 13.13.

Young, despite setting the new record*, did not defend her title. The next day, Eggers won the final in 12.99. Young, the record*-setter the day before, ran a 13.11 to finish third; Snook was fourth at 13.48; Goetz was sixth at 13.56.

Just like in 1A, everyone in the “fast” heat in 3A was more than a second slower in the finals than their preliminary time*.

For the second time in a matter of moments, a girls 100-meter dash preliminary resulted in times that were way off.

But only one got attention.

One fraudulent record disappeared from the records. The other remained.

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News coverage in the Casper Star-Tribune hinted at the controversy on the day. Here’s part of the story from the CST’s Sally Ann Shurmur (then Michalov) on May 20, discussing the 3A race specifically:

“Although a heathy wind was blowing and gusting throughout the day, Wyoming High School Activities Association Commissioner Mike Colbrese said all times and distances would stand as set, regardless of possible wind aid, because there are no facilities for measuring that at the stadium.

“Colbrese added that several coaches had objected to that decision.”

In retrospect, the coaches had a point. Just the wrong one.

It wasn’t the wind that was pushing runners to amazing times. If that were the case, times across all classifications would have reflected this, for both boys and girls. This didn’t happen. Instead, something threw off the timing system for those two heats.

Further proof of the sketchiness of the times put up in those two preliminary races were the performances of the runners the week before state.

In addition to James and Young, all the other runners in those two preliminary heats in 1A and 3A — Chris Brown, Holder, Bonner, Snook, Sorenson, Goetz — weren’t close to the times they ran* in their preliminary race in their respective regionals, either. For example, James’ winning time at the Class 1A Southwest regional meet the week prior to state was 13.50 seconds. In the same race, Bonner finished third at 14.09. Moreover, from available records and results, none of those sprinters had ever came close to touching those times before, and they never came close to touching them again.

In fact, in the week before the 1989 regional track meets, Cheyenne East’s Shanelle Porter was listed by the Casper Star-Tribune as the leader in the state for girls in the 100-meter dash. Her top time was listed as 12.42. Then at regionals, she ran a meet record 11.99; only Tongue River’s Lacey Cooper (12.45), Kelly Walsh’s Ann-Marie Gosar (12.46), and Young (12.8) were at or below 12.8 in regional finals. The fastest 1A time at a regional was Hubbard’s 13.28 at the Northeast Regional.

So, either four runners obliterating* a 1A record of 13.00 was either a timing mistake, or it was the greatest race in state meet history.

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For one heat at state, the mistake was rectified.

The 3A and overall record that Young had broken* did not last. Her record* time was eventually stricken from the WHSAA’s records; when, exactly, is unsure, but it happened sometime between the end of the 1989 meet and the 1990 state meet, where Jackson’s 11.99 was again listed as the overall record. The current Class 3A record time is held by Rawlins’ Kereston Thomas, who ran a 12.12 in 2011. Munger’s 12.45, retroactively reinstated as the 3A record, stood until 2008.

As it turns out, four people really didn’t break the Class 3A record in one preliminary heat, all by healthy margins.

Here’s the thing: Despite what the existing records say, it didn’t happen in Class 1A, either.

James’ time, and the times of the others in her preliminary heat, didn’t get the same scrutiny as Young, for two big reasons. First, Young’s time was for an overall state meet record and James’ record was only for the 1A classification record. The prestige of the overall record drew more scrutiny to it. Second, James’ time came in a preliminary race — it didn’t affect who actually won the individual state championship or any team scores.

Regardless, James’ record still stands.

And we are mistakenly left to believe that this preliminary heat from 1989 is the greatest race in state track and field history — a race where three (and almost four) sprinters put up times that only one Class 1A sprinter, before or since, was ever able to come close to matching.

Here are the 10 fastest* Class 1A girls 100-meter dash times ever run at the Wyoming state track and field meet:

RunnerSchoolTimeType of heatYear
Brandy JamesEncampment12.25*Preliminary1989
Chris BrownAlbin12.26*Preliminary1989
Maggie OchsnerLingle12.32Final2007
Maggie OchsnerLingle12.46Preliminary2006
Dawn HolderBig Horn12.50*Preliminary1989
Sydney HolidayTen Sleep12.50Final2017
Kaelyn RileyLingle12.51Preliminary2019
Trae PatchLingle12.55Preliminary2007
Maggie OchsnerLingle12.61Final2006
Sydney HolidayTen Sleep12.62Preliminary2017

In all 1A heats, the 13-second barrier in the 100 meters has been broken 43 times by 23 runners, and the 12.50 mark has been reached or broken* six times by four runners, as noted above.

Ochsner’s slowest time across two 1A meets was 12.64. She went on to become a Division I sprinter and hurdler, running at both Wyoming and Weber State.

Holiday transferred to Broomfield High School in Colorado for her junior and senior seasons. She’s currently on the track and field team at the University of Oregon, one of the top track programs in the country.

Patch and Riley both ran track at Chadron State.

By all indications, James, Brown and Holder never participated in track and field in college.

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The rightful record-holder of the Class 1A 100-meter dash state meet record is Lingle’s Maggie Ochsner.

Ochsner’s winning time of 12.32 seconds in 2007 is the best the state has ever seen at the Class 1A level. A four-time champion in the 100, Ochsner’s 12.32 as a junior broke the record she had set the year before of 12.46, run in the preliminaries; that race broke what should have been the existing record, the 12.70 that Lingle’s Hilary Larson ran in 1996.

Kaycee’s Heather Perry should have gotten credit in 1994 for a state record with her 12.82. That beat the mark set the year before by Pine Bluffs’ Becca Christensen, who had a 12.90 in the preliminaries in 1993 and should have been recognized as the first 1A runner to break 13-flat.

And Thompson’s 13.00 from 1987 should have stood until then.

One kink is that the current iteration of record-keepers has never had anyone question this record and would have a tough time overturning a record that’s been on the books for 33 years. In the 18 years that Ron Laird has been the commissioner of the Wyoming High School Activities Association, he said no one has asked him about the validity of this record (until now).

“We have never had anyone question it, and would have no way of knowing, at this time, if it is not accurate,” Laird said via email this summer.

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The 3A and 1A mis-times overshadowed someone who was actually running some record-setting times in 1989: East’s Porter.

A junior at the time, she won the 100, 200 and 400 for Cheyenne East at the 1989 meet, setting state meet records in the 200 (24.86) and 400 (55.86). (By the way, the state championship meet mark Porter set as a senior in 1990 (54.78) still stands as the all-class state meet record.) Her 100-winning time of 12.18 seconds actually was legit.

I wonder: If the “Best of the Best” award were around in 1989 — it didn’t start until 1994 — what would have happened? Would the debate over that award (Young’s sketchy 11.83 or Porter’s legit 12.18) have shined more light on James’ 1A time*?

When reached via Facebook and later contacted via email, James, now Brandy Spinda, did not respond to questions about her performance at the 1989 state track meet.

Regardless, one of the beauties of time, whether it’s 12.25 seconds or 33 years, is perspective. As time passes, we learn, and we gain wisdom from that new perspective.

That perspective is only meaningful, though, if acted upon.

Although the evidence will forever be no more than circumstantial, it’s also hard to overlook because it all points to one critical conclusion — that James’ time, like Young’s, was clearly inaccurate.

Yet, for 33 years on and counting, it still stands as the benchmark for all Class 1A sprinters to try to hit.

Young’s stricken 11.83 is a footnote in the state’s track and field history. James’ 12.25* should be, too.

–patrick

This post was updated at 5:04 p.m. July 28 to fix an incorrect first name.

The spring sports season has come to a close, and with it the 2021-22 Wyoming high school sports season.

Information from the track and field, soccer and softball championships has been put onto sister site Champlists. Check it out. Soccer and softball all-state teams are still to come, but everything else is there. If anything looks weird, wonky or wrong, let me know.

One thing that jumped out at me as I was putting together the track and field champions was just how many athletes had won their first state championship in a particular event for their school. In all, this happened 24 times this weekend, including with 12 relay teams, a number that seemed much higher than usual. They included:

BOYS
Jaycee Herbert, Wind River, 100
Isaiah Haliburton, Thunder Basin, 400
Rodee Brow, Wheatland, 400 (This is the first Wheatland champ in the 400/440 since the start of the state meet in 1922.)
Wheatland, 4×100 relay
Thunder Basin and Tongue River, 4×400 relay
Lander, Tongue River and Lingle, 1600 medley relay
Mountain View, 4×800 relay

GIRLS
Vaidyn Vanderploeg, Riverside, 100 and 200
Karcee Maya, Kaycee, 400
Emma Gonzalez, Burns, 3200
Gabby Mendoza, Thunder Basin, 300 hurdles
Glenrock, 4×100 relay
Star Valley, 4×400 relay
Jackson and Saratoga, 1600 medley relay
Mountain View, 4×800 relay
Katy Dexter, Pinedale, discus
Carly Moore, Wright, pole vault
Angie Logsdon, Southeast, pole vault
Whitney Bennett, Saratoga, triple jump

Snowy and cold weather on the first two days of the meet prevented this from being a huge record-breaking weekend, as only one overall state meet record and only six other classification records were broken, including four in Class 1A boys.

The overall record broken, though, was a big one — Kelly Walsh’s Cameron Burkett in the shot put. His mark of 65-10.25 on the throw below is both a state meet and an all-time state record.

The other classification records were:
Colby Jenks, Big Piney, 2A boys 800, 1:55.59
Southeast, 1A boys 4×100 relay, 43.35
Lingle, 1A boys 4×400 relay, 3:27.43
Ryan Clapper, Southeast, 1A boys 200, 21.79
Kyland Fuller, Lingle, 1A boys 400, 50.02
Shelby Ekwall, Southeast, 1A girls shot put, 41-8.75

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On the soccer side of things, Worland’s fourth consecutive Class 3A boys championship (2018-19 and 2021-22, with no tournament in 2020) is a new state record for consecutive championships. Previously, Jackson (2014-16) and Cheyenne East (1987-89) had won three in a row, and Jackson (2019, 2021-22) won its third straight this year.

Additionally, Worland’s 7-0 victory against Torrington in the 3A championship game represented both the most goals scored by a winning team in a state championship game and the biggest blowout in a championship game.

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Softball, meanwhile, is still in its infancy in Wyoming. Thunder Basin won the championship, giving the city of Gillette its second title in two years, following up on Campbell County’s title last season in the sport’s inaugural year.

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As noted, the records for this year’s performances are all up on Champlists. I hope to continue to add to and grow the site to incorporate more of Wyoming’s high school sports history. I’ve already heard from one of you just this week about trying to add year-by-year soccer standings, something I’m excited to get into but would also love some help on… But what else would YOU like to see researched about Wyoming’s high school sports history that isn’t already up on Champlists? Let me know and I’ll see what I can do.

–patrick

Photo of Ned Turner posing in a starting position.
Edwin “Ned” Turner poses for a photo while at the University of Michigan in 1932. Turner, a graduate of Natrona County High School in Casper, ran in the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles, placing fifth in the 800-meter run. Photo courtesy of the Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan.

Exactly 89 years ago today, a Casper native took to the Olympic track at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and held his own with the best runners in the world.

Today, though, Ned Turner’s accomplishments are nearly forgotten.

Edwin T. “Ned” Turner finished fifth in the 800-meter run at the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles. He was one of the first, if not the first, Wyoming athletes to compete in the Olympics, a list that includes celebrated names like Rulon Gardner, John Godina, Lance Deal, Heather Moody, Jesseca Cross, Jennifer Nichols and a handful of others.

Turner was just 19 when he ran in the Olympics. A junior at the University of Michigan, Turner had made his mark with guts. A Casper Tribune-Herald article from 1952 noted that “Ned was not a sprint finisher, as are many middle distance runners, but he was noted for his strength, endurance, and untiring running ability.”

Ned Turner's yearbook photo
Edwin “Ned” Turner’s photo from the 1929 Natrona County High School yearbook.

Despite his world-class finish in the Olympics, Turner was never an NCAA champion at Michigan. Moreover, he was only once a Wyoming state track champion, winning the 440-yard run as a junior at Natrona in 1928. He had appendicitis as a senior and missed the entire track and field season while recovering.

But at Michigan, Turner grew and matured; after all, he was just 16 when he graduated from NCHS. He qualified for the Olympics by finishing third in the AAU championships, which doubled as the U.S. Olympic trials, in mid-July. Once at the Olympics, Turner finished third in his opening heat, good enough to make the final race.

The 800-meter final itself put Turner in a field that saw almost everyone, including Turner, run a time that was better than the gold-medal time from the 1928 Olympic 800-meter run. Great Britain’s Tommy Hampson ran a then-world record time of 1 minute, 49.7 seconds to win the race. Turner finished fifth in 1:52.5.

You can watch the race on YouTube here. Turner is wearing a white tank and white shorts and has dark hair, but it’s hard to make him out in the footage as that was the attire for several racers. See full race and heat results here.

Turner led a full, but short, life after his Olympic opportunity. He graduated from Michigan in 1933 and turned to business. In 1952, an article in the Casper Tribune-Herald described Turner as “a successful business executive” in Michigan. Turner worked in a variety of industries, including industrial machinery and paper, and lived in New York in addition to Michigan. Like many young men of his time, his career was interrupted during World War II, when he served in the Navy. Turner died Aug. 17, 1967, in Michigan, a month short of his 55th birthday.

As Wyomingites watch the Tokyo Summer Olympics this month, let’s make sure the name “Turner” stays in the conversation.

–patrick

Wyoming, meet Bob Wood. Again, for the first time.

Bob Wood, Ten Sleep distance runner.

One of Wyoming’s most accomplished high school distance runners — and the pioneer of a feat that’s quite uncommon — had his accomplishments more or less lost to time.

A 1967 graduate of Ten Sleep High School, Wood carved out his Wyoming track legacy by becoming what I believe is the state’s first four-time individual event champion. He won the Class C mile run four years in a row from 1964-67.

But this accomplishment somehow was lost or forgotten to history. Only in the last two weeks did I add Wood and Deaver’s Jim Gomendi, the Class C champion in the 880-yard run from 1969-72, to my list of four-time event champions, a list that only includes six people and seven events over 99 years of state track and field history.

The problem? I don’t know if that list is complete.

Inspired by uncovering Wood’s accomplishments — and by the upcoming 100th anniversary of the state track and field meet, which is coming in 2022 — I have renewed my efforts to uncover all the individual event champions for all of the state track and field meets back to their start nearly 100 years ago.

Of the 7,856 individual event and relay champions since 1922, I have found 7,670, including 100% of the girls champions.

I’m almost 98% there. And I’m asking for your help with the remaining 2%.

Below, I’ve outlined what I’m missing: the 210 event champions, the 121 first names and the 33 marks or times I’m missing from completing this record of Wyoming’s state track and field champions.

The hope this that, once this project is done, no one else will slip through the cracks in the record-keeping like Bob Wood once did.

Email me your updates to pschmiedt@yahoo.com or leave a comment on this post letting me know any missing info that will help complete this project. To see the project in full to this point, visit the Wyoming track and field champions archive.

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Lists last updated 9:30 a.m. MDT June 23. Names, times/marks and events that have been found have been removed from this post for clarity.

First names are missing for the following champions:
Mountain View: Sims, high jump, 1961.
Reliance: Jurich, discus/shot put, 1935.

Event winners and times/marks are missing for these years, classes and/or events:
1969 Class B: long jump.
1969 Class C: discus.

Finally, the winning times or marks are missing from the following:
1969 Class B: shot put (won by Byron’s Rick Tanner)
1951 Class B: 880 relay (won by Lyman)
1936 all-class: 880 relay (won by Natrona)
1927 all-class: 100 (won by Worland’s Carl Dir), mile medley relay (won by Thermopolis)

Thanks in advance for your help!

–patrick

Ten Sleep's Bob Wood in 1967
Ten Sleep’s Bob Wood in 1967, from his senior yearbook.

Bob Wood’s initial passion was basketball.

He only went out for track because his coach at Ten Sleep, Joe Daniel, asked him.

He only ran the mile because Daniel made freshmen run the mile; no one else on the team would.

However, by the end of Wood’s high school career in 1967, he was a four-time state champion in the mile; he is believed to be Wyoming’s first four-time event champion in track and field.

Wood’s success at Ten Sleep was just the start of the intertwining of his fate and his future, leading to his career as one of the most influential people in American distance running.

Auspicious start

Before Wood left Wyoming, made international running connections and established himself in high places, he dodged cow patties on a makeshift practice track in Ten Sleep.

In Wood’s first timed mile – a practice run on a marked-off cow pasture near the school – Wood ran the distance in 5 minutes, 15 seconds, “not knowing what I was doing,” he said.

Ten Sleep’s mile record at the time was 5:26.

Later that week, in his first high school meet on an actual track in Morton, Wood ran a 5:06, bettering the school record by 20 seconds.

By the state meet, Wood had continued to improve and was one of the favorites to win the mile in Class C, the 1960s equivalent of Class 1A. But he wasn’t THE favorite, so Wood and Daniel figured a fifth-place finish would be good.

At the midpoint of the race, Wood was in fifth, ready to meet expectations. Then the first-place runner dropped out of the race, puking.

All of a sudden, Wood was in fourth, and the favorite was out.

Expectations flipped, and Wood flipped the field. He started picking off runners one by one and took the lead for good on the last half of the final lap.

Down the final stretch, “I could hear my coach over everyone, saying, ‘You better win it now,'” Wood said. ” … I was just overwhelmed that I had won the thing.”

He wasn’t done winning.

As a sophomore, Wood fought off both a kidney infection and a bad midseason cold and, despite only running the mile once during the regular season, repeated as state champion.

Wood won both the Class B cross country championship and the Class C mile title as a junior, but by then, he started looking for more competition – and found it in Lander’s Nelson Moss. Even though the two ran in different classifications, they were Wyoming’s best distance runners, competing against each other.

Wood’s senior year, 1967, brought both a crowning achievement and a short-lived record.

With no Class C competition to push him, Wood set his own pace in the mile, hoping for a time that would hold up against Moss’s time. Wood finished in 4:29.9, a time that did more than just push his rival. It set an all-class state meet record.

The record lasted about 20 minutes, until the end of the Class AA race, when Moss notched a 4:26.6 to reset the all-class record Wood had just broken.

The newspaper reports the following day were filled with reports of the Wood-Moss mile record trade. No report mentioned that, most likely, Wood had just become Wyoming’s first four-time event champion, a feat that hadn’t been accomplished since the state meets started in 1922, and repeated since by only five other male high school athletes in Wyoming.

After Ten Sleep

Wood’s college career at the University of Utah never blossomed the way he hoped it would. He raced behind an all-American as a freshman, limiting his opportunities to be a frontrunner as he had in high school, and then took a two-year Mormon mission to Scotland.

After he returned, he fought injuries, and his motivation waned.

“I came back, but I never really had the fire,” Wood said.

Nevertheless, once his collegiate career was over, he found ways to stay involved in track and field. He was an assistant coach at Utah and also coached at the high school level in Utah. But when he was passed over to be Utah’s head track coach, Wood left coaching.

His next career move, though, kept him in track and field circles for years to come.

It all started with a conversation with distance runner Paul Cummings. Cummings was the NCAA champion in the mile while at BYU and was entering the world of professional running.

He needed an agent.

He told Wood: “You’re the only guy I trust.”

Wood hesitated but finally relented. He became Cummings’ agent. From there, Wood’s reputation, and his influence, in distance running grew. And grew. And grew.

Over his career, Wood represented hundreds of runners, including 54 Olympians from 22 different countries, although he eventually specialized in working with American runners. He used that influence to become an active part of USA Track and Field, serving as the head of long distance running and on the national executive committee from 1992 to 1997.

Wood remains proud that he ran his agency as a solo operation for four decades – no assistants, no partners – and represented some of the world’s best runners.

“They hire me because they want me, and that’s why I did what I did the way I did it,” Wood said.

Today, Wood is mostly retired but still represents a handful of runners with whom he has built close relationships.

More than his career, though, he’s proud of his family. He and his wife Kay have been married for more than 40 years, building their lives in the Salt Lake City area. He has three sons. Samuel, Seth and Isaac have molded their own careers, Samuel and Isaac around track and field, Seth with linguistics.

Wood had eased into a steady retirement rhythm until March 17, less than a month ago.

That’s when Wood had the first colonoscopy of his life.

The procedure led doctors to find a growth the size of a tangerine.

On March 30, Wood underwent surgery. Wood says the doctors “got it all,” and now he’s back home, with no further complications or necessary treatments in the foreseeable future.

When recalling his life, from his family to his track accomplishments to his career to his health, he often uses the same word: “Blessed.”

“I can’t complain, for a kid from Ten Sleep,” he said.

+++

Coming Friday: Bob Wood’s place in Wyoming track and field history is set, but others’ accomplishments have been lost to time. You can help fix that.

–patrick

Not long ago, I shared that I’ve been doing a lot of Wyoming track and field research, trying to find individual state champions back to 1922.

I shared the results of that research here. I found a lot, but not everything. So now I’m asking you, dear reader, for some help.

I need first names of these state track champions to help make these listings complete.

Y’all came through the last time I did this, in 2014. And I’m ready to ask for your help again.

First name needs are listed first; missing event champions are listed below that. As I receive updates, I will cross them off this list.

To submit names or missing information, leave a comment on this post or email me directly at pschmiedt@yahoo.com.

+++

Missing first names

BOYS
50
Class AA
: Hays, Riv, 1935; Dir, Wor, 1927; Cover, The, 1926; J. Driscall, The, 1925.

100
Class AA
: Dawson, Whe, 1948; Moon, Kem, 1945; Hays, Riv, 1935; Melinkovich, RS, 1934; Starman, RS, 1931; Dir, Wor, 1927; J. Driscall, The, 1925.
Class A: Bishop, Riv, 1954.
Class B: Pingrey, DF, 1960; Davinson, Kem, 1957; Garrett, Pin, 1951.

220
Class AA
: Dawson, Whe, 1948; Moon, Kem, 1945; Hays, Riv, 1935; Starman, RS, 1931; Dir, Wor, 1927; J. Driscall, The, 1925; Driscoll, The, 1924; Teninty, The, 1922.
Class B: Davinson, Kem, 1957; Berrier, Lym, 1951.

440
Class AA
: Hammer, StM, 1950; Anderson, GR, 1945; Jaycox, Pav, 1942; Raymon, GR, 1941; Ono, GR, 1940; Landman, CC, 1936; Knepper, Buf, 1935; Gamble, Riv, 1930; Turner, NC, 1928; Dir, Wor, 1927; Ingraham, The, 1926; Northrup, Pow, 1925; Ekdall, CC, 1924; Coleman, Lan, 1923; Hanson, Glk, 1922.
Class A: Fisher, Lus, 1970; Fowled, GR, 1954; Harkins, Wor, 1952.
Class B: Brown, Alb, 1965; Martinez, MV, 1962; Herrera, Lin, 1960; Reece, Lym, 1954; Gregory, HS, 1951.
Class C: Rademan, LaG, 1965; Brown, Alb, 1963; Rochlitz, Carp, 1960.

880
Class AA
: Dolan, Lar, 1970; Carroll, Pow, 1950; Wallace, StM, 1947; Sullenberger, Tor, 1946; Heron, Wor, 1944; Allen, Lar, 1942; Rogers, Dou, 1941; King, RS, 1936/1937; Pirtle, GR, 1935; Thatcher, Dou, 1926; Northrup, Pow, 1925; Gobel, NC, 1924; Smith, Gre, 1923; Porter, Park, 1922.
Class A: Boyd, SS, 1965; Johnson, Tor, 1958.
Class B: Asay, Byr, 1965; Spoonhunter, SS, 1961; Smith, Bas, 1960; Weglin, Hunt, 1954.
Class C: McKinney, Vet, 1965; Yeik, Yod, 1962/1963; Hillbird, RR, 1957.

Mile
Class AA
: Lind, CC, 1970; Carpenter, CC, 1969; Smith, Eva, 1947; Collins, RS, 1946; Buchan, RS, 1944/1945; Davidson, Lar, 1942; Scriffin, The, 1940; Chavarria, Tor, 1937; Landman, CC, 1936; Redfern, Whe, 1935; Thoelke, Lus, 1932; Brown, Buf, 1931; West, NC, 1929; Esmay, Dou, 1927; Thatcher, Dou, 1926; Brown, Buf, 1925; Pegg, Bas, 1922.
Class A: Mullens, UP, 1965; Walters, Wor, 1960; Pendley, Pow, 1959; Richard/Richards, StM, 1957/1958; Laue, Riv, 1954.
Class B: Soule, PB, 1970; Brown, SS, 1963; Goggles, SS, 1961; Baird, Cowl, 1956.
Class C: Carter, TS, 1969/1970; Wood, TS, 1965; Vieyra, RR, 1962/1963; Chamberlain, LaG, 1960; Martin, FtL, 1958; S. Starks, Enc, 1957.

2 Mile
Class AA: Carmago, CC, 1969.
Class C: Thomas, Arv, 1970; Allary, LaG, 1969.

120 hurdles
Class AA
: Dowler, CC, 1957; Moore, Cod, 1950/1951; Espach, Lar, 1949; Rauchfuss, Pow, 1947; J. Croft, Tor, 1946; Bloom, Pow, 1945; Stine, GR, 1942; T. Chapin, Riv, 1935; Gentle, Dou, 1932/1933; Montague, Lus, 1930; Teninty, The, 1922.
Class A: Kemp, GR, 1969; Byers, Lan, 1960; Hanlin, Dou, 1957; Kincaid, Cod, 1952.
Class B: Fullmer, Lin, 1970; Williams, Byr, 1969; Sievers, Pin, 1965; Pingrey, DF, 1960; Fiero, Lym, 1956; Jackson, Han, 1953/1954; Gregory, HS, 1951.
Class C: Smith, Bur, 1965; Rudloff, Gld, 1962; Ainsworth, Yod, 1961; Martinez, Yod, 1958; Huckfeldt, Vet, 1957.

180 hurdles
Class AA: Freeman, Lar, 1969.
Class A: Hagemeister, SS, 1965; Noel, GR, 1954.
Class B: Ecklund, Alb, 1970; Fullmer, Lin, 1965; Pingrey, DF, 1960; Rees, Lym, 1958; Davinson, Kem, 1957; Davison, Pin, 1956; Ellison, Day, 1954; Ellison, Bas, 1953; Berrier, Lym, 1951.
Class C: Kaufman, LaG, 1969; Smith, Bur, 1965; Martinez, Yod, 1957.

200 hurdles
Class AA
: Rauchfuss, Pow, 1947; J. Croft, Tor, 1946; Stine, GR, 1942; Sims, RS, 1941; Berta, RS, 1937.

220 hurdles
Class AA
: Gentle, Dou, 1933; Brundage, Cod, 1931; Montague, Lus, 1930; E. Penfield, The, 1925; Teninty, The, 1922.

Discus
Class AA
: Quinlavan, CE, 1963; Mrak, RS, 1947; Neilson, Eva, 1946; Kienlen, GR, 1945; Heron, Wor, 1944; Steiteler, RS, 1940; Steniac, Sup, 1936; Jurich, Reli, 1935; Fitzmorris/Fitzmaurice, CC, 1932/1933; Cover, The, 1925/1926; Monihan, Whe, 1924; Rhone, CC, 1923; Peyton, Dou, 1922.
Class A: A. Anderson, Dou, 1960.
Class B: Haynes, Gld, 1958; Partridge, Cowl, 1954; Walters, Lin, 1951.
Class C: McPherren, TS, 1965; Rochlitz, Carp, 1957.

High jump
Class AA
: Kipper, Lar, 1970; McGarvin, Wor, 1951; Maher, GR, 1951; Gregory, HS, 1950; Howery, HS, 1948; Heron, Wor, 1944; West, Whe, 1941; Sinadin, Mid, 1938; Fleischle, CC, 1936; T. Chapin, Riv, 1935; Thompson, Mid, 1931; Markley, Pow, 1929; Riche, NC, 1928; Ingraham, The, 1926; Haith, PB, 1923.
Class A: Powers, Gre, 1970; Hatch, Kem, 1963; LeBar, Dou, 1960; Nelson, Gil, 1957; Lawrence, Whe, 1956; Morey, Riv, 1956; Royer, Pow, 1956; Vines, Gil, 1954.
Class B: Cochrane, UP, 1963; Stoddard, MV, 1963; Dalton, Cowl, 1960; Raymond, Mort, 1958; Gregory, HS, 1951.
Class C: Dooley, Brl, 1970; McPherren, TS, 1963; Herring, Enc, 1960; Palmer, Bur, 1959; Whited, Carp, 1957.

Long jump
Class AA
: Fermelia, RS, 1948; Jew, RS, 1945; H. Braden, GR, 1941; Fleischlie, CC, 1936; Freeley, Cod, 1933; J. Debernardi, RS, 1931.
Class A: Jay, Tor, 1970; Benson, Gil, 1969; Thurmond, Dou, 1957; Lawrence, Whe, 1956.
Class B: Brown, Alb, 1965; Wirth, Byr, 1963; Brisch, Han, 1958; Stephenson, Lin, 1951.
Class C: Swarm, LaG, 1965; Brown, Alb, 1963.

Pole vault
Class AA
: Haug, GR, 1951; Walker, GR, 1945; McKethan, The, 1944; Garrett, CC, 1935; Broderick, Mid, 1929; Cover, The, 1923/1924; Walters, Dou, 1922.
Class A: Schulyer, Gre, 1960; Brow, Dou, 1960.
Class B: Sussex, LaG, 1970; Gurney, BP, 1965; Mollenbrink, Sun, 1959; Brown, DF, 1958; Trenholm, Gld, 1958; Johnson, Bas, 1958; Partridge, Cowl, 1954; Robbins, Sunr, 1951.
Class C: Garrison, Gld, 1962.

Shot put
Class AA
: Terwilliger, GR, 1950; Taggart, Cod, 1945; Bozanic, Lan, 1944; Stevens, Eva, 1941; Perkovich, RS, 1937; Thobro, RS, 1936; Jurich, Reli, 1935; Morgan, CC, 1934; Davidson, CC, 1932/1933; King, Cod, 1930; Major, Cod, 1928; Whelan, CC, 1925; Beall, Bas, 1922/1924.
Class A: Ricks, Jac, 1969; Schuyler, Gre, 1965; Vines, Gil, 1954.
Class B: McIntosh, Pin, 1957; Lookingbill, Mort, 1955; McColley, PB, 1953; Cozier, Pin, 1951.
Class C: Barkell, Egb, 1957.

Javelin
Class AA
: Begovich, RS, 1940; Loffing, Tor, 1938; Perkovich, RS, 1936/1937; Powell, The, 1933; Erickson, CC, 1932; Walters, Cod, 1931; Major, Cod, 1928; Erickson, CC, 1927; Cover, The, 1926/1924.

GIRLS
50
Class AA
: C. Saunders, Gil, 1972.

100
Class B
: C. Curtis, Bas, 1971.

220
Class B
: C. Curtis, Bas, 1971.

440
Class AA
: K. Madrid, Lar, 1971.
Class B: M. Fuller, Chu, 1971.

880
Class B
: S. Brunson, Sun, 1971.

50 hurdles
Class AA: S. Scutt, KW, 1971.
Class B: F. Williams, Bas, 1971.

High jump
Class AA
: L. Schuller, Wor, 1971.

Long jump
Class B
: F. Williams, Bas, 1971.

Shot put
Class B
: C. Standefer, TS, 1971.

Softball throw
Class B
: F. Williams, Bas, 1971.

+++

In addition, winners are missing for these years, classes and/or events:

BOYS
All classes, all events: 1972, 1968, 1967, 1966
1971 Class B
: triple jump.
1969 Class B: two mile, discus, long jump, shot put, triple jump.
1969 Class C: discus, long jump, triple jump.
1965 Class A: discus, high jump, long jump, pole vault.
1965 Class B: discus, high jump.
1965 Class C: high jump, pole vault, shot put.
1964 Class C: long jump.
1962 Class AA: discus, high jump, pole vault, shot put.
1962 Class A: discus, long jump, shot put.
1962 Class C: discus, long jump, shot put.
1961 Class A: 120 high hurdles, high jump, long jump, pole vault.
1961 Class B: 120 high hurdles, 880 relay, discus, high jump, pole vault.
1961 Class C: 100, 220, 440, mile, 180 low hurdles, 880 relay, mile relay, discus, long jump, pole vault, shot put.
1960 Class A: long jump.
1960 Class B: discus, long jump, shot put.
1960 Class C: discus, long jump, shot put.
1959 Class A: 100, 220, 440, high hurdles, low hurdles, 880 relay, discus, long jump, pole vault, shot put.
1959 Class B: 440, high hurdles, high jump, long jump, shot put.
1959 Class C: 100, 220, 440, high hurdles, low hurdles, 880 relay, mile relay, long jump.
1958 Class C: 880, low hurdles, discus, long jump, pole vault.
1956 Class B: 440, 880, discus, high jump, pole vault, shot put.
1955 Class A: 100, 440, mile, high hurdles, low hurdles, high jump.
1955 Class B: 100, 220, mile, high hurdles, low hurdles, 440 relay, discus, high jump, pole vault.
1954 Class A: discus, pole vault.
1954 Class B: long jump, shot put.
1953 Class A: 100, 220, 440, 880, mile, high hurdles, low hurdles, 880 relay, high jump, long jump, pole vault, shot put.
1953 Class B: 220, 440, 880, mile, discus, high jump, long jump.
1952 Class A: high jump, pole vault.
1952 Class B: 100, 220, 440, high hurdles, low hurdles, 880 relay, discus, high jump, long jump, pole vault, shot put.
1951 Class B: 880 relay.
1934 all-class: 50, 440, 880, mile, 120 high hurdles, 200 low hurdles, discus, high jump, javelin, long jump, pole vault.

Again, if you can help, post a comment here or email me at pschmiedt@yahoo.com.

–patrick

I’ve been doing a lot of research on state track meets this summer. With that, I’ve revamped and updated the listing of Wyoming’s state track and field champions to reflect winners back to 1922.

Wyoming’s track and field champions are listed here. Previously, I listed girls champions back to 1973 and boys champions to 1974, the extent to which the Wyoming High School Activities Association archives exist. Now, girls listings go back to 1970, the year of the first girls state track meet, and boys listings to 1922, the year of the first boys state track meet.

I used online archives available through the Casper Star-Tribune to access old records. However, not all years or events are available in the Star-Tribune’s online archive. Here’s what I am missing:

All results needed: 1972 (boys only), 1968, 1967, 1966.

Years where winners for at least one event are needed: 1971 (Class C), 1969 (Class B and C), 1965 (Class A, B and C), 1964 (Class C), 1962 (Class AA, A and C), 1961 (Class A, B and C), 1960 (Class A, B and C), 1959 (Class A, B and C), 1958 (Class C), 1956 (Class B), 1955 (Class A and B), 1954 (Class A and B), 1953 (Class A and B), 1952 (Class A and B), 1951 (Class B), 1934 (one class), 1925 (one class).

As you can see, this is a work in progress. But that’s OK! If you can provide any help filling in holes in the listings I have posted here, email me at pschmiedt@yahoo.com. Here are the listings.

I am also in search of first names for some of the new champion listings. I will put up a separate post detailing those needs in the next week or two.

–patrick

I’ve subscribed to an online database that has granted me access to some more newspaper archives, particularly for papers outside of Wyoming. With that access, I knocked 22 games off the missing games list and found incomplete, but helpful, info for one more:

Found the score for Hulett’s 16-8 loss to the Spearfish, S.D., JV on Oct. 17, 1981, in Spearfish.

Found the location for the Sept. 13, 1957, game between Vale, S.D., and Hulett; it was in Vale.

Found the score for Cowley’s 38-26 loss to Belfry, Mont., on Sept. 17, 1954, in Cowley.

Found the location for the Sept. 15, 1951, game between Byron and Colstrip, Mont.; it was in Colstrip. Noting this game’s location increased Byron’s road winning streak over this time to 19 games, which moved it into a tie for fourth all-time.

Found the score for the Nov. 4, 1949, game between Deaver-Frannie and Meeteetse; Deaver won 45-6. This increased Meeteetse’s losing streak to 22 games over the time period from 1947-51.

Found the date for Torrington’s 13-0 loss to Mitchell, Neb., on Oct. 11, 1946. Kept it on the missing games list because I still don’t have the location for the game yet.

Found the date for the Sept. 14, 1945, game between Powell and Laurel, Mont.

Found the date and location and fixed the score for Byron’s 58-8 victory against the Lovell third team on Oct. 5, 1945, in Byron.

Added the score for Star Valley’s 8-7 victory against Malad, Idaho, on Oct. 10, 1941.

Found the score for the Oct. 17, 1941, game between Sundance and Sturgis St. Martin’s, S.D.; St. Martin’s won 53-0. Also noted that the Oct. 31, 1941, game between the same two teams was canceled.

Found the score for the Oct. 24, 1940, game between Sundance and Sturgis, S.D.; Sturgis won 20-6.

Affirmed the score for Newcastle’s 20-14 loss to Edgemont, S.D., on Oct. 28, 1938.

Found two scores for Sunrise’s 1934 season: a 33-0 loss to Scottsbluff, Neb., on Sept. 21 and a 55-0 loss to Mitchell, Neb., on Oct. 5.

Added the score for Torrington’s 14-0 loss to Gering, Neb., on Nov. 2, 1934.

Found the location for Sunrise’s 20-0 victory against Mitchell, Neb., on Oct. 6, 1933; it was in Sunrise.

Found the location and date for Torrington’s 41-6 loss to Scottsbluff, Neb., on Oct. 21, 1932, in Scottsbluff.

Found the location for Lovell’s 6-6 tie with Cowley on Nov. 21, 1930; it was in Lovell.

Noted that the Oct. 25, 1929, game between Worland and Midwest was canceled.

Added the score for the 0-0 tie between Greybull and Basin on Nov. 24, 1927.

Found the score for the Nov. 24, 1927, game between Cowley and Lovell; Lovell won 41-6.

Added the number of points scored by Park City, Utah, in its 40-0 victory against Evanston on Sept. 22, 1923.

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

Track

Using these archives, I’ve also added Green River as the 1942 state champion and Thermopolis as the 1923 champ. I’m planning on doing some more with some track archives pre-1973 soon; keep an eye on the track champion listings for occasional updates there.

–patrick

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