Cinder tracks make their quiet disappearance

Not all that long ago, Wyoming high school track athletes would have been forgiven for having dirty spikes.

It would have made sense, given that many runners ran their races on dirt.

All-weather track and field surfaces have been around since the 1970s, and state track meets have been run on all-weather surfaces since the early to mid-1970s, but only recently have the rubberized surfaces become commonplace at nearly every Wyoming high school.

In fact, from what I can find, only five schools still have the old dirt or cinder track surfaces.

As of early 2024 via Google Maps, Satellites Pro and/or current photos I could find, the five schools still running on dirt or cinder track surfaces appear to be Encampment, Hulett, Lingle, Rock River and Southeast.

Two other schools have non-regulation tracks for practice. Arvada-Clearmont has an all-weather track that’s about half sized; Ten Sleep has some weird non-regulation track that has a surface that is… um… difficult to ascertain. (Anyone in Ten Sleep want to let me know what this is made of?)

Moreover, almost two-thirds of Wyoming high schools now have eight-lane, all-weather tracks, a number that has grown steadily over the years. Several others have six-lane tracks.

Here is a breakdown of who has what, at least what I could see of it:

Eight lanes (46): Big Piney, Buffalo, Burns, Campbell County, Cheyenne Central, Cheyenne East, Cheyenne South, Cody, Douglas, Evanston, Fort Washakie, Glenrock, Green River, Guernsey, Jackson, Kelly Walsh, Kemmerer, Lander, Laramie, Lusk, Lyman, Mountain View, Natrona, Newcastle, Pine Bluffs, Pinedale, Powell, Rawlins, Riverton, Rock Springs, St. Stephens, Saratoga, Sheridan, Shoshoni, Snake River, Star Valley, Sundance, Thermopolis, Thunder Basin, Torrington, Upton, Wheatland, Wind River, Worland, Wright, Wyoming Indian.

Six lanes (13): Burlington, Cokeville, Dubois, Farson, Greybull, Kaycee, Lovell, Meeteetse, Midwest, Moorcroft, Riverside, Rocky Mountain, Tongue River.

Four lanes (2): Big Horn, Hanna.

Not regulation size (2): Arvada-Clearmont, Ten Sleep.

Dirt or cinder (5): Encampment, Hulett, Lingle, Rock River, Southeast.

No track (2): Arapahoe Charter, Casper Christian.

–patrick