State track champions: A call for help (part 2)!

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

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