WHEATLAND – The Wheatland Bulldogs track team hosted the Wheatland Invitational, which was originally scheduled for April 7 but was moved to last Wednesday due to weather, with the Bulldogs finishing second and Lady Bulldogs sliding into third.
Roman Smith had a solid day on the track for the Bulldogs, picking up two first-place finishes after winning the 100-meter dash (11.58 seconds) and the 200 (23.84 seconds). Joining him in those events, Adam Suko ran the 200 in 26.13 seconds to finish sixth. Simone Mainetti and Joey Madsen finished back-to-back in the 100, taking seventh and eighth, respectively, with times of 12.24 seconds and 12.26 seconds.
Stepping up in distances, Kobey Preuit took second in the 400 with a time of 55.53 seconds, while Trigg Peasley turned in a time of 59.15 seconds in the same event to finish fifth. Peasley stepped up to take second in the 800, clocking a time of 2:20.27. Rounding out the individual placers on the track, Rhett Karr finished eighth in the 1600 with a time of 6:17.66.
The Bulldog boys combined to win the 400-meter relay, finishing in 45.90 seconds. The team also took fourth in the 1600-meter relay with a time of 3:56.02.
Like Smith on the track, Dylan Pearson picked up two golds for the Bulldogs in field events. He cleared 6 feet, 3 inches in the high jump to take first, while a 19-foot, 8-inch effort in the long jump also earned him the top spot.
Pearson was not the only jumper to place for Wheatland. Colton Caves took fourth in both the high jump (5 feet, 6 inches) and triple jump (36 feet, 7 inches). Mainetti just edged Caves in the long jump, finishing seventh with a jump of 17 feet, 4.5 inches. Caves turned in a long jump of 17 feet, 3 inches, earning him eighth.
Wheatland had three place in each throwing event. Wyatt Crane’s put of 38 feet, 6 inches gave him the third slot, followed closely by Carlos Garcia, who finished fourth with a throw of 38 feet, 1 inch. Clayton Iacovetto snuck into the top-eight, recording a throw of 36 feet, 9.75 inches to place eighth.
Garcia jumped to the lead for the Bulldogs in the discus, taking third with a throw of 108 feet, 9 inches. Iacovetto also stepped up his game, finishing fourth after a throw of 108 feet, 4 inches. Decker Anderson stepped into the top-eight, taking sixth with a throw of 104 feet, 7 inches.
The Bulldogs finished with 121 points in the team race, finishing second. They were behind Glenrock’s 152 points in the standings, but finished ahead of Hanna-Elk Mountain, with 98 points.
For the Lady Bulldogs, Khayla Otero continued her solid spring, finishing in the top-three in three individual events, highlighted by a first-place finish in the long jump after clearing 15 feet, 6 inches. She also finished second in the 400-meter dash with a time of 1:06.36, while taking third in the 100, finishing in 13.84 seconds.
Also on the track, Danielle Brow picked up a first-place finish in the 1600, turning in a time of 6:13.44. Joining Brow in the upper distances, Katie Currier took silver in the 800 (3:00.71) and Halle Smith snagged the bronze (3:03.04). Haylee Kenison placed in both the 100, taking sixth with 15.02 seconds, and 200, taking eighth with a time of 32.62 seconds.
Rounding out the top track performances, Wheatland won the 3200-meter relay with a time of 11:32.49. The Lady Bulldogs also took third in the 400-meter relay, clocking a time of 58.14 seconds.
Otero was not alone with great performances in field events. Christina Haroldson won the pole vault after clearing 7 feet, 6 inches. She also finished seventh in the long jump, clearing 12 feet, 6 inches. Kenison grabbed fourth in the long jump with a 13-foot, 3.75-inch effort. In the high jump, Elly Mitch and Halle Smith finished third and fourth, respectively, clearing 4 feet, 7 inches and 4 feet, 5 inches.
The Wheatland girls piled up 95.5 team points at their home meet to finish third. The Lady Bulldogs were edged by half a point, with Hanna-Elk Mountain taking second with 96 points. Glenrock finished atop the team standings with 131 points.
Okie Blanchard Invitational
Smith carried his hot week into the Okie Blanchard Invitational on Thursday at Cheyenne East High School. For the second day in a row, he won the 100-meter dash (11.59 seconds) and the 200 (23.35 seconds).
In the relay events, Wheatland finished fourth in the 400-meter relay with a time of 45.99 seconds. Mainetti, Smith, Caleb Johansson and Connor Mendez linked up for the new 1600-meter sprint medley, capturing sixth with a time of 3:58.30.
Pearson rounded out the placers for the Bulldogs in Cheyenne, finishing fourth in the high jump after clearing 6 feet, 2 inches.
The Wheatland boys finished sixth in the team race with 33 points, just ahead of Southeast and Douglas, who each had 32 points. Laramie won the top spot with 143 points. Kelly Walsh, with 115.5 points, and Cheyenne East, with 98 points, rounded out the top-three teams.
