Robert Galbreath photos Senior Esther Van Grol clears her mark in the long jump at the Puncher Invite on May 2. Van Grol earned third place in the event. At Thermopolis on May 5, Van Grol broke into the top eight in both the shot put and discus. Senior Brynne Hoffman rounds the corner in the 1600-meter run at the Puncher Invite on May 2. Hoffman posted a new personal record in the event at Thermopolis on May 5. Senior D.J. Varela prepares to launch the shot put at the Puncher Invite on May 2. Varela placed 37th out of 66 contestants in the shot put at Thermopolis on May 5. Senior Owen Neilson clears the hurdles at the Puncher Invite. Nielson competed in both the 110- and 300-meter hurdles in Thermopolis.

THERMOPOLIS – The Big Piney High School Puncher track and field team ran, jumped and threw with the big dogs at the Bobcat Invitational hosted by Thermopolis on Friday, May 5.

More than 20 teams competed in both the boys’ and girls’ divisions at the meet, representing schools in the 1A, 2A and 3A classifications.

Big Piney fielded a smaller squad in Thermopolis after a busy week featuring four track meets over the span of eight days.

The Bobcat Invitational represented the final competition of the regular season. On Friday and Saturday, May 12-13, Puncher tracksters travel to Shoshoni for the 2023 2A West Regional Meet. Casper hosts the State Track Meet the following weekend on Thursday through Saturday, May 18-20.

Senior Esther Van Grol broke into the top eight in two individual events at the Bobcat Invitational. Van Grol snagged fifth place in the girls’ discus with a throw measuring 98 feet, 5 inches. In the shot put, Van Grol secured eighth place at 31-02.

Additional girls’ results

• 100-meters: Tilly Evans in 18th place at 14.09 seconds and Enna Coote in 34th at 15.02 seconds.
• 200-meters: Addison Losik in 23rd place at 29.61 seconds, Evans in 26th place at 30.37 seconds, Coote in 37th at 31.46 seconds and Deniz Celik in 46th at 33.42 seconds.
• 1600-meters: Kaydence Guest in 12th place at 6:46.43, Julia Hymas in 13th at 6:56.90 and Brynne Hoffman in 21st at 7:15.60.
• 100-meter hurdles: Ahbre Nunn in 22nd place at 20.25 seconds, Van Grol in 27th place at 22.29 seconds, Addison Statham in 28th at 22.44 seconds and Clairee Bingham in 31st at 32.38 seconds.
• 300-meter hurdles: Morgan Brown in 14th place at 57.43 seconds, Bingham in 19th at 1:01.15, Nunn in 20th at 1:03.10 and Statham in 24th at 1:10.17.
• 4x100-meter relay: Maybrie Denison, Statham, Coote and Celik in eighth place at 1:00.29.
• 4x400-meter relay: Bingham, Brown, Guest and Hymas in seventh place at 4:59.83.
• 4x800-meter relay: Hoffman, Hymas, Guest and Kamia Runyan in seventh place at 12:50.84.
• 1600-meter sprint medley relay: Evans, Losik, Bingham and Brown in eighth place at 5:09.06.
• Pole vault: Hymas tied for ninth place at 7 feet.
• Long jump: Denison in 12th place at 13-02 ½, Losik in 18th at 12-06 ¾ and Evans in 25th at 11-11 ½.
• Triple jump: Guest in 38th place at 22-03 ½.
• Shot put: Charleigh Smith in 12th place at 29-06, Runyan in 41st at 23-01 ½ and Helen Laughter in 49th at 21-10.
• Discus: Smith in 15th place at 87-10, Losik in 35th at 74-02 ½ and Laughter in 59th at 54-06.

Additional boys’ results

• 100-meters: Braunsn Smith in 15th place at 12.04 seconds, Karsyn Busby in 55th at 14.06 seconds, Justin Olson in 56th at 14.11 seconds and James McCormick in 59th at 14.60 seconds.
• 200-meters: David Farrington in 48th place at 27.42 seconds, Scotty Ring in 53rd at 27.72 seconds, Busby in 56th at 28.83 seconds and McCormick in 62nd at 30.20 seconds.
• 400-meters: Farrington in 28th place at 1:01.79, Ring in 31st at 1:02.17, Ben Ferguson in 43rd at 1:05.82 and Busby in 45th at 1:06.64.
• 800-meters: Logan Visser in 33rd place at 3:23.92.
• 1600-meters: Ferguson in 11th place at 5:15.50.
• 110-meter hurdles: Jackie Meador in 18th place at 21.71 seconds and Owen Nielson in 20th at 21.81 seconds.
• 300-meter hurdles: Meador in ninth place at 49.26 seconds and Nielson in 13th at 50.93 seconds.
• 4x100-meter relay: Busby, Farrington, McCormick and Olson in 13th place at 55.50 seconds.
• Shot put: Smith in 11th place at 36-00, Young in 12th place at 35-09 and D.J. Varela in 37th at 30-01 ¼.
• Discus: Young in 24th place at 87-08, Smith in 36th at 77-08, Varela in 49th at 67-04 and Nielson in 54th at 62-01.