Robert Galbreath photos

BIG PINEY – Big Piney runners, jumpers and throwers defied strong, sustained wind gusts and threatening gray clouds to compete at the Puncher Invitational on May 4.

Snow and public health orders canceled previous home track meets and foul weather postponed the original meet scheduled for April 16. On Tuesday, the weather cooperated just enough to green light the matchup between several regional teams.

The Big Piney combined girls’ and boys’ teams took third place at the Puncher Invitational with 306.5 points. The boys’ team cruised into first place with 172 points. The girls’ team fielded a smaller squad and came in third place with 134.5 points.

Big Piney rounded out the regular season at the Bobcat Invitational hosted by Thermopolis on May 7. Nearly 20 teams from across the state competed at the event, giving the Punchers a good test for the upcoming post-season.

The 2A West Regional Meet is in Shoshoni on Friday and Saturday, May 14-15, followed by State in Casper, May 20-22.

Puncher Invitational first-place ribbons

Sophomore Shelby Guest stepped up and made a strong showing on Tuesday. She won the girls’ 300-meter hurdles, clocking in at 53.50 seconds, beating the runner-up from Pinedale by 1.3 seconds.

Guest contributed to a first-place finish for the girls’ 1600-meter sprint medley relay team. Timing in at 4:34.10, Guest and seniors Torry Taylor, Jakobi Hibbert and Muriel Jones finished 12 seconds ahead of Pinedale.

Jones competed in the girls’ 3200-meter run, powering into first place at 12:12.20, beating the second-place finish from Farson by over 2 minutes.

Sophomore Hunter Fisher picked up three first-place ribbons, dominating boys’ jumping events. In the long jump, Fisher won with a leap measured in at 18 feet, 6 inches. He scored a first-place finish in the 110-meter hurdles, timing in at 19.20 seconds, beating the runner-up from Pinedale by two-tenths of a second.

Fisher took first place in the 300-meter hurdles at 47.50 seconds, 4.3 seconds ahead of the pack.

Freshman Karsyn Gurr pulled out all the stops in sprinting events. Taking first place in the boys’ 100-meter dash, Gurr clocked in at 11.60 seconds, beating the runner-up from Pinedale by two-tenths of a second.

Gurr took first place in the 200-meter dash, finishing in 23.80 seconds. In the boys’ 4x100-meter relay, Gurr, junior Thomas Barron, senior Luis Zuniga and junior Jaron Petty cruised into first place at 47.50 seconds.

Puncher highlights – hurdles

Freshman Jackie Meador picked up second place in the boys’ 110-meter hurdles at 22.60 seconds. Meador scored a third-place ribbon in the 300-meter hurdles, timing in at 52.30 seconds.

Hibbert led the Big Piney pack in the girls’ 100-meter hurdles, coming in fifth place at 19.60 seconds. Guest took seventh in the event at 20.20 seconds, followed by sophomore Zoey Guerrero in eighth at 21.20 seconds.

In the girls’ 300-meter hurdles, freshman Morgan Brown finished in fifth place at 1:02.00. Junior Ceci Sambrano took sixth place at 1:03.60, with Hibbert in seventh at 1:03.80 and Guerrero in eighth at 1:04.60.

Puncher Invite highlights – jumping events

Hibbert scored points for the Punchers in the girls’ pole vault, landing in second place at 6-07. Clearing 8-00, junior J.T. Day placed second in the boys’ pole vault. Sophomore Brandon Jones tied for third in the event at 8-00.

In the boys’ long jump, Zuniga came in fourth place with a leap measured in at 17-09 1/2. Junior Zoe Long took seventh in the girls’ long jump, covering a distance of 10-10 1/2.

Petty placed eighth in the boys’ high jump, measuring in at 4-10.

Puncher Invite highlights – distance running

Senior Carlos Munoz took second place in the boys’ 1600-meter run, timing in at 5:20.00. Brandon Jones picked up a second-place ribbon in the boys’ 3200 meter at 13:12.00.

Representing Big Piney in the girls’ 1600-meter run, freshman Julia Hymas came in second place at 6:54.80.

The boys’ 800-meter run came down to a fight for the finish. Sophomore Hampton Jones took third place at 2:48.20 with freshman David Farrington hitting the finish line one-tenth of a second later at 2:48.30 to finish fourth.

Sophomore Brynne Hoffman took sixth place in the girls’ 3200-meter run at 15:54.00. Freshman Maritza Galvan placed sixth in the girls’ 400-meter dash, clocking in at 1:23.60.

Puncher Invite highlights – throwing events

Big Piney throwers grappled with powerful tail winds on Tuesday.

In girls’ discus, junior Hanna Hansen snapped up a second-place ribbon with a throw measured in at 90-06. Sophomore Hannah Runyan took fifth place in the event at 75-08 with junior Lena Hatch in sixth at 75-06 1/2.

Junior Sierra Keiter took third place in girls’ shot put, clearing 29-00 1/2. Hansen placed fourth at 28-10, followed by Runyan in fifth at 38-06, Hatch in sixth at 26-08 and Long in eighth at 26-00.

With a toss measured in at 41-01 1/2, senior Nathan Maxfield scored a second-place ribbon in the boys’ shot put. Junior Brayden Hymas took seventh place at 33-02 and sophomore Jackson Hajba came in eighth at 33-01.

Maxfield placed fourth in boys’ discus at 110-07. Hajba finished in eighth place at 95-00.

Puncher Invite highlights – sprints

Finishing the boys’ 200-meter dash in 24.30 seconds, Petty came in second place. Zuniga took fourth place in the event at 25.80 seconds. Zuniga placed seventh in the boys’ 100-meter dash at 12.30 seconds.

Taylor pulled into third place in the girls’ 100-meter dash, finishing in 13.40 seconds. Guest came in seventh place at 14.20 seconds.

Taylor also picked up a sixth-place ribbon in the girls’ 200-meter dash at 28.90 seconds.

Puncher Invite highlights – relays

The boys’ 1600-meter sprint medley relay team took second place. Petty, Gurr, Fisher and Munoz timed in at 3:52.70.

Julia Hymas, Hoffman, Hatch and Brown finished the girls’ 4x800-meter relay with a second-place ribbon at 12:31.90. The boys’ 4x800-meter relay team – Meador, Brandon Jones, Hampton Jones and Smith – picked up third place at 10:25.60.

In the boys’ 4x400-meter relay, Munoz, Day, Smith and junior Anton Vickrey came in third place at 4:15.10.

Galvan, freshman Jenny Montes, senior Hayden Thoman and Guerrerro finished in third place in the girls’ 4x100-meter relay at 1:02.06. The girls’ 4x400-relay team – Taylor, Montes, Brown and Muriel Jones – placed fourth at 5:01.80.

Bobcat Invitational – highlights

Distance runners went the extra mile in Thermopolis. Muriel Jones scored a win in the girls’ 1600-meter run, timing in over 13 seconds ahead of the pack at 5:25.23. The senior also picked up a second-place ribbon in the 800-meter run at 2:30.14.

Jones and teammates Hibbbert, Taylor and Guest took second place in the girls’ 1600-meter sprint medley relay at 4:40.63. The girls’ distance 4x800-meter relay team snagged second place in a crowded field with Hibbert, Guest, Brown and Julia Hymas clocking in at 11:55.01.

In the boys’ 1600-meter, Munoz ran a personal record for the season, breaking the 5-minute mark and coming within a second of qualifying at 4:56.62. Munoz placed fifth in the 800-meter run at 2:13.46.

Throwers broke into the top eight to score points for Big Piney. Howard placed third in boys’ discus with a throw measured in at 121-03. Maxfield came in fourth place in the event, measuring in at 116-02.

Maxfield took eighth place in the boys’ shot put at 40-00.

Hansen tied for seventh place in the girls’ discus, clearing 85-06.

In the girls’ 100-meter hurdles, Thoman finished in fifth place at 23.82 seconds. Sambrano came in sixth place at 24.21 seconds. Guest placed eighth in the girls’ 300-meter hurdles at 54.49 seconds.

Petty picked up a sixth-place ribbon in the boys’ 200-meter dash at 23.67 seconds and placed eighth in the 400-meter dash at 54.04 seconds.