Robert Galbreath photos Senior Braunsn Smith clears the pole in the high jump at the Puncher Invitational on Tuesday, May 2. Smith placed fourth in the event. Senior Hannah Runyan prepares to toss the shot put at the Puncher Invitational on May 2. Runyan snagged second place in the event.

BIG PINEY – Big Piney High School track and field athletes brought their A-game to the annual home Puncher Invitational on Tuesday, May 2. Both the girls’ and boys’ teams posted solid performances at the event.

The weather cooperated to a certain degree and unlike past years, the meet remained snow-, sleet- and wintery mix-free, even featuring the sun on occasion. Runners, jumpers and throwers did contend with a ferocious, sustained wind blasting from the southwest.

Plenty of cross-county rivalry and camaraderie was on display as the Punchers vied against Pinedale for the top spots in each event. Farson-Eden fielded a small squad of athletes as well.

Head Coach Jess Nugent thanked community volunteers, her coaching staff and the Sublette County School District No. 9 technology department for making the meet run smoothly.

“I couldn’t do this without them,” Nugent said.

Nugent also expressed gratitude to teachers, parents, staff and students coming out to cheer on their track athletes.

Sophomore Micah Strong dominated girls’ sprinting events at the Puncher Invitational. Clocking the 100-meter dash in at 13.58 seconds, Strong soundly won the event with 0.35 seconds to spare.

Strong went on to win the 200-meter dash, posting a time of 27.58 seconds. She beat the runner-up from Pinedale by more than 1.3 seconds.

Freshman Lizzy Brandt snagged gold in the girls’ 800-meter run. She pulled ahead of the second-place finisher from Pinedale by 5 seconds. Brandt also represented the Punchers in the high jump, taking first place with a leap clearing 4 feet.

In long-distance events, sophomore Emma York battled a headwind for 8 laps to win the girls’ 3200-meter run, timing in at 13 minutes, 37.48 seconds.

Junior Julia Hymas secured gold in the girls’ pole vault with a jump measuring 6 feet, 9 inches.

The race to the finish line of the girls’ 400-meter run came down to the wire. Sophomore Addison Losik dug deep and managed to pull ahead of Pinedale’s Matazi Landers by 0.17 seconds to win the event at 1:10.36.

Senior Colby Jenks won the boys’ 110-meter hurdles, hitting the finish line in 16.58 seconds.

In the boys’ 300-meter hurdles, sophomore Kelby Staley bagged first place with a time of 47.25 seconds.

Kicking it in at the end of the boys’ 1600-meters, senior Brandon Jones pulled ahead of Pinedale’s Liam O’Connor by 13 seconds to win the event at 5:23.99.

Freshman Scotty Ring earned first place in the boys’ 800-meter run, clocking in at 2:38.12.

Relay highlights

Sophomore Caden Clifford, senior Braunsn Smith, junior David Farrington and Staley captured gold in the boys’ 1600-meter sprint medley relay. The team clocked in at 4:05.81, pulling ahead of Pinedale by nearly 6 seconds.

Jenks, Brandon Jones, Staley and sophomore Ben Ferguson won the boys’ 4x400-meter relay with a time of 3:56.97.

The boys’ 4x800-meter relay team – junior Roger Young, junior Jackie Meador, Brandon Jones and Ferguson – also picked up first place at 9:53.93.

In the girls’ 4x400-meter relay, Losik, freshman Kodee Greene, freshman Clairee Bingham and sophomore Jolynn Jones snagged first place at 4:41.86.

Brandt, York, Jolynn Jones and Strong earned first place in the girls’ 4x800-meter relay at 10:39.22.

Clocking in at 5:05.52 in the girls’ sprint-medley relay, freshman Tilly Evans, Greene, Bingham and junior Morgan Brown secured second place.

The girls’ 4x100-meter relay team – senior Enna Coote, sophomore Mari Sambrano, freshman Maybrie Denison and Evans – placed second with a time of 58.22 seconds.

Additional girls’ top eight

Senior Hannah Runyan captured second place in the shot put with a throw clearing 35-00 ¼. She also took fifth place in the discus at 84-11.

Fellow senior Esther Van Grol took second place in the discus, clearing 97-08 ½. Van Grol bagged third place in the long jump, at 14-00 ½, and fourth place in the shot put, at 31-00 ¾.

With a time of 6:46.37, freshman Kaydence Guest earned second place in the 1600-meter run. Guest picked up second place in the triple jump as well, clearing 22-05 ¾. Topping the day off with a third-place finish in the 800-meters, Guest clocked the event in at 3:05.78.

Freshman Kamia Runyan came in second place in the 3200-meter run, posting a time of 17:29.89. She went on to secure seventh place in the shot put at 26-03 ¾.

In throwing events, sophomore Charleigh Smith snagged third place in both the shot put, at 31-09, and the discus, at 87-11.

Timing in at under 1 minute in the 300-meter hurdles, Brown took third place in the event at 59.29 seconds.

Senior Brynne Hoffman finished third in the 1600-meter run with a time of 7:30.19. Hoffman placed sixth in the 800-meter run at 3:32.75.

Losik earned fourth place in the long jump with a leap clearing 13-11 ½. She also snapped up sixth place in the discus at 79-08.

Jolynn Jones took fourth place in the 200-meter dash, posting a time of 30.31 seconds.

In the 300-meter hurdles, Bingham came in fourth place at 1:01.74.

Hymas achieved fifth place in the 800-meters with a time of 3:14.94.

Freshman Ahbre Nunn placed fifth in both the 100-meter hurdles, at 21.07 seconds, and the 300-meter hurdles, at 1:07.33.

Clearing 13-06 in the long jump, freshman Denison garnered fifth place in the event.

Sophomore Addison Statham secured sixth place in the 300-meter hurdles, posting a time of 1:09.70. She also took seventh place in the 100-meter hurdles at 25.45 seconds.

In the 100-meter dash, Greene picked up sixth place, crossing the finish line in 14.69 seconds.

Evans finished seventh in the 100-meter dash with a time of 14.85 seconds. She also placed eighth in the long jump, clearing 12-05.

Additional boys’ top eight

Meador snagged second place in the 300-meter hurdles, clocking in at 48.91 seconds. He also led the Puncher pack in the 100-meter dash, placing sixth at 13.40 seconds.

Senior Owen Nielson secured second place in the 110-meter hurdles, timing in at 23.54 seconds. Posting a time of 1:04.96 in the 400-meters, Nielson picked up fifth place in the event. He went on to place fifth in the discus at 86-01 ½.

Braunsn Smith captured second place in the shot put, clearing 36-10 ½. He also snapped up fourth place in the high jump, clearing 4-08, and sixth place in the discus with a throw of 83-10 ½.

In mid-distance events, junior Logan Visser took second place in the 800-meter run with a time of 3:17.79.

Freshman Zef Zuniga bagged second place in the discus, clearing 91-09. He placed sixth in the shot put at 33-07 ¼.

Timing the 1600-meters in at 5:49.96, Ferguson earned third place in the event.

Young achieved fourth place in both the shot put, at 34-10 ½, and the discus, at 88-05.

In the 400-meter dash, Farrington took sixth place with a time of 1:05.84. He placed eighth in the 200-meters, posting a time of 29.45 seconds.

Senior D.J Varela earned seventh place in the discus, at 76-05, and placed eighth in the shot put, at 31-00 ½.

Sophomore Karsyn Busby snagged seventh place in the 400-meter dash, crossing the finish line at 1:06.88.