State track is the biggest
By George Kay
Casper has had the honor of playing host to the Wyoming State High School Track and Field Championships for a couple of decades, and the three-day extravaganza will be held this week, starting on Thursday.
The state meet bounced around some prior to the completion of the Harry Geldien Stadium at Kelly Walsh High School, but in recent years the biggest culminating event of the school year has been held in Casper.
From a financial perspective, the state meet is a real boost to the hotel/motel businesses and the Casper eating places, as athletes, coaches and fans from every corner of the state come to town for the track and field events.
Because all classes of high school athletics, from Class 1A through 4A, both boys and girls, are involved, the state meet becomes the biggest of the many state culminating events sponsored by the Wyoming High School Activities Association.
The weather in mid-May in Wyoming is always iffy. Our chilly, wet spring to date has been a problem for many of the scheduled meets all around the state. Hopefully, we will be lucky and this week's state meet can go off as scheduled without too much weather-related difficulty.
The various team championships in all four classes appear to be up for grabs, and that should make for some spirited competition. The team titles could well remain in contention right up to the final events on Saturday afternoon.
The boys' class 4A championship shapes up as a battle between Gillette and NCHS, while the girl's crown could be won by Cheyenne Central, Evanston, NCHS or Kelly Walsh.
The team championships are only a part of the attraction at the state meet. The individual events are just as exciting in many cases and at all levels. The Class 1A and 2A individual events normally provide some very compelling contests.
It all begins on Thursday at 11 a.m., with the running of the 3200-meter race in all classes, boys and girls. The 3200 is the metric equivalent of two miles, and the race has become a showcase over the years for some incredible individual athletes.
As I reflect over past state track meets, several individual names stand out. Guernsey's Jenae Jackson is one. He won every running event he entered and did it convincingly.
His warm personality added to his athletic achievements, and the fact that he went on to a fine football career for our Cowboys kept him in the state for several years after his high school exploits were complete.
On the girls' side of things, who can forget Alicia Craig from Gillette, who set all kinds of distance records a few years ago? She went on to become an NCAA champion while attending Stanford.
So there will be plenty to see and cheer about this week and, weather permitting, some memorable performances before the state meet is finished late Saturday afternoon.