Burton qualifies for NCAAs

UW photo service
Wyoming senior Kate Burton competes in the hammer throw.

By Wyoming Sports.org

LINCOLN, Neb. -- Wyoming senior Kate Burton became UW’s first entry into the NCAA Championships with a second-place finish on Friday in the hammer throw at the NCAA Regional Meet.

Burton’s second throw of 202 feet, 8 inches was the second-best throw of the day and it earned her an automatic berth in this year’s NCAA Championships in Des Moines, Iowa, on June 11-14. Burton also competed in the discus, where she and teammate Courtney Gougler would take to the field. Burton finished 15th with a toss of 155-6, while Gougler placed 24th with her toss of 140-6.

“Kate (Burton) really came through with a clutch performance,” said UW assistant coach Paul Barrett. “She is a great competitor and is going to be tough to replace, I really look forward to her competing in Des Moines.”

Other Cowgirls in action were senior Gretchen Johnson and junior Shaylee Babbitt. Johnson ran in the 5,000-meter run, where she placed eighth with her time of 17 minutes, 22.37 seconds, just missing qualifying for the NCAA Championships. As for Babbitt, she ran a 14.07 in the 100 hurdles, good for 20th best in the region.

“Gretchen (Johnson) seemed to struggle a little towards the end of the race, but was in with the mix most of the time,” said UW head coach Don Yentes. “Shaylee just didn’t have her best stuff today and failed to qualify for the finals tomorrow.”

For the Cowboy, freshman Jeremiah James finished in eighth place in the long jump at 24-7, which was four inches from fifth place and qualifying for the NCAA Championships.

“Jeremiah had a great freshman performance today, competing on a less than perfect ankle,” said Yentes. “If we can keep him healthy, look for him to be competing here again next year.”

Senior Vashone West was the final Cowboy to compete on Friday, as he ran in the very fast 100-meter dash. Vashone ran a time of 10.74 and a 20th place finish. The leader after day one was Gerald Phiri of Texas A&M, with a time of 10.32.

On Saturday, the Cowboys will send Alan John to compete in the hammer throw and John Alderson in the triple jump.

“Alan (John) is currently ranked 16th in a very tight field and is throwing very well right now,” Barrett said. “If he comes out tomorrow and throws to his ability, he has a good chance of making it to the NCAA Championships.”

Live results are available online at www.deltatiming.com/2008_midwest_regional.aspx, with John competing at 1 p.m. and Alderson jumping at 5 p.m.

Rangers fall to Greeley

By Wyoming Sports.org

GREELEY, Colo. -- The Laramie Rangers AA American Legion baseball team’s tough luck continues, as Greeley GoJo Sports rallied for two runs in the bottom of the eighth for a 5-4 win Thursday night in the first game of a doubleheader. The GoJo's then won the second game, 14-6.

Last weekend in Gillette, Rapid City (S.D.) Post 320 scored a run in the bottom of the seventh for a one-run win. Thursday’s losses dropped Laramie to 2-8 on the season. Greeley, which split with Cheyenne Post 6 on Wednesday, is now 3-1.

In the first game against Greeley, Laramie came back from a 3-0 deficit in the first inning with a run in the second, two in the fifth and one in the eighth inning.

The Rangers out-hit the GoJo's 8-5. Jon Sorenson and Jordan Rhodine both had a pair of hits for the Rangers, with Sorenson coming through with a two-run single in the fifth inning. Third baseman Max Schoen also had a pair of RBI in the game for Laramie.

Coleton Wilson was the tough-luck loser on the mound for Laramie, as he gave up just five hits.

The Rangers couldn’t recover in the nightcap, as one bad inning did them in. Laramie led 4-1 with three runs in the first inning, but Greeley exploded for 12 runs in the second inning. The Rangers did score twice in the fifth, but Greeley wended the game with a run in the bottom of the sixth.

Mike Garner had a two-run double in the first for Laramie and Skyler Joy had a RBI single in the second. Laramie finished with nine hits in the game, with Joy leading the way with a single and a double.

Rhodine was the losing pitcher, with Jason Rodriguez, Sorenson, Joy and Schoen also seeing time on the mound.

The Rangers will return to action Wednesday with their home opener against the WESTCO Zephyrs (Scottsbluff-Gering, Neb.), with a doubleheader at Cowboy Field beginning at 5 p.m.

UW to send eight to regional meet

UW photo service
Wyoming freshman Jeremiah James competes in the triple jump earlier this season at the Front Range Invitational in Laramie.


Top five finishers move on to NCAA Championships

By Wyoming Sports.org

The University of Wyoming track and field team is sending eight qualifiers to the NCAA Midwest Regional meet this weekend in Lincoln, Neb., hosted by the University of Nebraska.

The eight individuals and their events and times they are competing in or the Cowgirls include senior Kate Burton (hammer throw and discus throw, Friday 1 p.m. and 5 p.m.), senior Gretchen Johnson (5,000-meter run, Friday, 6:40 p.m.), junior Shaylee Babbitt (100-meter hurdles, Saturday. 4:45 p.m.) and junior Courtney Gougler (discus, Friday, 5 p.m.).

The Cowboys are sending senior Vashone West (100-meter dash, Friday, 3:40 p.m.), junior John Alderson (triple jump, Saturday, 5 p.m.), freshman Jeremiah James (long jump, Friday, 5 p.m.),and freshman Alan John (hammer throw, Saturday, 1 p.m.).

Burton, a native of Vancouver, Wash., and a Clark Junior College transfer qualified in her first year at UW. During the 2006 season she placed 21st at the NCAA Championships in the hammer throw. Burton currently owns the best throw in Wyoming’s history and the eighth best throw in the nation with her toss of 209-feet, 8 inches.

Johnson, a Sheridan High School graduate from Basin, qualified earlier this year at the Stanford Invite where she ran her personal best time of 16 minutes, 35.98, seconds four one-hundredths off the record time. Johnson ran in the 2007 Cross Country NCAA Championships this past season, where she placed 116th out of 253 runners.

Babbitt ran her personal best time of 13.62 at the MWC Championships and won her first title in four years. A resident of Yoder, she will compete in her first regional meet.

Gougler, the junior thrower from Glencoe, Okla., was the first to qualify as she tossed her personal best 166-0 in the discus at the first meet of the outdoor season in Boulder, Colo. Gougler competed in the 2007 NCAA Regional meet ,where she placed eighth in the discus.

For the Cowboys, West , who is from Fountain Springs, Colo., qualified in the 100-meter dash earlier this year at the Front Range Invite in Laramie with his time of 10.38. West currently holds the fifth best time in UW history in the 200-meter dash at 21.29.

Alderson, a team captain from New Castle, Colo., qualified in the triple jump this year with his leap of 49-4 ½ in Laramie at the Front Range Invite. Alderson was all-conference this indoor season as well as the outdoor season in both the long jump and the triple jump.

James, a freshman from Morne Fortune, St. Lucia, broke the top five all-time UW list in the long jump with his personal best leap of 24-9 ¼ and a title at the MWC Championships in both the indoor and outdoor seasons.

John from Jackson, threw his personal best 190-0 in the hammer throw at the Front Range Invite earlier this May.

Rangers A open with Wheatland

Young Laramie team starts slow against defending A state champions

By Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org

No coach likes to lose and Laramie Rangers A American Legion manager Jeremy Francom counts himself among those who play to win.

Yet, despite a tough season opener Wednesday night at Cowboy Field, Francom is upbeat about his young Rangers’ team. Wheatland, the defending Class A state champions that is loaded with experience (six 19-year-olds), took a pair from the Rangers 22-1 and 12-2.

“As far as the effort goes, I’m not disappointed,” Francom said. “You are disappointed after a loss. If you’re not disappointed after you lose, then you don’t need to be here. It was disappointing and also encouraging because you see so many good things and so much you can work on and improve on this early of the season.”

The doubleheader was the first two of a set 40-game schedule that has Francom and the Laramie coaches excited. Because of what lies down the road this season, the young Rangers A team is already ahead of last year.

“The great thing about this year compared to last year is we know we’re playing a full 40-game schedule and we’re only two games into it,” Francom said. “Like Coach (Sean) McKinney always says, it’s a marathon, it’s not a sprint. As long as we continue to get better every day, we’ll be OK come the end of the year.”

The Rangers A team is comprised mainly of 15- and 16-year-olds and will compete in the A level in Wyoming. The roster will be set at about 12 players for the season, giving them a chance to bond as a team without much movement up and down from the A and AA teams.

“The team is great because we don’t have one set guy who is out that will stand out above everybody," Francom said. “We’re a true team. I think when we come together as one, we’re going to have guys who can step up and do great things for us. We’re a team and a group who likes to work hard. They are willing to do the extra work to get the job done.”

Francom said the strength of the team now is its work ethic. “These kids are willing to stay after practice and put in the extra effort that it takes to get the little details ironed out. In the long run, that will make us stronger as a whole,” he said.

Like the AA team, other athletic activities in the school level have made it tough to really go as a full squad. Now with the high school seasons complete, Francom said they can really get to work as a team.

“What is going to help us too is when you have a full team show up for practice, you can do a lot more, rather than with just six guys,” Francom said. “We’re going to see those 12 kids all year long. We’re going to form a bond and we’ll do good things this year.”

It was a tough way to begin the season on Wednesday against arguably the top A team in the state that age-wise should probably play in the AA level. In the first game, Wheatland broke a 1-1 tie with seven runs in the second and eight more in the third.

Laramie had just four hits in the first game and six errors. Tim Carpenter paced the Rangers with a double and single, with Brody Hilgencamp adding a double and Barry Thomas a single. Thomas, Hilgencamp and Carpenter worked on the mound.

The second game was much more competitive, with the Lobos breaking away with three runs in the fourth, four more in the fifth and a single run in the sixth. Laramie actually out-hit Wheatland 8-7 in that second game, but committed five errors to none by Wheatland.

Tyler Mitchell led the Rangers with three singles, with Thomas adding a RBI double. Hilgencamp, Nolan Carter, Nick Armijo and Derek Campbell all had singles in the game. Carter scored both Laramie runs.

Sri Sritharan, Josh Peterson and Lance McCartney all pitched for the Rangers.

“We played a very, very good team,” Francom said. “They’ve played five or six games already and this is our first and second games. It gave us a look at where we are at and where we want to be. I definitely saw some good things and some things that we need to work on.”

Francom said the positive about Wednesday night was the mistakes his team made can be fixed.

“We’re going to do good things this year, we just need to come together as a team and get a few more innings under our belts. We’ll be all right,” Francom said.

“The first game was rough. There were first-game jitters. It’s the first time half of these guys have put on a Rangers’ uniform and you open up at home. We were a little nervous,” Francom added. “In the second game, we were able to relax a little bit and it was definitely a little closer than the score showed. It just got away from us at the end.”

Other team members include Travis Scott, Kyle Alexander and Zack Kersey.

The Rangers A team will hit the road next Wednesday with a doubleheader at Rawlins.
---
WHEATLAND 22, LARAMIE A 1
(First Game)
Wheatland 178 06 -- 22 13 1
Laramie 100 00 -- 1 4 6
---
WHEATLAND 12, LARAMIE A 2
(Second Game)
Wheatland 301 341 -- 12 7 0
Laramie 101 000 -- 2 8 5

---

Prep falls to Cheyenne

The Laramie Rangers prep baseball team dropped a doubleheader to Cheyenne Prep on Tuesday night at Cowboy Field, 14-0 and 18-4. The twinbill was moved up from the originally scheduled July 23 date.

In the first game, the older Cheyenne team chipped away with three runs in the first and third innings and four runs in each of the fourth and fifth innings. Laramie had just one hit in the game, a leadoff single by Tyler Loose. Dylan Watson took the loss on the mound.

In the second game, Cheyenne broke open a relatively close game (9-4) with nine runs in the fifth inning. The Rangers had seven hits in that game, led by Loose's single and double and one RBI and two hits and a RBI by Abel Casas. Also for Laramie, Taylor Boggess had a single, Casey Stangle had a single and RBI, as did Alex Jordan.

Sam Feldman took the loss on the mound for Laramie, which fell to 3-6 on the season.

The Rangers Prep team returns to action on Saturday when it hosts the Rocky Mountain Titans in a doubleheader beginning at noon.

---

(First Game)

CHEYENNE 14, LARAMIE PREP 0

Cheyenne 303 44 -- 14 9 0
Laramie 000 00 -- 0 1 4
---

(Second Game)

CHEYENNE 18, LARAMIE PREP 4

Cheyenne 522 09 -- 18 17 0
Laramie 211 00 -- 4 7 4

Petrino returns to UW football

Courtesy UW photo service
Jason Petrino, then a graduate assistant coach for Wyoming, works with former Cowboy great John Wendling. Petrino is returning to Wyoming as the director of football operations.


Former graduate assistant will become director of football operations

By Wyoming Sports.org

Wyoming head football coach Joe Glenn announced on Wednesday that Jason Petrino will return to UW as the director of football operations. Petrino replaces Casey Glenn, who was recently named the UW tight ends coach.

Petrino’s duties with the Wyoming football program include, but will not be limited to: coordinating team travel, overseeing the day-to-day administrative operations of the football office and monitoring budgetary and compliance issues relating to Cowboy football.

“Jason (Petrino) is an individual who was on the ground floor with us when we first came to Wyoming,” Joe Glenn said. “As one of our graduate assistants when we first came to Laramie, he was instrumental in some big wins for us against BYU, CSU and UCLA.

“Jason understands our mission and our coaching staff, and he knows how we want to do things. He possesses a great number of characteristics that will help our staff, our administration and our team in his role as director of football operations. He’s a heck of a guy, and we’re thrilled to have him back.”

Petrino, a native of Kalispell, Mont., returns to the Wyoming football program after serving as the defensive graduate assistant during the 2003 and 2004 seasons, Glenn’s first two seasons at UW. As a graduate assistant coach, Petrino coached the Wyoming safeties and assisted in numerous facets of the football program. During his first season at UW, Petrino was a member of the coaching staff that led the Cowboy football team to home wins over rivals BYU and Colorado State. In his second season, he helped lead Wyoming to a 24-21 win over UCLA in the 2004 Las Vegas Bowl.

Petrino has spent the past three seasons as the defensive coordinator at the University of Mary, a Division II school located in Bismarck, N.D. Aside from coordinating the Marauder defense, Petrino also coached the defensive backs and was the recruiting coordinator. He also worked in many other capacities during his time at Mary including working as a speed enhancement coach, an assistant strength coach, a game day manager, a sports information director and an assistant equipment manager.

In his three seasons at the University of Mary, Petrino helped lead the Marauders to a 20-10 record. This past season, Mary had the best defense in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. They led the conference in pass defense, allowing only 197.6 yards a game, and ranked second in rush defense, allowing only 94.4 yards a game.

Prior to his first stint at Wyoming, Petrino was the defensive backs coach at his alma mater, Carroll College. At Carroll, he coached under former UW assistant coach and letterwinner Mike Van Diest. Petrino coached the Fighting Saints defensive backs for three seasons from 1999-2002, winning the 2002 NAIA National Championship and the Frontier Conference Championship all three seasons.

Petrino played football at Carroll College from 1995-99, serving as a team captain his senior year. He earned a bachelor of arts degree in sociology from Carroll in 2002.

Petrino married the former Heather Fries on June 30, 2006. The couple welcomed their first child, Jason, Jr., on Aug. 28, 2007. Petrino joins his younger brother Jared on the UW football staff. Jared Petrino has served as the football video coordinator since 2006.

“We are very excited to get back to the University of Wyoming and are thrilled to work with so many great people, coaches and student athletes,” said Petrino. “When the opportunity for our family to come back presented itself, it was an easy decision to make. We have some great memories from our time at Wyoming like beating UCLA in the Las Vegas Bowl and also some big wins over BYU, CSU and Ole Miss. We always wanted to get back to Wyoming and couldn’t be more excited to arrive in Laramie and get to work.”

Stinson, Miller earn academic honors

By Wyoming Sports.org

Aimee Stinson and Tyler Miller, both juniors on the UW swimming and diving team, were named ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District VII as presented by CoSIDA on Friday. Both student-athletes earned their spot on the at-large team which represents the sports of swimming, hockey, lacrosse, wrestling and gymnastics among others.

With these honors, the UW swimming and diving team continues a tradition of academic excellence. In fact, over the past three years, eight UW swimmers and divers have earned All-District VII honors from ESPN the Magazine and CoSIDA.

For Stinson, a Colorado Springs, Colo., native, this marks the second consecutive year that she has earned First Team All-District VII honors. This past season, Stinson was the Mountain West Conference Champion in the 1650 freestyle and the conference’s runner-up in the 500 freestyle. In her career, she has earned First Team All-MWC honors seven times. At the 2008 MWC Championships, she set the Wyoming record in four individual and two relay events. Stinson carries a 3.86 grade point average and is majoring in secondary education with an emphasis in earth and space science. She has also been an Academic All-MWC selection and an MWC Scholar Athlete every year of her career.

For Miller, a Greeley, Colo., native, this marks the first time in his career that he has earned Academic All-District VII honors. During the 2007-08 season, Miller helped lead the Cowboy divers to a tremendous season and to the most team points in the MWC at the conference championship meet. Individually, Miller earned All-MWC honors in all three diving events. He placed third in both one-meter and platform and fifth in three-meter at the conference championships. He qualified for the NCAA Zone “E” Diving Championships where he was the highest finisher from the MWC in both springboard events. During his career, he has earned First Team All-MWC four times. Miller, a geology major, carries a 3.89 grade point average. He has also earned Academic All-MWC honors and has been named a conference scholar athlete every year of his career.

Both Stinson and Miller are now included on the Academic All-America ballot which will be voted on in the middle of June.

The ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District team is a part of the Academic All-America program. Student-athletes are selected in voting by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). CoSIDA District VII is made up of the states of Wyoming, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota and the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan.

Cowgirl volleyball signs outside hitter/setter

Bedore transferring from South Carolina

By Wyoming Sports.org

University of Wyoming head volleyball coach Carrie Yerty announced one addition to this year’s recruiting class, with the signing of Dani Bedore to attend UW beginning in the fall of 2008. Bedore, who is from Goodland, Kansas, is transferring from the University of South Carolina and will have three years of eligibility remaining.

“Dani is going to bring us Division I experience at a very high level,” said Yerty. “She is a very versatile six rotation player who can pass and attack or set and run an offense. She is very competitive with a high volleyball IQ and will help elevate our program immediately. I am extremely excited to have her join our Cowgirl program and look forward to watching her develop into one of the Mountain West premier players.”

Bedore, a 5-foot-9, outside hitter/setter, played in 29 matches along with 15 starts during her freshman campaign at the University of South Carolina. Bedore averaged 1.98 kills, while tallying 83 digs and 53 total blocks. The Gamecocks finished the 2007 season 14-15 overall and a 7-13 mark in the SEC. She recorded a career high 15 kills against Maryland (9/1/07), while setting a career mark with seven assists and eight digs against Auburn (9/14/07).

A three-time All-State selection while playing volleyball at Brewster High School, she also earned first-team all-conference and all-area honors following her freshman, sophomore and senior years. She took home all-region team accolades as a club volleyball player five straight years from 2002 to 2006. Her club volleyball squad qualified for the Junior Olympics National Championship Open Division four straight years starting in 2004. Besides volleyball, Bedore also lettered in basketball three years and earned another two in track and field.

Her basketball honors included all-league honors in 2004, 2005 and 2006, as well as the All-State team those same years. She also picked up second team all-area recognition as a freshman, sophomore and junior.

She qualified for the state track and field meet in the long jump and triple jump her freshman year, while being a member of Brewster’s state meet-qualifying 4x100-meter relay squad in 2005. She was listed on her high school’s academic honor roll all four years. She is the daughter of Dustin and Barb Bedore and she has two siblings, Jordan and Taryn.

Bedore is the fourth student-athlete to sign with the Cowgirls this season as they signed three during the early signing period. The other signees include Lauren Curtis (6-2, Rightside Hitter, Redmond, Wash.), Megan Johnson (S, 5-9, Lakewood, Calif.) and Nikky Sapp (5-3, Libero, Arvada, Colo.).

LHS lands 10 all-staters in soccer

By Wyoming Sports.org

The state champion Laramie Plainsmen and Lady Plainsmen placed 10 players on the respective Class 4A All-State soccer teams.

In winning their first-ever state title, the Lady Plainsmen were represented on the first team by six players -- keeper Ali Galey, defenders Lexi Valenti and Natasha Pettinger, midfielders Ariela Schreibeis and MaKenzie Meade and forward Kelsey Gapter.

Schreibeis, a sophomore who was named the Wyoming Gatorade Girls’ Player of the Year last week, was also named the state’s Underclass Player of the Year.

In voting by the state’s coaches, the Plainsmen were represented by keeper Andrew Eslinger, defenders Cody Suder and Keith Kyhl and forward Sean Gardea.

Class 4A Girls All-State
Cheyenne Central: Caley Wheeler, D; Ciara Meredith, M; Rebecca Ditto, F. Cheyenne East: Amanda Halter, D; Kelsey Altenbern, M. Casper Kelly Walsh: Karissa Thunselle, G; Courtney Brackenrich, D; Whitney Barrett, M; Sarah Gillett, F; Kayla Fakelman, F. Casper Natrona County: Sara Gillum, D; Becca Hickman, M; Hannah Couldridge, F. Evanston: Delina Delgado, D. Gillette: Hannah Phillips, M. Laramie: Ali Galey, G; Lexi Valenti, D; Natasha Pettinger, M; Ariela Schreibeis, M; MaKenzie Meade, F; Kelsey Gapter, F. Sheridan: Rachel Ryan, G; Chelsea George, D; Laura Quist, M. Star Valley: Siarra Nicoll, D.

Senior player of the year: Rachel Ryan, Sheridan.

Underclass player of the year: Ariela Schreibeis, Laramie.

Class 4A Boys All-State
Cheyenne Central: Brad Ramsey, D; Pete Schiel, M; Adrian Beckham, M; Jonathan Whipple, M; Kevin Cox, F. Cheyenne East: Kyle Regan, D; Ben Borin, M; Jorge Arenas, M; David Scadden, F. Casper Kelly Walsh: Zach Johnson, G; Erik Heiss, D; Luke Underwood, M; Matt Neeley, M; Kevin Bell, F; Erik Martinez, F. Casper Natrona County: Chris Jorgenson, D; Gentry Shreve, M. Green River: Ben Owens, D. Laramie: Andrew Eslinger, G; Cody Suder, D; Keith Kyhl, D; Sean Gardea, F. Rock Springs: Kyle Howe, D; Kevin Gold, M. Sheridan: T.J. Stender, G; Mario Moreira, F.

Senior player of the year: Adrian Beckham, Central.

Underclass player of the year: Kevin Bell, Kelly Walsh.

Cowgirl soccer signs Colorado midfielder

By Wyoming Sports.org

University of Wyoming head soccer coach Danny Sanchez announced on Tuesday the signing of Cassie Sheffield to a national letter of intent to attend Wyoming in the fall of 2008.

Sheffield, a midfielder from Longmont, Colo., is a four-sport athlete in which she lettered for three years in soccer, cross country and track and field. She also earned a letter in badminton her senior year.

In her freshman year, she was the Seton Catholic High School MVP in Arizona and won the 3A state championship, which was the team’s fourth year in a row. In her junior season, she was first in goals, first in assists and was a second team all-region selection at Chandler High School. She won the rookie of the year award and was a co-captain for the South Bank Lady Bugs Arizona Club team. Sheffield capped her senior season by helping Silver Creek become the number one ranked team in the Northern Colorado Conference, as well as the South Bank Lady Bugs in Arizona. Sheffield has also excelled in the classroom being named a member of the National Honors Society for two years and was also an AP/IB Scholar.

“We are excited to add Cassie to our program,” Sanchez said. “She will add instant athleticism and depth to our attack.”

Cowboys get another big man

'Pokes sign Auburn transfer, 7-2 Boubacar Sylla

By Wyoming Sports.org

University of Wyoming head basketball coach Heath Schroyer announced on Monday the signing of Boubacar Sylla (pronounced: BOO-buh-car, SILL-uh) to a scholarship offer. Sylla played this past season at Auburn University and comes to Wyoming with three years of eligibility remaining. He will be able to practice with the Cowboys beginning this coming season, but he will have to sit out of competition in the 2008-09 season to satisfy NCAA transfer rules.

Sylla, a 7-foot-2, 275-pound center with a 7-5 wingspan was a highly sought after player coming out of Stoneridge Prep in Simi Valley, Calif. He was also recruited by LSU and USC.

“I’m extremely excited to add a player the caliber of Boubacar to our program,” said Schroyer. “He not only brings great size but outstanding skills to our team. He played at one of the premier prep school programs in the country at Stoneridge Prep in California, and he obviously was a young man who a lot of people wanted as he was recruited by two SEC schools (Auburn and LSU) and one PAC-10 team (USC).

“Not only will Bouba give us another outstanding big man in our program for three seasons, but I believe he will help us immediately in the development of our other young center, Mikhail Linskens. Having two seven footers go at it in practice every day should make both Bouba and Mikhail better players."

Schroyer credited assistant coach Fred Langley for doing a good job of establishing a relationship with Sylla when they were recruiting him at Fresno State prior to coming to Wyoming.

“When Bouba was looking for a place to transfer, there is no question that the relationship Fred built a few years ago paid off in us getting a talented young player and a fine young man,” Schroyer said.

Sylla saw limited action at Auburn in his freshman season due to a stress fracture in a foot. He played in only three games during the 2007-08 season. He played on a Stoneridge Prep team that was ranked No. 14 in the nation in 2006-07 among all prep schools. That team had seven individuals earn NCAA Division I scholarships.

A native of Paris, France, Sylla completed his high school education in Paris before attending Stoneridge Prep. Born July 18, 1986, he is the eldest child of Mamadou and Oumou Sylla. He has five brothers and three sisters. In addition to basketball, he also played soccer as a youth. He speaks three languages -- English, French and Bambara, which his native African language.

Sylla is one of two spring signees for the Cowboys. He joins high school senior A.J. Davis of Columbus, Ohio, in Wyoming’s 2007-08 spring recruiting class.

It has also been determined that Wyoming junior Bienvenu Songondo is medically unable to compete in the future. Songondo will remain on scholarship for the Cowboys his senior year of 2008-09, but the NCAA does not count medically disqualified student-athletes against a school’s scholarship limit. Wyoming therefore has one remaining scholarship available for this coming season.

UW track concludes MWC meet

Babbitt wins 100-meter hurdles

By Wyoming Sports.org

FORT WORTH, Texas -- The University of Wyoming track and field teams finished with six all-conference selections and three conference champions in the Mountain West Conference Championships, as the Cowboys finished sixth and the Cowgirls placed seventh.

Junior Shaylee Babbitt was crowned 100-meter hurdles champion as she crossed the tape in 13.62 seconds, one one-hundredth behind her regional qualifying time that she ran at the Front Range Invite in Laramie two weeks ago. Babbitt, who placed third in last year’s race and a very close second in the indoor 60-meter hurdles, finally won her first conference championship.

As for the rest of the Cowgirls, sophomore Johnna Jeffries placed sixth in the high jump, clearing the bar at 5-foot, 5 inches. Also scoring points for the Cowgirls was junior Nikki Peterson, who ran a season best time in the 800-meter in 2:16.75, as well as sophomore Emily Higgins, who placed seventh in the 1,500-meter run in 4:32.68. Freshman Erica Anderson ran a 57.59 in the 400-meter dash and took eighth for the Cowgirls.

Earning all-conference honors with her win in the hammer throw yesterday and a toss of 192-9, senior Kate Burton earned third place in the discus throw with her personal best and regional qualifying mark of 158-5. She was closely followed by junior Courtney Gougler in fourth place at 149-2. Senior Gretchen Johnson also earned all-conference honors, as she did in the indoor season, with her third place finish in the 5,000-meter run.

For the Cowboys, sophomore John Alderson earned all-conference for the second straight outdoor season when he was third in the triple jump at 46-7¼, five feet short of defending champion and national leader Jonathan Jackson of TCU. Freshman Jeremiah James, coming off his win in the long jump Friday, took fifth with a flight of 44-7½.

In the 1,500-meter run, freshman Eliud Chirchir ran a 3:53.19, good for ninth place, just missing scoring for the Cowboys.

Junior Kekoa Chavez ran a personal best 52.98 in the 400-meter hurdles to take sixth place and score three points.

"Our young team got to see just how they stack up against the rest of this very strong conference," UW head coach Don Yentes said. "They will have all summer to rest and improve their skills for the next indoor season. I look forward to our competitors in the up-coming regional meet to make some noise and qualify for nationals."

Laramie wins two soccer titles

Plainsmen win second, Lady Plainsmen first-ever championship

By Wyoming Sports.org

A great year for Laramie High School soccer just got better on Saturday, as both the Plainsmen and Lady Plainsmen came away with Class 4A state soccer titles at the UW Soccer Stadium.

The Lady Plainsmen capped a near perfect season with a 2-0 win over Cheyenne East for their first-ever title. Laramie finished 16-1-0 for the season, with their lone loss in the season opener against Gering, Neb., in a game that LHS played short-handed.

The Lady Plainsmen opened up scoring from Kelsey Gapter in the 11th minute and took that 1-0 lead into the break at halftime. McKenzie Meade added the second goal in the 43rd minute. It was her 18th goal of the season.

For the year, Laramie outscored its opponents 59-11.

In a battle of No. 1 vs. No. 2, the top-ranked Plainsmen (15-1-2) prevailed, avenging their only loss of the season to the Trojans. The only goal of the game came at the 69th minute when Keith Kyhl scored off a header from a corner kick by Jimi Gomez. Gomez was credited with the assist. Andrew Esslinger had his 11th shutout in the net for Laramie.

This is Laramie's second ever state championship, with the other coming in the 2000 season.

In the 3A tournament, the Jackson girls and Cody boys both came away with state titles.

Jackson beat Worland 5-1 in the girls’ title game. Worland got on the board first in the 4th minute on a Venessa Frandson goal. Jackson responded and then dominated the game, first scoring in the 30th minute on a Nicole Sutton penalty kick. The second half belonged to Jackson, as Kelsey Bancrost scored in the 54th minute in what would be the game winner. Closing the scoring for the Lady Broncs were Abbey Armajo in the 63rd minute, Sutton again in the 71st off another penalty kick and Stephanie Schulz added in the 73rd minute.

Cody won the boys’ title in a 2-1 win over Buffalo in a shootout. Cody got on the board first in the 21st minute on a Gavin Lafollette goal and Buffalo countered on a goal by Tyler Gibbs in the 62nd minute. After no score in the overtime period, both teams made their first five shootout goals before Cody keeper Josh Shrine knocked away the sixth attempt and Broncs’ freshman Morgan Heimer put in the game winner.

Cowboys fifth, Cowgirls seventh in MWC

UW photo service

Wyoming freshman Jeremiah James won the long jump Friday at the Mountain West Conference Championships in Fort Worth, Texas.

James, Burton come away with titles

By Wyoming Sports.org

FORTH WORTH, Texas -- Wyoming freshman Jeremiah James and senior Kate Burton came away with titles Friday at the Mountain West Conference Track and Field Championships.

James had the fourth best long jump all-time in Wyoming history with his leap of 24-9¼. He was pushed by last year’s champion, senior Jonathan Jackson of TCU, who out-jumped James with two jumps left. James then set his personal best and took the title away from Jackson. UW sophomore John Alderson placed third for the second straight outdoor championships, with a flight of 22-10½.

Burton, who was the champion in the indoor MWC Championships in the weight throw, now adds the outdoor championships to her resume with a winning toss of 192-9. She also still owns the eighth best hammer throw in the nation.

Qualifying for the Cowgirls today was junior Shaylee Babbitt in the 100-meter hurdles, freshman Erica Anderson in the 400-meter dash with her personal best of 57.26 seconds and junior Nikki Peterson in the 800-meter run with her season best time of 2:17.45.

Also for the Cowgirls, freshman Alysha Davis started off the day with an 11th-place finish in the 10,000-meter run and a time of 37:29.17, good for seventh best in UW history. Along with junior Courtney Gougler, who placed 11th in the shot put. The long jump was led by senior Jennifer Collen in 15th with a leap of 18-5 and junior Lindsey Fuller in 17th with a jump of 17-11½.

Qualifying for the finals Saturday for the Cowboys was senior Vashone West in the 100-meter dash and the 200-meter dash, along with junior Kekoa Chavez qualified in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 53.51. Sophomore Jay Petsch, coming off his seventh place finish in the decathlon, failed to qualify for the finals in the 110-meter hurdles although he ran a season best time of 15.40.

Junior Geoffrey Standen ran his personal best time of 1:54.17 in the 800-meter run, crossing the tape in 12th place. Also, freshman Seth Grossman scored for the men in the 10,000-meter run, placing seventh with a time of 31:50.09. Also for the Cowboys, junior Brett Schuler ran a solid race in the 3,000-meter steeple chase where he placed eighth in a time of 9:28.54.

"Our young kids performed very well today, setting quite a few season bests and giving them something to build on for next year," UW head coach Don Yentes said.

After day three of the MWC Championships the Cowboys sit in fifth place while the Cowgirls are in seventh place. Saturday’s action will bring finals in the rest of the track events beginning at noon, with the field events starting at 10 a.m.

Rangers beat Vipers

Casas, Watson combine for one-hitter

By Wyoming Sports.org

LONGMONT -- Abel Casas pitched a one-hitter and the Laramie Rangers Prep baseball team earned a 5-2 victory over the Longmont Vipers Friday night at Kimball Field.

The win evened the Rangers Fort Collins Baseball League mark to 2-2 and put them at 3-4 overall on the season.

The Rangers jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning on three hits and never looked back behind Casas. Longmont’s lone runs came in the fourth inning. Casas picked up the win, walking three and striking out nine Vipers.

Laramie manager VerDon Hoopes said the key to the game was defense and pitching.

“Abel hit his spots very well and we made the plays behind him,” Hoopes said. “He really had them off balance, striking out nine. Dylan (Watson) closed it off well.”

Watson pitched the final two innings for the save, walking one and striking out one.

Offensively, the Rangers finished with eight hits, led by Taylor Bogess with a single, double and one RBI. Tyler Loose had a pair of singles for Laramie, scoring one run.

“We came out with three hits for two runs in the first to set the stage,” Hoopes said.

The Rangers Prep team returns to action on May 31 when they host the Rocky Mountain Titans at Cowboy Field in a doubleheader that begins at noon.
---
RANGERS 5, VIPERS 2
Laramie 200 120 0 -- 5 8 3
Longmont 000 200 0 -- 2 1 4
Laramie pitching -- Abel Casas (w, 5 IP, 1h, 2r, 0er 3bb, 9k), Dylan Watson (S, 2IP, 0h, 0r, 0er, 1bb, 1k). Longmont pitching -- Crist (L).
Laramie hitting -- Tyler Loose (1b 1b, 1run), Kevin Dooley (1b 2 runs), Dylan Watson (1b rbi, 1 run), Taylor Boggess (1b, 2b, rbi), Abel Casas (1b, rbi), Alex Jordan (1b, 1 run). Longmont hitting -- Beckee (1b).

John places fourth in hammer

Petsch concludes decathlon with seventh-place finish

By Wyoming Sports.org

FORT WORTH, Texas -- The Wyoming Cowboys track and field team got on the scoreboard with a couple of placings in the second day of the Mountain West Conference Championships at the Lowdon Track Complex.

Sophomore Jay Petsch, who was in fifth place after day one of the decathlon, slipped to seventh in the final rankings. Petsch was ranked seventh in the conference coming into this weekend, set a new personal best with a total of 6,092 points. He also set a new personal best in the pole vault with a height of 12-feet, 3 inches. Justin Palmer of BYU took the title with a total of 7,054 points.
"Jay (Petsch) gained some much needed experience this weekend that will help with his future decathlons," UW assistant coach Quincy Howe said. "All in all, I was very impressed with the way he performed and competed today."

Also for the Cowboys on Thursday, freshman Alan John finished fourth in the hammer throw at 177-6. John is a regional qualifier and had the fourth best throw in the conference going into the meet at 190-0.

"A really good performance for a freshman," UW assistant coach Paul Barrett said. "The distances were down as a whole today, but that is pretty common for conference."

Day three on Friday will bring finals for many field events and mostly qualifying for the running events.

Equestrian competes at nationals

UW's Erin Downey competed last weekend at the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA) National Championship Show.

UW’s Downey places 15th at National Championship Show

By UW Media Relations

The University of Wyoming’s Erin Downey placed 15th in her division last weekend at the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA) National Championship Show.

Downey, an undeclared junior from Anchorage, Alaska, was the first UW contestant to qualify for nationals since Michelle Schwope of Lovell and Amy Goodson of Sundance represented the school in 2004.

“She had a really hard horse and I think she was one of the few riders who did have a hard draw,” said UW coach Kari Randle, who skipped her own graduation ceremony to accompany Downey to California for the three-day show that featured some 420 riders. “It was an amazing show and I am so proud of Erin for just making it to nationals.”

Downey competed against 19 other riders in the Intermediate Equitation On The Flat division. Kaitlyn Kurtz of the University of Miami of Ohio won first place in the class, followed by Charlotte Kramer of Syracuse University and Lorrin Mortimer of the University of Georgia.
The University of Kentucky (Hunter Seat) and Ohio State University (Western) won team championships inside the Equidome at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center.

The club’s volunteer coach, Randle was one of UW’s nearly 1,500 graduates this year. She received a degree in animal science.

The IHSA, founded in 1967, includes more than 300 member institutions and 6,500 riders across the United States and Canada. For more information, go to the Web site at http://www.ihsainc.com/.

UW and Laramie County Community College in Cheyenne are the only schools in Wyoming that sponsor IHSA teams.

UW track gets ready for MWC Championships

UW photo service

UW's Shaylee Babbitt, center, competes in the 100-meter hurdles during the recent Front Range Invitational.

Wyoming track and field looks to add more regional qualifiers

By Wyoming Sports.org

The University of Wyoming track and field team will open the Mountain West Conference Championships Wednesday in Fort Worth, Texas.

The meet, which will be hosted by TCU, will run through Saturday.

Competition begins Wednesday at noon with the heptathlon and decathlon events. The Cowboys are represented by decathlete, sophomore Jay Petsch, who currently ranks seventh in the MWC with 5,718 points that he accumulated at the Cougar Invite in April.

Thursday will bring the conclusion to the heptathlon and decathlon and the beginning of the men’s hammer throw. Competing in the hammer throw will be freshman Alan John, who has regionally qualified with a toss of 190-feet at the Front Range Invite in Laramie.

The women’s 10,000-meter run begins action on Friday. For the running events, most will be qualifying for Saturday’s finals, which begin at noon. A complete schedule of the events is available at http://www.themwc.com/.

“We look forward to having some young kids get some experience and exposure on the conference level,” UW head coach Don Yentes said. “They have been improving all year and we look for some of them to make some noise this weekend.”

UW has eight regional qualifiers so far this season -- four Cowboys and four Cowgirls.

Senior Kate Burton leads the way with her record-holding toss of 209-8 in the hammer throw. She is followed by fellow senior Gretchen Johnson, who qualified at the Stanford Invite earlier this April with time of 16 minutes, 35.98 seconds in the 5,000-meter run, which was also good for second best all-time in UW history. Junior thrower Courtney Gougler has qualified in the discus at 166-0, along with Shaylee Babbitt, who qualified in the 100-meter hurdles.

The Cowboys are led by sophomore John Alderson, who qualified in the triple jump, as he currently he sits in second place in the MWC and third place in the long jump. Alderson follows freshman Jeremiah James in the long jump, as James has qualified with his leap of 24-1. James will compete in the long, triple and high jump events this weekend. Along with John in the hammer throw, senior Vashone West qualified in the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.38, good for fourth best in the MWC.

“Kate (Burton) and Gretchen (Johnson) have both been very big parts of this program for the past few years and will be sorely missed and hard to replace,” said Yentes.

Rangers Prep thumps Hawks

By Richard Anderson
Wyomingsports.org

Sometimes in sports, it’s not the mistake you make that is the problem; it’s how you react to the mistake.

For the Laramie Rangers Prep baseball team, Thursday night’s game against the Fort Collins Hawks was all about how the Rangers would react -- to Monday’s drubbing against Cheyenne Prep.

The Rangers reacted quite well, stopping the Hawks 17-10 at Cowboy Field. The win moved Laramie to 2-4 on the season. On Monday, the Rangers fell to Cheyenne 19-0 and 10-0.

“Monday night was a beating,” Rangers Prep manager VerDon Hoopes said. “They took it pretty hard. We had a long talk about what is our purpose or what is our goal here. That is to just get better all of the time, keep improving and prepare for the future. It’s starting with this 13- and 14-year-old deal. We played against a Cheyenne team that has had a lot of experience and they took it to us pretty good.

“But the kids came out and probably had their two best practices of the year on Tuesday and Wednesday and really got after it like nothing had happened on Monday. That was a good positive. The way they responded tonight was a lot of fun.”

The Rangers jumped out early, leading 13-1 and 17-4 before the Hawks came back a little in the final couple of innings. Laramie had nine players with hits in the game.

“They made a few errors, but we did some things, like a nice suicide squeeze in the second inning to get our first run. Things just got going from there,” Hoopes said. “They had a lot of good hits tonight. Some of the kids hit the ball into outs, but they made good contact.”

Craig Welniak led the way offensively with a single and triple and two RBI, with Sam Feldman adding a pair of hits and an RBI. Brady Olson had two RBI in the game, with Casey Stangle and Dylan Watson both knocking in a run. Hunter Wick, Taylor Boggess, Tommy Johnson and Abel Casas all had one hit in the game as well.

Feldman was the winning pitcher, giving up four hits and one run in four innings.

Laramie will return to action Saturday with a doubleheader at Cowboy Field against the Longmont Vipors, beginning at noon.

“The field is getting green out here, finally,” Hoopes said. “It was a little chilly tonight, but at least we got to play. Longmont is right in the middle of the pack in league play, so there is no telling what they have. But they have to come up here and play on the big field, so that is always fun for us. We’re looking forward to it.”
---
Rangers Prep 17, Fort Collins Hawks 10
Fort Collins Hawks 001 031 5 -- 10 11 5
Laramie Prep 024 650 x -- 17 11 4

Rangers ready for a game

Richard Anderson photo
Jon Sorenson, left, and Skyler Joy are two returning All-Staters for the Laramie Rangers AA American Legion baseball team.

Post 14 looking for a little more unity

By Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org

Skyler Joy and Jon Sorenson have the recognition of being honored individually as baseball players. Yet, they are more excited about the team atmosphere that they are seeing this pre-season.

Both are returning All-State players for the Post 14 American Legion baseball team, and both see a little different Rangers squad under second-year skipper Sean McKinney.

“We have a lot of new kids who have come in, and it is actually kind of exciting because there is a lot of talent and all of them are willing to learn from myself and the coaches,” Joy said. “It is exciting to have kids who want to play and are willing to work hard to achieve the same goal. We have a really strong core of guys who get along well, on and off the field. It just makes it easier to get out there and work day-in and day-out. We’re all in it together.”

Sorenson, still just 16 years old, said they don’t have a “ton of experience,” but they show it in other ways.

“We help the younger kids out on the field and we have other kids helping us out, too. It’s a give-and-take situation,” Sorenson said.

The Rangers will officially open the season this weekend in Cheyenne with a pair of games each against seven-time defending state champion Cheyenne Post 6 and last year’s state runner up, Gillette. Laramie faces Cheyenne at 1 p.m. on Saturday and then takes on Gillette at 3:30 p.m., before playing Gillette Sunday at 12:30 p.m. and Cheyenne at 3 p.m.

It was a tough year in the won-loss column (14-29) for the Rangers, who failed to earn at least a third-place finish at state for the first time in three years. A good turnout with a strong mixture of experience and young talent has McKinney excited about the possibilities.

“We’ve been hitting inside and throwing since February,” McKinney said. “It was great about three or four weeks ago to finally get outside. We had those two scrimmages against Cheyenne and Wheatland, which showed us where we stood as a team, what we need to work on. So far, spring ball has been great. We’re working some kinks out, finding where some kids can play, and finding what they can do. Overall, I’m very happy with what we have accomplished so far.”

For McKinney, a former Ranger player himself and collegiate at Mesa State, things have gone much smoother to begin his second season at the helm.

“It’s been a lot better for me and my assistant coaches, knowing the kids from last year, knowing what each kid needs to do,” McKinney said. “It makes our practices more to the point and what we need to focus on more.”

McKinney, who is assisted by Kyle Deck, Jeremy Francom and Greg Warren, said their early focus is on fundamentals and teaching the young players the game of baseball.

“We have a lot of kids with a lot of raw talent,” McKinney said. “As coaches, we have to take that talent and teach them the game of baseball. Baseball is very complicated. It has a lot of things going on, within a game, within an inning, within pitches.”

Including the Rangers Prep team, there are about 38 players out for the Legion program, up from 18 last year (on two teams). That alone has McKinney pleased.

“That is a good sign for the program and for the kids of Laramie,” he said. “Baseball is a great sport and I am happy to be here teaching the kids, trying to teach them everything that I know and learn some things from them as well.”

Joy, who is moving over from third base to shortstop this season, said he looks to tap into McKinney’s baseball knowledge for a possible collegiate baseball future. He said he worked with McKinney a lot during the off-season on several aspects of the game, such as hitting to the opposite field and defensively at a new position.

“They are a lot of things that he brings from the college game, so maybe I can move up to that level some day,” Joy said.

As a team, McKinney said the Rangers could be strong defensively and they should have more depth on the pitching mound this season. It all goes back to fundamentals.

“We want kids to play several positions; that way we can be more versatile,“ McKinney said. “That will help us out a lot because we do have a lot of athletes. That will play to our advantage.”
Sorenson is a prime example, as he will play at third base, catcher and in the outfield, as well as pitch.

“I’ll play wherever they want me to play,” Sorenson said.

McKinney said that a team can never have enough pitching, but he likes their depth on the mound.

“We have a lot of kids who can throw,” he said. “Last year, we were really young and this year we are as well. But I feel like we have a lot of kids who can give us good innings and that will be what we need.”

Despite an up-and-down spring, weather-wise, the Rangers are anxious to get on the field for games that count. Even if it is against arguably the two top teams in the state.

“We’re definitely going to see where we’re at. It’s tough to schedule this early in the year, so unfortunately, we get Cheyenne, which has won seven straight state titles,” McKinney said. “It’s a good team for us to play. It will show us where we are at and it shows the kids where they need to be at. The state tournament will always run through Cheyenne and likely Gillette. It will be fun to go toe-to-toe with some of the best teams in the state.”

For Joy and Sorenson, this weekend will be a chance for them to take what they have learned on the practice field into a game situation.

“We’re all anxious, but at the same time we’re still trying to get some work done,” Joy said.

Sorenson, however, will only get to play on Sunday, as he will compete for the Laramie High School track and field team Saturday at the regional meet at Okie Blanchard Stadium in Cheyenne.

If only he could run back and forth from the track and baseball diamond at Powers Field.

“I wish I could,” Sorenson said with a grin.
---
Laramie Rangers AA and A Roster
18 year olds
Jason Rodriguez -- outfield, pitcher; Skyler Joy -- shortstop, pitcher; Ryan Ivey -- outfield; Sri Sritharan -- pitcher.
17 years old
Tim Delbert -- catcher, outfield; Zach Kersey -- outfield; Mike Garner -- first base, pitcher; Coleton Wilson -- pitcher, first base; Ryland Harding -- infield, pitcher; Jordan Rhodine -- infield, outfield, pitcher; Mike Hudson -- outfield, pitcher; Sean Gardea -- outfield, catcher.
16 years old
Brody Hilgenkamp -- outfield; Travis Scott -- outfield; Jon Sorenson -- third base, catcher, outfield, pitcher; Derek Campbell -- outfield; Tim Carpenter -- first base, pitcher; Nick Armijo -- catcher, infield; Kyle Alexander -- catcher, infield.
15 years old
Tyler Mitchell -- outfield; Lance McCartney -- infield, pitcher; Barry Thomas -- pitcher, infield; Josh Peterson -- outfield, pitcher; Nolan Carter -- infield, pitcher.
14 years old
Max Schoen -- infield, pitcher.

Cowboys secure CNFR appearance

UW Photo service
UW's Jake Pratt successfully ties his calf during Sunday's Laramie River Rendezvous Rodeo tie down roping competition. Pratt won the regional calf roping title this spring. He and his teammates will compete at the College National Finals Rodeo June 15-21 in Casper. Pictured below, UW's Sarah Mulholland competes in breakaway roping.

Cowgirls ready to defend national title



By UW News Service


When Lamar Community College top team roper Josh Fillmore failed to get his rope around the steer's heels during Sunday's Laramie River Rendezvous Rodeo, members of the University of Wyoming men's rodeo team knew this was the break they needed.

Mired in a so-so performance during their own home rodeo, the Cowboys needed outside help for a chance to qualify for next month's College National Finals Rodeo (CNFR) in Casper.

Entering the weekend rodeo, only 185 points separated the second-place UW men from Lamar (Colo.) Community College (LCC).

The Antelopes put together a run the entire weekend, but it came down to the final two events in which they could score major points to overtake the Cowboys for one of the top two positions for an automatic bid to the CNFR.

But, LCC failed to gain the necessary points when the region's top team ropers Fillmore and Cole Dorenkamp were stung by a 23.1-second time during Sunday's short go round. Minutes after the rodeo, a nervous UW Coach George Howard, who always keeps track of team points after each event, stood off by himself in the Cliff and Martha Hansen Livestock Teaching Arena, tabulating all the statistics.

An unsure Howard then added, "I think we made it by 10 points or we tied." About 10 minutes later, Howard emerged from the rodeo office with the official results.

Even though the Cowboys finished in only fifth place in the season's final rodeo, UW had enough at the end to claim the second-place position and an automatic invitation as one of the Central Rocky Mountain Region's (CRMR) two representatives at the national finals. Stuck in fifth place just four weeks ago, the Cowboys had a late-season push to finish with 3,420 points to make up for failing to qualify for last year's CNFR.

"Ten points is 10 points. It made me sweat it though. But really, it came down to how Lamar's two team ropers competed today (Sunday). They went out there and they didn't do very good," Howard said. "They got the clock stopped, they got a few points, but it wasn't enough."

Fillmore and Dorenkamp placed fourth in the team roping average, but managed to score just 20 points for the Antelopes. Even one place higher would have given the team at least a chance to tie the Cowboys in the overall standings.

"We got healthy, everyone was back in their competitive game and they all want to go to the college finals," Howard said about his team's second place CRMR finish. "That's everybody's goal -- get to the finals, and we're going to take a run at that title now."

On the other side, there was no suspense on what the defending national champion UW women needed to do before the CNFR. The Cowgirls wrapped up their third consecutive CRMR title even before the start of the spring season in March.

The Cowgirls finished a season-long dominating performance, scoring a team-record 765 points to claim their ninth team title in 10 events during the fall and spring schedules.

Overall, the team's 5,735 points gives the UW women the second most points nationwide, just 200 behind New Mexico State University.
Central Wyoming College, just like the UW women, dominated this year's men's competition.

The Rustlers won the 59th edition of the Laramie River Rendezvous Rodeo with 570 points followed by LCC at 465. The UW men were fifth with 290.

Jake Pratt, a secondary education sophomore from Ellensburg, Wash., placed third in the tie down average to capture the regional title. Teammate Jason Hubbard, an agriculture junior from Wheatland, added fifth place points in the same event and was second to Pratt in the final overall standings.

"Last year, I just didn't have the same mindset as this year and I wasn't ready to compete on the college level," Pratt said. "But this year I was riding good horses all the time; that's what I give most of my credit to."

The only other points for the Cowboys came when Neil DeZort, civil engineering sophomore from Kalispell, Mont., placed third in the bareback riding average -- the same position he finished overall in the region.

During Sunday's short go, the large crowd at UW's indoor arena witnessed why Nikki Steffes is the Cowgirls' best competitor since Jimmie Jo Martin had a similar dominating performance in the early 1990s.

Steffes, molecular biology junior from Vale, S.D., won her third straight CRMR all-around title, topping teammates TaNaye Carroll and Sarah Mulholland by nearly a 1,000 points, giving her more than 6,000 for her three-year career. Steffes also is the defending all-around national champion.

Sunday, she won both the goat tying and barrel racing events, giving her the regional title in both. Steffes also took fourth in the CRMR breakaway roping.

"I just have had great horses to ride all year. I got to use ‘Doc' all spring and he's just an amazing horse," Steffes said about her ride that was named the region's horse of the year in the women's competition. "We have a great team and it's been a lot of fun being able to practice with Sarah and TaNaye.

If anything, them coming to our team has made me a tougher competitor for sure. I've just enjoyed having them here and am looking forward to the college finals."

The Cowgirls swept all three women's events this year. Carroll, a kinesiology junior from La Junta, Colo., won the overall breakaway roping event and finished second to Steffes in goat tying, the same spot during Sunday's short go.

Mulholland, a nursing junior from Richland Center, Wis., won Sunday's breakaway roping title, the second time this season she's been the top roper. She finished third overall in goat tying and fourth in breakaway roping, giving the Cowgirls a solid lineup heading into the CNFR.

"I'm roping probably the best I have ever done before. I've really worked hard on my breakaway roping this year and my horse has worked so hard. I really want to make the CNFR and I really needed this win," Mulholland, a CWC transfer student, said. "I'm glad I came here.

It's an awesome team and I'm just glad that I can contribute."

Listed are the team points, followed by the top six individuals in the average, final year-end CNFR qualifiers and post-season awards:
Women's team points -- University of Wyoming (UW), 765; Central Wyoming College (CWC), 345; Sheridan College (SC), 170; Chadron State College (CSC), 70; Laramie County Community College (LCCC), 55; Colorado State College (CSU), 50; Gillette College (GC), 40; Casper College (CC), 15.
Men's team points -- CWC, 570; LCC, 465; GC, 425; CC, 385; UW, 290; Northeastern Junior College (NJC), 170; Eastern Wyoming College (EWC), 150; Mesa State College (MSC), 120; CSU, 85; SC and LCCC, 80.
Barrel racing -- Nikki Steffes, UW, 30.34; Annie Joanette, CWC, 30.62; Chelsea Moore, CWC, 30.70; Ilene Hilman, UW, 30.85; Jessica Picchietti, CWC, 31.39; Devan Frey, CC, 31.47.
Breakaway roping -- Sarah Mulholland, UW, 5.7; TaNaye Carroll, UW, 6.6; Randi Perry CC, and Megan Schrock, CC, 6.7; Barbara Pfeiffer, CSU, 7.7; Caitlyn Cahill, UW, 9.5.
Goat tying -- Nikki Steffes, UW, 13.2; TaNaye Carroll, UW, 13.7; Lacey Schuelke, SC, 15.1; Lacey Roberts, CSC, 15.5; (tie) Annie Joanette, CWC, and Tia Brannan, LCCC, 15.9.
Saddle bronc riding -- J.W. Moore, CC, 153; Blaze Hamaker, CWC, 150; Seth Glause, CWC, 142; Patrick Carpenter, SC, 128; Ty Hamaker, CWC, 127; Wyatt Johnson, NJC, 120.
Bareback riding -- Ty Kenner, EWC, 142; Bryan Jones, CWC, 141; Neil DeZort, UW, 132.
Bull riding -- (one qualified ride) Jason Blasdele, MSC, 80; Seth Glause, CWC, 77; Brandon Abel, LCCC, 71; Cody Sierks, EWC, 60; Neil Muscat, SC, 57.
Steer wrestling -- Cody Nichols, EWC, 12.0; Troy Brademuehl, UW, 13.4; Tyrel Larson, CC, 14.1; Chason Floyd, GC, 15.0; Cameron Weddle, NJC, 17.2; Jake Colletti, LCC, 23.2.
Tie down roping -- Cole Dorenkamp, LCC, 19.5; Jake Pratt, UW, 20.4; Jake Hamilton, CC, 20.9; Joey Dickens, CSU, 21.4; Brad Johnson, GC, 21.8; Jason Hubbard, UW, 23.1.
Team roping -- Katie Felix/Jake Hamilton, CC, 17.1; Hazen Duncan/Beau Miller, GC, 20.0; Chase Dodson/Blake Henry, UW, 28.4; Cole Dorenkamp/Josh Fillmore, LCC, 28.9; T.J. Teague, UW/Garrett Rothenhoffer, CC, 30.9; Charlie Bezona/Chance Threet, LCC, 33.4.
CNFR qualifiers
Goat tying -- Nikki Steffes, UW; TaNaye Carroll, UW; Sarah Mulholland, UW.
Bareback riding -- Ty Kenner, EWC; Bryan Jones, CWC; Neil DeZort, UW.
Steer wrestling -- Brad Johnson, GC; Wyatt Johnson, NJC; Chason Floyd, GC.
Team roping headers -- Cole Dorenkamp, LCC; Tyler Viles, UW; Chris Cover, EWC.
Team roping heelers -- Josh Fillmore, LCC; Justin Viles, UW; Dustin Smith, CC.
Barrel racing -- Nikki Steffes, UW; Jessica Cates, GC; Taylor Miniat, CSU.
Breakaway roping -- TaNaye Carroll, UW; Kori Jorgensen, CWC; Katie Felix, CC.
Saddle bronc riding -- Seth Glause, CWC; Blaze Hamaker, CWC; Pat Carpenter, SC.
Tie down roping -- Jake Pratt, UW; Jason Hubbard, UW; Joey Dickens, CSU.
Bull riding -- Ty Hamaker, CWC; Seth Glause, CWC; Cameron Weddle, NJC.CRMR awards.
Rookie of the Year -- Women, Chelsea Moore, CWC; Men, Cole Dorenkamp, LCC.
All-Around Champions -- Women, Nikki Steffes, UW; Men, Seth Glause CWC.
All-Around Reserves -- Women, TaNaye Carroll, UW; Men, Ty Kenner, EWC.
Horse of the Year -- Women, Steffes' Doc; Men, Clint Doll's Hudson.
Most Improved Rodeo of the Year -- Laramie River Rendezvous, UW.
Rodeo of the Year -- Ropin' and Riggin' Days, CC.
Coach of the Year -- Gillette College's Will LaDuke.

UW track qualifies four more

UW's Kate Burton competes in the hammer throw.

Burton leads way with record hammer throw at Front Range

by Wyomingsports.org

The Air Force Academy men and the Colorado State women walked away with the team championships at the inaugural Front Range Invitational Saturday at the Louis S. Madrid Sports Complex.

The Wyoming Cowgirls finished second and the Cowboys placed third. The weather held up as 15 total records were broken and four more Wyoming athletes -- Shaylee Babbitt, in the 100-meter hurdles; Vashone West, in the 100-meter dash; Jeremiah James, in the long jump and John Alderson, in the triple jump.

For Kate Burton, it was an exceptional day, as she set the new Wyoming record with her toss of 209 feet, 8 inches. Her throw qualified her for the Olympic Trials and ranks second in Mountain West Conference history, along with being the seventh best toss in the nation this year.Babbitt who ran her personal best time of 13.61 seconds in the 100 hurdles, which is good for fourth best all-time.

“Kate (Burton) is no fluke, she is the real deal,” UW head coach Don Yentes said.

Both Burton and Babbitt walked away with some individual hardware as they both were awarded with the outstanding performances in the track and field events respectively.

“Shaylee (Babbitt) had a great meet today and I am really proud of her achievements all year long,” Yentes said.

For the Cowboys, West set his personal best time during his 100-meter regional qualifying race, as he ran a 10.38. He also ran the fifth best time in UW history in the 200-meter dash, with his fourth-place finish and time of 21.29. Along with West, James qualified in the long jump with his leap of 24-1. Alderson took first place and set his season best in the triple jump with his flight of 49-4 1/2. John Alan, who qualified last weekend in the hammer throw, increased his personal best at 190-0.

“We really had some kids perform better than expected, and I couldn’t be more pleased with the way they competed down to the last event,” said Yentes. “We had a lot of people put in a lot of time in order for these kids to compete today, and I am very thankful with everyone, from the administration to the facilities crew, and to all the volunteers that gave their time.”

The Mountain West Conference Championships are up next for the Cowboys and Cowgirls, as they will travel to Fort Worth, Texas, May 14-17. The NCAA Midwest Regional meet is May 30-31in Lincoln, Neb.