It all comes down to this

WORLAND- The final meet of the high school track season starts today, with schools from all four classes heading to Casper to compete in the state track meet. Champions will be crowned and WHS and TSHS are looking to add their athletes to that list of state champions and even contend for a team championship.

Worland

Worland High School will be taking 17 boys and eight girls for the state meet. The Warriors will have a shot at contending for the state championship and while the Lady Warriors numbers prevents them from contending, they're bound to make their presence felt.

"Our boys will have tough competition to go against but we're expecting great things from them at state. We took 13 girls to regionals and they placed fifth even with the small numbers, and we're only bringing eight to Casper but they're a highly competitive bunch who will also do great things," said coach Tracey Wiley.

The preparation, focus and determination by the team in practice has coach Wiley thrilled, "We've been getting the best from our kids over these last few weeks and this is the time of year you want your team and kids to be peaking, so I'm excited to see them compete against the state's best."

Coach Wiley also added, "Monday it was raining but we took kids outside anyway as these may be the conditions we have to compete in at state. The coaches are ready to see them perform for one more weekend."

This will be the last meet for Worland seniors Mauricio Caballero, Andrew Cady, Emmy Dykman, Allyson Klingler, Anna Lopez, Chance Martello, Bryanna Mickelson, Hoyt Nicholas, Sampson Rich and Thailand exchange student Paveethida Ha-Upala.

When talking about watching the seniors one last time coach Wiley was reflective but also very proud of her senior group, "It is a sad time of the year to see the seniors compete one last time as a Warrior or Lady Warrior. Some of whom have been in the program all four years. I couldn't be more proud of this group of seniors and how they've led this team and mentored the younger athletes. They're going to be missed."

Ten Sleep

The Ten Sleep Lady Pioneers track team only has seven girls out for this season but they've made their presence felt at each and every meet, and they're looking to do more of the same at state.

Coach Andy Ray has been excited with the development he's seen over the season, "We hit each mile marker when we thought we would and hopefully we can continue to do that into state and peak at the right time."

Some might look at the small numbers as a disappointment but coach Ray believe it is what makes this team special. "The team, as a unit, has been progressing and improving all season. They feed off each other and it's what drives them to keep getting better. And with that they've established a unique bond and take pride in trying to make as much noise in the team scores, regardless of their size. They took on the mindset of scoring as many points possible for the team. Even if that meant sacrificing their favorite event, for this group it's more about the team than anything else," said coach Andy Ray.

At the 1A West regional meet last weekend, the team continued their impressive run this season by setting new personal records and qualified for state in relays and personal events. Freshman Kelli Holiday won the 800-meter in 2:21.82 and 1600-meter in 5:23.16, and both times were new regional records set the freshman. Junior Allison Hampton was fourth in the 1600-meter with a time of 5:52.14 and jumped a 34-01.50 in the triple jump earning her second place. Between Hampton and Holiday, the two have been going toe-to-toe with some of the state's best and not just in 1A but the other three classes as well.

At state, coach Ray is looking for his team to keep up with what they've done all season, "We're going to compete as a team and surprise these bigger teams by putting points on the board. Then by the end of the meet we'll have those schools looking for Ten Sleep on a map."