Dozens of athletes from Star Valley are in action today in both Casper and Laramie as the culminating state events for both soccer and track & field are underway.

The Lady Braves had a rude awakening this morning as they played a 9 a.m. match with Cheyenne Central, losing in a one-sided affair, 7-0. The Lady Braves don’t exactly get a break despite moving to the consolation bracket, as Cheyenne East’s upset of Kelly Walsh has sent the Trojans down to face Star Valley. Kelly Walsh defeated the Lady Braves 2-0 in the 4A West semi-finals last weekend. The match is scheduled for 9 a.m. again Friday morning.

In Casper, the weather is considerably more pleasant than it was a week ago when the team competed at regionals. At this point in the day, nearly all of the updates involve the Braves. Trevor Ricks, who won both the 3200 and 1600 meter events a week ago, ran his fastest time of the year to place second in a time of 9:46, just five seconds short of the school record set by Holbrook Call in 1995. Dominick Robinson of Gillette won the event with a time of 9:31. It bears noting that Ricks’ time in Star Valley’s first year of 4A competition, was a full 25 seconds faster than the winning time in Class 3A. In fact, six runners in the 4A field broke the ten minute barrier.

At the High Jump PIt, regional champion, Tyler “Skinny” Skinner had a few near misses, placing fourth with a jump of 6′ 2″. Team mate Mitch Schwab placed second with a leap of 6′ 4″ for an impressive finish for the Braves in the event.

Thursday Evening -

Danette Warren threw 36′ 6″ in the Shot Put, but missed out on the top eight by several inches. Warren will graduate having set the school record a year ago at 37′ 3.5″. Junior Madison Wilkes threw her best distance of the season, hitting 35′.

In the Long Jump, Audrey West leaped 16′ 11.25″, good enough for fourth place and the total points scored by the Lady Braves on day one. Star Valley is currently in eighth place with those five points, while Rock Springs and Cheyenne Central are tied for first with 32 points.

Senior Chad McKen earned a trip to the finals in the 110 Meter Hurdles with a time of 16.36, while sophomore Brandon Taylor barely missed the cut with a time of 16.79

The Braves currently sit in third place with 21 team points. Gillette is leading the pack with 34 points while Central is right behind with 32 points.

Friday Morning -

The Lady Braves rebounded from a 7-0 drubbing at the hands of Cheyenne Central to play in a hard-fought loss against 4A West Champion Kelly Walsh, eventually losing, 2-1.  This officially ends the Lady Braves season, but they will return a large percentage of their players again next year where they should continue to improve.

On the Track front, both Audrey West and Kevin Brough both ran the 200 Meter event.  West qualified for the finals with a time 26.22, which will rank her sixth going into the finals.  Brough ran a 23.24 which was .07 off from qualifying for the finals in the event.

Friday Afternoon -

The 400 Meter event was a very good stretch for Star Valley High as both Audrey West and Kevin Brough both had the fastest times of any runner in the preliminary heats.  West broke her own record for the second time in seven days, running 58.00 for the top time.  Brough also slightly bested his own personal best for the year, running a 49.93, the only time under 50 seconds for the day.

Saturday -

It was an exciting day to wrap up the 4A Track & Field Championships, and several events included some very noteworthy performances by several Star Valley standouts.

On the girl’s side, Audrey West placed fourth in the 100 Meter Dash, running a 12.95.  West also placed fifth in the 200 Meter, matching her school record time of 25.95 seconds.  And to top it all off, West broke her own 400 Meter record for the third time in nine days, setting a new time for herself at 57.40 which was good enough for third place, just a few tenths behind the winner.  Kirsten McKen placed in the points running a 2:27 in the 800 Meter Run, good enough for eighth place.  Danette Warren also scored points in the High Jump, clearing 4′ 10″, which put her in seventh place.

As for the Braves, they notched a pair of second place finishes.  First off, Kevin Brough broke through another personal best in the 400 Meter Dash, running a 49.64, just behind Mario Harris of Natrona who ran a 48.85.  Brough’s time is now just .3 seconds from breaking the 20-year old mark of Matt Hansen in the event, a feat he will try to perform next year.  Trevor Ricks also had an exciting finish in the 1600 Meter Run, placed second with his fastest time of the season at 4:24,  just two seconds behind the winner, not to mention the 35-year old school record of Kevin Hyde. 

Chad McKen ran his fastest times of the season in both the 110 and 300 Meter Hurdles, placing fifth in both events with times of 15.75 and 40.21 respectively.

As a team, the Lady Braves finished with 26 points which placed them tenth, in front of Green River and Riverton.  Cheyenne Central claimed the state title with 117 points, while Kelly Walsh finished in second with 99.2 points.  As for the Braves, they finished in sixth place with 50 points, just 1.5 points behind Kelly Walsh for a fifth and seven points behind Laramie who finished fourth.  Gillette continued a dominant year, winning the event with 140 points, edging Natrona and their 132.

In other classifications, Cody swept Class 3A by running away from all the other teams in both the boys and girls events.  Fellow L.C.S.D. No. 2 school, Cokeville, finished with a pair of State Runner-Up titles in Class 1A.

The Independent wishes to congratulate the Braves and Lady Braves on a spectacular effort over the weekend where times were beaten in seemingly every attempt.  A special congratulations goes out to the seniors such as Warren and Ricks who have performed admirably throughout their Star Valley career.  Warren graduates with the school Shot Put record and Ricks will graduate as arguably the finest long-distance runner in school history.