The weather was cold, the competition stiff and the locales far away. But that still didn’t stop several new athletic happenings from taking place for the Crimson and Gold.

The weekend began on the soccer pitch, where despite more losses than wins overall, both the Braves and Lady Braves felt they had favorable conditions heading into the post-season. The Braves, fresh off a thrilling 2-1 overtime loss to Rock Springs, thought momentum was on their side as the two met up again just six days later. This time, the Tigers were ready and able. Rock Springs earned a state birth and regained momentum in a 6-1 drubbing of the Braves. Rock Springs eventually fell in the title match with Kelly Walsh, 2-1. (Photo by Kay Cox)

With a slightly higher number five seed, the Lady Braves met up with the Green River Lady Wolves with a chance to earn their first ever state tournament birth in this their fourth season of soccer, all under Head Coach Allison Hicks. Much like their most recent meeting, it was a physical, low-scoring affair, but this time it was Star Valley punching their ticket to Laramie and prevailing with the 1-0 win. In a bit of numerical favor, Star Valley was one of three number five seeds to advance to the state tournament of the four regional tournaments in the 4A Class.

Despite dropping a hard-fought contest to top-ranked Kelly Walsh in the semi-finals, 2-0, the Lady Braves capped off a very memorable weekend by dispatching Rock Springs for the second time in two weeks in a shoot-out. The pair of wins not only were the first for the program, but also netted Star Valley the third place trophy coming out of the regional tournament. The performance now earns Star Valley the right to face the Cheyenne Central team as the number two seed coming out of the East regionals. The Independentwishes to congratulate the Lady Braves on this achivement and wish them the best of luck at their first ever state tournament.

As for the Track & Field team, the Braves managed a third place finish as a team, scoring 95 team points and claiming a trio of Regional champions from the 4A West Meet held on the campus of Natrona High School. Standout senior Trevor Ricks won both the 1600 and 3200 Meter events in impressive fashion, pulling away from his nearest competitiors in both events for the set of titles. Ricks won both of these events at the state level a year ago at the 3A classification. In addition to Ricks, junior Tyler “Skinny” Skinner cleared 6′ 5″ and won in a jump off for the High Jump title. The home team Mustangs won the team title with 218.5 points, far outdistancing their cross-town rivals Kelly Walsh who finished with 116.5. The Rock Springs Tigers finished behind the Braves with 86.5 points.

The girls squad, despite taking a total of just 15 athletes still scored 56 points in a sixth place finish. Evanston took the title with 151 points, nipping Natrona who finished with 148.5. Sophomores Audrey West and Kirsten McKen both qualified for state action next week in four events, while West broke her own school record in the 400 Meter event Finals with a time of 59.15, besting her mark of 59.47 from two weeks ago.

State Track will take place in Casper at Kelly Walsh High School.

 

 Regional Track at Natrona County High School: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Lady Braves Regional Soccer: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download