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.

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.

Be sure to check back on this page for photos and video of Regional Track.

The bill, the Wyoming Range Legacy Act, passed the committee by a vote of 13-9. If passed into law, it will permanently protect more than 1.2 million acres of prime fish and habitat of acute value of Wyoming’s sportsmen from further oil and gas development, and allow for buy-outs of existing oil and gas leases.

“On behalf of literally thousands of sportsmen and women across Wyoming, I want to say thank you to Sen. Barrasso for having the fortitude to stand up for Wyoming’s rich outdoor heritage,” said Tom Reed, spokesman for Sportsmen for the Wyoming Range.  “The senator truly gets it—we need to keep some places as they are but not locked up. He’s has been to the Wyoming Range and has talked to countless sportsmen who have told him about the importance of leaving some places to share and pass down through generations.  He gets it and I thank him for it.”

The bill, which will affect some 100 miles of terrain in the Bridger-Teton range will still have to be approved by the full senate, and already has it’s detractors such as Larry Craig (R)  from Idaho, who felt it sends the wrong message to oil producing countries whom the Senate has recently asked for help.  “This is a message that should not be sent to the world’s oil suppliers” he said.

Other opposition came from Senator Mary Landrieu, (D) Louisiana, who called it counterproductive at a time when oil prices are at  an all time high.  She said the area includes 8.8 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and potentially 331 million barrels of oil. She noted that President Bush has asked OPEC to increase production.

Governor Dave Freudenthal testified on behalf of the bill recently, flying to Washington and back in a single day to do so.

“This is a testament to the senator’s willingness to listen to the sportsmen of Wyoming,” said Walt Gasson of the Wyoming Wildlife Federation. “I have seen first-hand how Sen. Barrasso has talked and corresponded with literally thousands of hunters and anglers from all walks of life during the past several months. Without exception, they are all deeply concerned about losing their hunting and fishing areas to energy development and on behalf of our organization, I would also like to extend some home-state gratitude.”

Reed, who has spearheaded the campaign to protect this sportsmen’s paradise for the past year and half, added, “When we started this hook-and-bullet effort to safeguard the Wyoming Range, we had 11 key groups offering their support. Today we have over 30 different sporting organizations representing Wyoming’s ‘way of life’.  It’s not easy being a senator, sometimes standing up for your state means you get a little bloody out in D.C., and today Sen. Barrasso proved he can not only take a punch, but he is also darn good at standing up and throwing them on behalf of his constituents.”

Sportsmen for the Wyoming Range plans to continue its efforts to protect the area as the bill reaches the Senate floor. The Senate must now pass the Wyoming Range Legacy Act to clear the measure before it moves over to the U.S. House of Representatives and on to the president for approval.

Added urgency comes in the wake of the vacancy of the head basketball job as well, a fact well understood by Holyoak. That being said, the committee worked through nearly 60 applicants into eight interviews and they believe they’ve found their man.

That man’s name is Chris Howell and he has served as the defensive coordinator at Sky View High School for the past several years. He was approved by the school board of L.C.S.D. No. 2 Wednesday evening in their meeting.

Howell has also served in the same capacity at Logan High School from 1992-1997.

At Sky View, he has been involved in football, basketball and baseball where he was the head coach on the diamond. He comes to Star Valley with a master’s degree in physical education with an emphasis on strength and conditioning. Howell has developed a regimen for strength training at both Logan and Sky View High Schools and has performed on the summer football staffs of BYU, the University of Washington and Boise State University.

For Howell, he will be exchanging one SVHS for another, this time in Crimson and Gold.
According to Holyoak, it’s Howell’s experience, his vigor, his enthusiasm and his organization that impressed the interview committee.

“The committee feels that within the pool of applicants that we’ve found who they wanted,” stated Holyoak. “This is a young applicant compared to some of the others that we saw, but the guy that we’re going with is young, enthusiastic and he wants this job. He wants to be in Star Valley and we could tell. He has done an exceptional job with his organization and we’re excited to have him.”

The Bobcats have gone an impressive 21-4 over the last two seasons, averaging over 33 points per game in that span.

I’ve got quite a few thoughts as the athletes head out on those beautiful yellow buses with green seats. Who came up with that combo by the way? Here are some things to watch for as the Braves and Lady Braves take on their respective opponents.

- The Girl’s Soccer team collected their first shutout since 2006 with their 2-0 win over Rock Springs last weekend. The program actually collected three shutouts that year, their first as a varsity squad. This team is a wonderful blend of seniors who have played for four years, (although there could be a few more) and young, fast, enthusiastic underclassmen. In fact, this team will look very similar next season and that bodes well for the future. Becca Sangster, the keeper, is a question mark right now due to a shoulder injury. Hopefully she can play, but if not, the defense has shown they’re up to the task of limiting good shot attempts. The ladies are aggressive, tough and despite a couple of wins, are using the underdog status to it’s limit. A birth in the state tournament would be an ideal next step for a program on the rise. Don’t be at all surprised if the Lady Braves kick their way to the next round.

- The match between the Braves and the Rock Springs Tigers was the best match I’ve seen the program play. Period. The guys are having fun and are genuinely disappointed to come up short. They’re ready to take that next step, and it’s the same team that will be standing in their way. The goal scored by Jon Scherbel on a full-speed header from Igor Dugat was stunning. If you feel that soccer can’t entertain, or will fail to do so, you’ve missed out this season. Sure it’s been cold, and some programs are just awesome (Kelly Walsh springs to mind) but this has been a very gutsy team this season. The Tigers will be at full strength and won’t be overlooking Star Valley this time. The big wild card for the Braves will be their ability to capitalize on good opportunities. No fewer than four shots had a great chance of going in in Afton that didn’t. Thus the loss. If Star Valley can convert those same opportunities into goals, they will be moving on. Defensively, the Braves have really stepped it up, and they’ll have their hands full with an incredibly quick Tiger squad. If you’ve got some time, this one should be very entertaining.

- So, the Independent had a few records that might be in danger of being broken this week or next week for the Track program. I wanted to expound a bit on a few of them after talking with Coach Brandon Sanchez. The girl’s 800 Meter record is the most intriguing to me. I had a very interesting conversation with sophomore Kirsten McKen, and I hope she won’t be embarrassed that I share it. In the Rock Springs Invite, my results of this event were wrong, but I didn’t know that as of yet. I mentioned to her that was only six seconds off the record which is 2:21. Her time from the Tiger Invite came back as a 2:27. She only laughed and said that the numbers were wrong and that she had run a 2:37, still good enough for the event title. She added: ” I wish I could run a 2:27″. There was not a hint of guile in her voice. Well, you know what they say about wishing, but McKen has put in the work. In a discussion with Sanchez and Coach Ty Draney who handles Cross-Country duties with McKen, they estimate she’s run over 1,200 miles this year and has been fortunate that her body has handled well. The result? McKen ran a 2:26 at the BYU Invitational just a few weeks later. I’m not going to pretend I ran the 800 Meter in high school, heck I was a thrower, and not a very good one. But even I know that cutting nearly 12 seconds on any event in that amount of time is amazing.

-Another discussion centered on Kevin Brough who became the first Wyoming boy to break the 50 second barrier this season. Sanchez, a former 400 runner himself, states that cutting off another six tenths is very difficult, but something he’s confident Brough will accomplish either this year or next. Hopefully conditions will be good in Casper like they were in Provo. If so who knows what will happen.

- One more track thing that involves the jumpers - Mitch Schwab and Tyler Skinner finished 1 and 4 in their respective leaps at the Track Classic. Skinner jumped even higher last week in Jackson, easily outdistancing the field with a jump of 6′ 4″ that he didn’t even come close to touching. What does this mean? The High Jumpers from Star Valley could very well go 1-2 in Casper. Both of these guys can clear 6′ 6″ and I hope for clear minds and performances over the weekend.

Well, who did I miss? Be sure to check out the May 8, 2008 edition of the Independent for more records poised to fall and also check back over the weekend for updates from the 4A West Regional Meet in Casper. Use the comment section and good luck everyone!

Sherard noted people don’t always know how to recognize whether they or another person they are with may be having a stroke. “Early treatment is essential because for every minute brain cells are deprived of oxygen during stroke, the likelihood of brain damage increases,” he said.

Sherard suggested a set of guidelines from the National Stroke Association to help identify strokes:
FACE Ask the person to smile. Does one side of the face droop?
ARM Ask the person to raise both arms. Does one arm drift downward?
SPEECH Ask the person to repeat a simple phrase. Does the speech sound slurred or strange?
TIME If any of these signs are observed, it’s time to call 911.

“If you recognize any of these signs of stroke, immediate emergency medical help is needed,” says Sherard, adding that

About 1,700 Wyoming residents experiences strokes each year, leading to personal suffering and a financial burden. Stroke is the top cause of permanent disability in the state.

“Prevention is always preferable, and there are a number of common-sense steps people can take to lower their risk of having a stroke,” Sherard said. These actions include:
*Knowing blood pressure.
*Find out about the presence of atrial fibrillation.
*Stop smoking.
*Those who drink alcohol should do so in moderation.
*Determine the presence of high cholesterol.
*Diabetics should check with their doctors.
*Exercise frequently.
*Enjoy a lower sodium (salt), lower fat diet.
*Find out if circulation problems (movement of the blood through the heart and blood vessels) are a concern.

Those who participated in the Wyoming Track Classic on Monday chose to skip the Lynn Williams or not to compete in their typical full slate of events including Classic champions Trevor Ricks and Mitch Schwab.

That being said, the squad pulled together an impressive number of first place finishes as well as building the confidence level of many underclassmen at the same time.

Be sure to scroll below for meet results and also click below for an exclusive video of the Braves and Lady Braves in action.

Team Results Girls

1- Evanston 188 pts 2- Star Valley 130 pts 3- Pinedale 85 pts 4- Jackson 67.5 pts 5- Teton (Idaho) 47.5 pts 6- Rock Springs 26 pts 7- St. Stephens Indian High School 4 pts

Team Results Boys

1- Pinedale 164 pts 2- Rock Springs 137 pts 3- Jackson 111.5 pts 4- Star Valley 76 pts 5- Evanston 74.5 pts 6- Teton (Idaho) 33 pts 7- Jackson “B” 2 pts

Girls Results

100 Meter Dash: Madison Wilkes 14.29 (10th) Winning Time: 13.57 (Gabbi Smith, Evanston)

200 Meter Dash: Winning Time: 26.44 (Erin Kirby, Evanston)

400 Meter Run: Randi Robinson: 1:05 (1st), Lauren Oliver: 1:09 (6th)

800 Meter Run: Randi Robinson: 2:35 (2nd), Alicia Inskeep: 2:54 (5th), Lisa Baugh: 3:05 (9th) Winning Time; 2:25 (Brooke Rice, Jackson)

1600 Meter Run: Alicia Inskeep: 6:11 (2nd) Winning Time: 5:50 (Bernadette Gutierrez, Evanston)

3200 Meter Run: Alicia Inskeep: 13:46 (1st)

100 Meter Hurdles: Charli Fisher: 18.55 (8th) Winning Time: 15.36 (Erin Kirby, Evanston)

300 Meter Hurdles: Charli Fisher: 54.83 (5th), Harli Hornof: 57.10 (9th) Winning Time: 52.08 (Shephanie Sheets, Evanston)

4×100 Meter Relay: Charli Fisher, Lauren Oliver, Madison Wilkes & Audrey West: 53.90 (1st)

4×400 Meter Relay: Kirsten McKen, Randi Robinson, Audrey West & Charli Fisher: 4:23 (1st)

4×800 Meter Relay: Charli Fisher, Kirsten McKen, Lauren Oliver & Audrey West: 10:47 (1st)

High Jump: Danette Warren: 4′ 10″ (1st)

Long Jump: Audrey West: 15′ 2″ (1st)

Triple Jump: Lauren Oliver: 30′ 8.25″ (4th), Danette Warren: 29′ 4.25″ (7th), Harli Hornof: 28′ 7″ (8th) Winning Mark: 32′ 7.5″ (Chelsey Hanson, Pinedale)

Shot Put: Danette Warren: 34′ 6″ (1st), Madison Wilkes: 32′ 4″ (4th), Nicole Wellard: 27′ 0″ (8th), Karli Coehlo: 22′ 4″ (13th)

Boys Results:

100 Meter Dash: Stirling Jorgensen: 12.51 (13th), Christopher Mortensen: 13.06 (19th), Logan Haderlie: 13.10 (20th), Mike Harris: 14.47 (26th), Winning Time: 11.48 (Blane Woodfin, Jackson)

200 Meter Dash: Logan Haderlie: 26.05 (12th), Stirling Jorgensen: 26.31 (14th), Cortland Dickey: 27.14 (15th) Winning Time: 23.35 (Neal Nelson, Pinedale)

400 Meter Run: Cortland Dickey: 1:01.13 (8th), Alex Cooper: 1:01.82 (10th), Taylor Keller: 1:07 (15th) Winning Time: 53.52 (Daniel Goe, Jackson)

800 Meter Run: Chris Sessions: 2:34 (19th), DJ West: 2:41 (20th) Winning Time: 2:09 (Damon Smith, Jackson)

1600 Meter Run: Josh Call: 5:15 (5th), Geof Elliott: 6:12 (12th) Winning Time: 5:08 (Wes Werbelow, Pinedale)

3200 Meter Run: Shane Titensor: 13:41 (8th), DJ West: 13:41 (9th), Cory Ingersol: 13:46 (10th) Winning Time: 11:27 (Andrew Rembacz, Rock Springs)

110 Meter Hurdles: Chad McKen: 15.78 (2nd), Brandon Taylor: 17.06 (4th) Winning Time: 15.75 (Lincoln Proud, Pinedale)

300 Meter Hurdles: Chad McKen: 42.96 (2nd), Brandon Taylor: 44.50 (3rd) Winning Time: 41.46 (Lincoln Proud, Pinedale)

4×100 Meter Relay: Logan Haderlie, Stirling Jorgensen, Shane Titensor & Christopher Mortensen: 50.05 (4th) Winning Time: 44.28 (Jackson)

4×400 Meter Relay: Kevin Brough, Cody Brough, Alex Cooper & Tyler Skinner: 3:45 (2nd) Winning Time 3:36 (Pinedale)

4×800 Meter Relay: Cody Brough, Kevin Brough, Trevor Ricks, & Tyler Skinner: 8:49 (1st)

High Jump: Tyler Skinner: 6′ 4″ (1st), Sean Pierson 5′ 6″ (8th)

Long Jump: Cory Ingersol: 14′ 11.75″ (6th), Travis Walters 13′ 3″ (9th) Winning Mark: 19′ 6″ (Jason McFadden, Rock Springs)

Triple Jump: Cory Ingersol: 35′ 8″ (8th), Travis Walters: 35′ 8″ (9th) Winning Mark: 41′ 10.50″ (Alex Bush, Jackson)

Shot Put: Andrew Erickson: 37′ 11″ (8th), Shane Titensor: 35′ 2″ (14th), Taylor Sessions: 28′ 9″ (21st) Winning Mark: 48′ 5″ (Matt O’Farrell, Rock Springs)

Discus: Andrew Erickson: 104′ 1″ (11th), Taylor Sessions: 90′ 4″ (17th), Shane Titensor: 83′ 5″ (19th) Winning Mark: 147′ 11″ (Mike O’Ferrell, Rock Springs

- Construction plans are still underway for the high school football/soccer field and track facilities to boot. I’ll admit, I’m missing the Dave Draney Invite this year. Yeah, you either got frostbite or sunburn, but it was ours. I’m remaining optimistic that everything will be completed when the time comes for the Braves to host the Snake River Panthers on September 5.  The lingering weather certainly hasn’t helped but hopefully we’ll see some heavy equipment out there soon. After all, the football season begins in just a little over four months and there will be a lot of new things in place. At least that’s the plan. A new field, a new head coach and the new crop of young men vying to be the next team leaders.  Star Valley’s not the only school in Western Wyoming changing coaches, as Riverton and Evanston have recently hired replacements while Lander will have a new coach as well this fall.

- Congrats to Trevor Ricks on yet another impressive performance at the Casper Track Classic.  Ricks won the 1600 Meter this year after winning the 3200 Meter last year.  I’ve actually lost count of how many event titles Ricks has won in his time at SVHS, including Cross-Country of course, but it’s enough to know that he’s one of the school’s elite runners of all time.  It will be interesting to see how the last month of the season shakes out and where his times end up, and whether schools will be calling for his services after high school.  Also, kudos have to go out to Mitch Schwab who won the High Jump.  Schwab and Tyler Skinner have proved to be a great 1-2 punch in the High Jump this year and placed first and fourth respectively at the Classic.

- A big Woo Hoo! to the Braves soccer team who ended their losing streak with an emphatic 4-1 win over Evanston.  They’ve got a very tough Green RIver team on Wednesday on the road, while the Lady Braves have a chance to rebound against the Lady Wolves at home.  And how can I not mention the hat trick (3 goals in one game for those of you who are soccer-challenged) by Jon Scherbel?  Here’s to hoping he notches three more against the Wolves.

Did I miss something?  Let me know with the comment section.

Star Valley came back from Casper after a 1-0 loss to Natrona, convinced that they were onto something good. So, when Evanston’s Kyle Armstrong notched the game’s first goal in the 10th minute, the Crimson and Gold didn’t panic.

Instead, junior forward Drew Hathaway tied the game just five minutes later in the 15th minute, assisted by Igor Dugat. Dugat was busy, assisting the first of Scherbel’s goals in the 23rd minute to give the Braves a lead they would not relinquish.

Scherbel fought through the Red Devil defense all match long andnotched his second goal in the 32nd minute off an assist by senior Kelly Ponciano.

Leading 3-1 at the break, Scherbel, along with Skyler Heiner pressured the Evanston defense and Joakim Wicksell assisted on the game’s final goal, coming in the 50th minute.

While the Braves have had three ties and several one-goal losses over the course of their drought, they had not been able to put together a win, but they controlled the action for the vast majority of the match although the shots on goal finished with similar number as Star Valley collected 17 to Evanston’s 16.

Senior keeper Kitrick Galloway collected nine saves, including one late in the first half which he punched up and over the crossbar in impressive fashion.

Goals: Evanston: Kyle Armstrong, 10th Minute; Star Valley:Drew Hathaway, 15th Minute, Jon Scherbel, 23rd Minute, Jon Scherbel, 32nd Minute, Jon Scherbel, 50th Minute

Assists: Star Valley: Igor Dugat (2), Kelly Ponciano (1), Joakim Wicksell (1)

Penalty Kicks: SV- 4, Evanston- 2

Corner Kicks:SV- 3, Evanston 6

Shots on Goal:SV- 17, Evanston 16

Saves:SV- 9 (Kitrick Galloway), Evanston- 6 (Kason Belnap)

From a greater quantity of physicians, to a much wider array of services, Dr. Stibor discusses the future of Star Valley Medical Center with Dan Dockstader

Rayback was a a formidable force with the Lady Braves, who went 47-5 in her junior and senior seasons. Rayback graduated with honors from SVHS in 2005.

The 6′ 4″ Rayback started the final 12 games of the season for the Big Sky Conference school. She averaged just under 18 minutes per contest and averaged five points and three rebounds per game.

“She’s a big time player,” stated Rocky Mountain Head Coach Brian Henderson. “We’re excited to have her come in and help us.”

Henderson said Rayback “was looking for something a little different” in deciding to transfer to Rocky and play her final season with the Battlin’ Bears.

Janie scored a season-high of 15 points against Montana State on two occasions this past season. Her career high to this point came against Idaho in her sophomore campaign as she dropped 18 on the Lady Vandals.

“She moves well; has got great hands and a great understanding for the game,” added Henderson. “We believe she will be a dominant force in this league.”

Rayback, 21, was one of three captains for the 12-16 Wildcats last season. She appeared in 85 games during her three-year career, starting 23 of them. She also shot 48.5% from the field in the 2007-08 season.

Janie played her high school basketball under Kade Wilkes and was the Salutatorian of the Class of 2005 at SVHS.

* Portions of this release were provided by Rocky Mountain College