On Saturday, April 12, Powell High School held its yearly home track meet, the Powell L.A. Kohnke Invitational. It was only the second meet of the season this year, making it a breeding ground for growth, new personal records [PRs], and established leads across competition.
The tournament consisted of fourteen different teams from all over northern Wyoming. They brought strong competition which pushed the Panthers to hold their own on home ground and establish victory.
“[The meet] went well,” freshman Braxton Nelson said. “We won the meet. Had a lot of PRs go through, and I think everyone did really well.”
With it being a home meet, many wonder if there are any advantages to being on your own track or field. It seems to be that the support from being at home is more effective and bigger than your own ring or track.
“Being at a home meet had its advantages,” junior Sharae Shoopman said. “Being able to sit with my parents and be close to home brought comfort to my day, but sadly it did not positively impact my throwing as much as I would have liked to.”
Many athletes among different grades set new goals along with the success of the meet. Track is a constant learning environment with the need to be aware of your own abilities and mistakes at all times. With it also being one of the early meets in the season, many are fighting to pre-qualify for State Track and or earn a spot on the Varsity Track team.
“I plan to get my ducks in a row,” senior Landon Smallwood said. “I do believe that I could work on just keeping my chest up, having confidence going into it; the whole mentality thing. I think my only goal right now is to throw, at least in shot put, above 45 feet.”
State FFA was the same week of the tournament, leaving many athletes to compete right after getting back. Even with a couple days out of practice, they still managed to compete and finish strong.
“I was gone Tuesday through Friday and my team was not supposed to get home till Saturday night, but I made the commitment to be at the meet so I left early Friday with my mom and a couple more teammates who needed a ride as well,” Shoopman said. “I had high expectations and goals for the meet, but it took a turn the closer we got to the meet when I realized I would be gone. However, I knew the team had been working hard and had no limitations to their abilities.”
The track meet itself was a busy line of events for many to come and enjoy supporting their home team, even if the weather wasn’t exactly prime for athletes at first.
“The Powell track meet was cool, but the results were hot,” senior Kenna Jacobson said. “The weather was bipolar, it couldn’t decide if it wanted to be raining, windy, or sunny.”
Even through the difficulties of the change in temperature, the PHS track team continued to conquer until the girls placed 1st with 150 points, and the boys placed 3rd with 78.5 points. Overall, the invitational was a successful meet for the Powell team, giving us a positive outlook towards the rest of the season.
“Another day, another victory for the Powell girls,” junior Shelby Zickefoose said.
