Faure elevates to a new level with 1:48.14

State Meet Highlights

The Wyoming championships take place at Kelly Walsh High School in Casper (elevation: 5,200 feet). The meet is arranged in by the WHSAA’s four classifications. The season’s biggest news came from Rock Springs senior Ricky Faure, who dipped under 1:50 for the 800 meters at his regional meet and then let it rip with a stunning 1:48.14 in the state finals, good for No. 10 all-time. In a state with less than 600,000 people, the quality of the high school track this spring was impressive.

Top Performances:

- Ricky Faure was already one of the top half-milers in the U.S., but he broke through and reached a new level in the last couple of weeks. He won the Arcadia mile back on April 12 in 4:09.32, fastest ever by a Wyoming boy and still US#2. At state, he split 1:51 to lead Rock Springs to the 4x800 relay title and then won the 800 and also the 1600 in 4:14.20 for another state meet record. His 800-meter victory was capped a four-year state title sweep of the event.

- Jerayah Davis of Kelly Walsh will graduate as the best female sprinter in state history. She won the 100 (11.94), the 200 (24.44) and also the long jump (18-7.75). The USC-bound senior swept the 100 and 200 four years in a row at the state meet.

- Mesa Weidle of Rock Springs dominated the girls 400 (55.49) and 800 (2:16.73) and she was also second to Davis in the 200. She also anchored a 4x400 relay team that broke the state record with 3:56.72.

- Joey Czellecz of Kelly Walsh was the class of the field in the hurdle races. He won the 110s in 14.59 and the 300s in US#13 37.04 – fast enough to break the all-time state record.

- Kim Shumway of Lovell was the standout performer in Class 2A. She won the 400 (55.82) and ran the state’s leading time the 800 (2:15.29).

- Natrona County’s boys relay teams broke two all-time state records. A lineup of Trevor Brost, Tristin Cloward, Chance Jones and Garrett Ravert – broke the 4x100 record with 41.94. They are the first team to go under 42 seconds. And Brost teamed with Stevann Brown, Robert Counts and Ryan Schwieger to lower their own record in the 4x400, to 3:20.07.

- Carlos Salcido of Rock Springs, a junior, swept the sprints in 4A with 10.66 in the 100, 22.04 in the 200 and 48.27 in the 400. So together with teammate Faure, Rock Springs swept every distance from 100 to 1600.

Top Teams:

The Campbell County girls pulled 26 points out of the 3200 meters, going 1-2-3-7, for a big push toward the state title. They scored 123 points to outlast Rock Springs (110.33).

Natrona’s 4x400 relay didn’t just break the state record, it also delivered the Class 4A boys team championship. It was a close race at the top, with Natrona pulling out a 150.50 to 148.50 victory over runner-up Kelly Walsh. Natrona scored 48 points in the 100, 200 and 400.

Cody (girls), led by hurdler Emily Reed, and Powell (boys), led by Garrett Lynch’s throws double, won the Class 3A titles.

Top Competition: The boys 4A 3200 meters was a high quality race between Kelly Walsh junior Hunter Davila and Laramie senior Jonah Henry. In April, Henry ran an all-time state best 9:03.36 at Arcadia. But in the state final, it was Davila surging with 300 meters to go and getting to the finish line first in a state-meet record time of 9:21.64. Henry was second in 9:22.15.

Lauren Taubert’s victory over Heidi Pfoor in the 300 hurdles was another highlight. Taubert, of Natrona, ran 43.45 as the sophomore defeated the senior Pfoor (Central), second in 43.61. In the 100 hurdles, it was Pfoor over Taubert, 14.51 to 14.89.

Record-breaker: Faure, a University of Wyoming signee, got a little help in his record run. Green River senior Josh Hartford blasted away at the start and led through the first lap, meaning Faure didn’t have to go wire to wire in the lead and had someone to chase.

Results: http://parser.dyestat.com/meets.jsp?state=WY