CASPER – Weather conditions for the season-culminating track meet are always unpredictable, and the 2022 State Championships in Casper on May 19-21 was no exception.

Snow filled the track on Thursday by the time the 1600-meter spring medley relay got underway. Athletes raced through slush and blinding snowflakes. Officials postponed field events for the following day.

Friday greeted athletes with periodic snow flurries, gray clouds and a sub-freezing wind chill.

Despite the less-than-desirable weather, the Pinedale High School track teams stepped up and returned with multiple podium finishes and hardware in a field crowded with Wyoming’s top athletes.

“Overall, the athletes competed really well in Casper,” said head coach Kyle Sullivan. “At this time of year, we are really looking for athletes to be competing at their best, which is what the team showed with their performances.”

Sophomore Katyana Dexter made Pinedale sports history as the first athlete to capture State Championships in both the girls’ shot put and discus, earning 3A All-State honors in each event.

In shot put, Dexter pulled into first place with a throw measured at 38 feet, 9 inches, more than 2 feet farther than the runner-up from Powell. On Saturday, Dexter cleared 125 feet, 11 inches in discus, edging out Lyman’s Kendall Dickerson by 2 inches to earn the top spot.

“Katy winning State Championships in two separate events was incredible,” said Sullivan. “She had put in a ton of work and focus to achieving this, and it was great to see the hard work pay off.”

Freshman Madison Antonino raced into fourth place in the girls’ 3200-meter finals, battling deteriorating weather conditions to clock in under 12 minutes at 11 minutes, 51.75 seconds. She also made the podium in the 800-meter finals with a sixth-place finish at 2:28.23.

In the 1600-meter finals, Antonino secured sixth place, timing in at 5:24.08.

“Madison had a very successful State Meet in that she placed in four different events, which included one relay, running personal bests in all of her events,” said Sullivan.

Clearing 15 feet, 7 1/4 inches, freshman Elyn Bowers bagged sixth place in the girls’ long jump finals. Junior Mandy Majhanovich finished eighth in the girls’ 100-meter finals at 13.38 seconds, shaving .30 seconds off her preliminary time.

Bowers, Majhanovich, junior Stephanie Resendiz Hernandez and junior Mikayla Drake snapped up fifth place in the girls 4x100-meter relay with a time of 53.11 seconds.

Antonino, senior Lexie Goodrich, freshman Sarah Helm and freshman Matazi Landers took eighth place in the girls’ 4x800-meter relay, hitting a mark of 10:48.61.

In boys’ relays, freshman Joseph Bain, senior James Kervitsky, freshman Ian Obod and senior Konner Ziegler placed seventh in the 4x100-meter relay with a time of 46.18 seconds.

“This season saw lots of great achievements,” said coach Sullivan. “I would like to thank all of the athletes and coaches for working really hard and continually making strides toward their goals.”

Additional results

Senior Maggie Harber earned 12th place in the girls’ triple jump with a mark of 31 feet, 6 inches. Majhanovich took 15th place in the girls’ long jump with a leap measured in at 14 feet, 6 1/4 inches.

Bowers came in ninth place in the 400-meter prelims, at 1:03.23, and 10th in the 100-meter prelims at 13.90 seconds. Resendiz Hernandez finished 19th in the 200-meter prelims with a time of 29.08 seconds.

Kervitsky raced into 10th place in the 100-meter prelims, crossing the finish line in 11.98 seconds. He placed 14th in the 200-meter prelims at 24.76 seconds.

Senior Jacob Bain came in 14th place in the boys’ 400-meter prelims, clocking in at 54.41 seconds.