Panthers put pawprints on regionals

At the regional track competition in Lander, the Saratoga Panthers turned in top team performances with plenty of athletes taking home individual accolades.

The Lady Panthers team score of 74 was good for third place at Regionals, a large meet with a lot of athletes from across the region. The men’s team earned 80 points which landed the gents in fourth place in regional competition.

The meet was the final before state finals in Casper which are coming up May 18-20. Over the course of the season, 20 Panthers have earned places at State, with 11 of the state-bound tracksters from the men’s team, and 9 from the Ladies’ team.

At Regionals, three Panthers earned All-Conference honors for individual events, with 13 runners—seven men and six women—taking All-Conference honors for team events.

Senior Katie Loose took first place in the 3,200-meter run with a time of 13:37.77, earning All-Conference Honors. Also on the Ladies’ team, Taylor Bennett took third in three events, the 200-meter dash, the long jump and the triple jump.

The Lady Panthers fielded two top-placed teams over the weekend as well. The 400-meter relay team of Shaelee Hamann, Shianne Baker, Meredith Lincoln and Mychaela Jackman took second place with a time of 54.75 seconds, good enough for All-Conference honors. Lincoln and Hamann ran again in the 1,600-meter relay alongside Loose and Jenna Dew. The team placed second and took All-Conference honors.

On the boys’ side, Saratoga also brought home some wins and honors.

Sam Schneider second place high jump effort of 5’9” was good for All-Conference, and he rounded out his performance with a third place triple jump and seventh place long jump effort. Max Schneider brought his efforts to bear on throwing events with a strong finish in shot put and the discus, earning top-five placement in both.

Alex Ziegler doubled up on All-Conference honors on the track, running a first place 400-meter dash in 53.28 seconds. He reprised his performance with a second place win in the 200-meter, with a time of 23.51 seconds.

Ziegler rounded out his weekend with a third place 800-meter run.

Ziegler then went on to join Jeremy Detterer, Ben Fairbanks and Logan Seahorn in the 1600-meter relay. The team took first in the event with a time of 3:44.59 and took home All-Conference Honors.

Fairbanks and Detterer joined senior Thomas Ingraham and Logan Wells in the 3,200-meter relay. The team took second and earned honors for their effort.

The Panthers will be departing later in the week for State Finals, which will be held Thursday, Friday and Saturday at Harry Geldien Stadium at Kelly Walsh High School in Casper.

From the boys’ team, Alex Ziegler, Logan Wells, Jaxon King, Thomas Ingraham, Morgan Rempel, Max Schneider, Ben Fairbanks, Sam Schneider, Logan Seahorn, Greg Swanson and Jeremy Detterer will represent Saratoga at State.

Alicia Zaragoza, Meredith Lincoln, Taylor Bennett, Mikaya Johnson, Jenna Dew, Mychaela Jackman, Shianne Baker, Shaelee Hamann, and Katie Loose will represent the Lady Panthers in Casper.