Panthers expecting tough competition at State

Saratoga Girls

The Saratoga Lady Panthers are now done with regionals and their next focus is moving on to state. The Saratoga girls track and field team has won back-to-back 1A State Championships for the last two years. However, an attempt for a three-peat could come to an end.

Despite some top finishes Saratoga has made to get to State, Head Coach Rex Hohnholt said it is unlikely his girls will win a third straight state title but said there is a chance that some of his girls will win Individual top finishes and perhaps be in the top four.

“I don’t see our girls winning a third straight title this year,” Hohnholt said. “We do not have the horsepower as we did in the last couple of years. We are fortunate enough to get one of those State titles. Our kids know that we are not in the running to win state this year. But at the same time, it does not affect their effort on the track. We are looking to make the highest performances possible and we will see where the cards will land from there.”

Hohnholt said his girls knew that this year is a tough challenge because of the competition in front of them.

“We knew before the season started that competition had increased to a high level,” Hohnholt said. “Our team knew who the dominant teams were going to be and the girls held true to that.”

Hohnholt said Cokeville is the toughest competitor and could be the favorite to win the 1A State Championship. He said the girl’s relay team could finish in top positions. The goal for Hohnholt is to make sure his girls do the best they can in all events.

“The two teams who beat us, we can stay close to them,” Hohholt said. “Cokeville is loaded with talent at every event and it’s tough for anyone to beat them. If we make it to the awards stand and get into the top four, we did an excellent job. I want them to perform at the highest level and walk away with a positive experience from the last track meet of the year.”

Hohnholt said that the good news is that he will have a lot of returning girls who will become seniors next year and in addition freshmen girls who will be next year’s sophomores.

“We have a lot of freshmen who will develop their experience at the state and could be further,” Hohnholdt said. The good news is I will get them all back next year along with next year’s seniors who will bring leadership.”

Saratoga Boys

Hohnholts said the boys could have a shot at winning the state. He said they are preparing to make a run for a championship but he also knows Cokeville is going to be a tough challenge.

“We have a lot of great kids on the boys’ side,” Hohnholt said. “We have a lot of our boys including our relay team who have qualified for the state championships. They have a chance and these are a great group of kids. We had 22 kids go out of track and 18 of them qualified for state finals.”

Hohnholt said all-in-all both his boys and girls did great at regionals. He said his entire team gave it all they got and then some. Hohnholt and his team are preparing for state and hoping to get top finishes for both sides.

“ We had some great performances at regionals,” Hohnholdt said. Although some of our athletes did not have their best performance last week. However, we are in the right place and hopefully have some success at state.”

Girls Varsity Results

200 Meter Dash

Sophie Diaz finished 15th place with a time of 33.53 seconds Diaz earned 1 point.

Madison Dunning finished 16th place with a time of 33.88 seconds. Dunning earned 2 points.

800 Meter Run

Josie Little finished 3rd place with a time of 2:32.46. Little earned 6 points

Natalie Follum finished 8th place with a time of 46.34. Follum earned 1 point

3200 Meter Run

Milan Scott finished 2nd place with a time of 14.09.94. seconds Scott earned 8 points

100 Meter Hurdles

Rhiwan Williams finished 4th place with a time of 17.60. Williams earned 5 points and a 1 A qualification.

300 Meter Hurdles

R. Williams finished 5th place with a time of 51.61 seconds. Williams earned 4 points and a 1A qualification.

1600 Meter Meter Relay

N. Follum, M. Scott, H. Grubb, and A. Sewell finished 4th place with a time of 5:35.95 and earned 5 points.

3200 Meter Relay

R. Williams, A. Sewell, J Little, and N. Follum finished 1st place and earned 10 points.

Long Jump

J. Little finished 4th with a distance of 15 Feet 2.50 Inches. Little earned 5 points.

Triple Jump

J.Litle finished 2nd place with a distance of 31 Feet 11 Inches. Little earned 8 points

Discus Throw

Laenee Barkhurst Finished 5th place with a distance of 84 Feet and 10 Inches. Barkhurst earned 4 points.

Boys Varsity Results

100 Meter Dash

Douglas Anderson finished 6th place with a time of 11.58 seconds. Anderson earned 3 points.

400 Meter Dash

D. Anderson finished 1st place with a time of 53.68. Anderson earns an A1 qualification.

Tyler Greenberg finished 5th place with a time of 54.93. Greenberg earns a qualification.

Snowdon Williams finished 6th place with a time of 55.19. Williams earns a qualification.

800 Meter

S. Williams finished 7th place with a time of 2:06.52. Williams earned 2 points and a 1A qualification.

110 Meter Hurdles

Jace Westring finished 5th place with a time of 19.15 seconds. Westring earned a qualification.

300 Meter

S. Williams finished 3rd place with a time of 44.60. Williams earned a 1A qualification.

3200 Meter Relay

Griffin Bartlett, Tyler Greenberg, Allyster Ingraham, and Easton Mason finished 3rd place with a time of 9:43.99 earning 6 points and a 1A qualification.

High Jump

J. Westring finished 8th place with a height of 5 Feet 6 inches earning 1 point and a 1 A qualification.

1600 Sprints Medley

Ingraham, E. Mason, D. Anderson, and S. Williams finished 3rd place and earned 5 points and a 1A qualification.