Whisenant, Vanderploeg win titles; Bassett, Olsen join them as 1A all-staters

The Riverside Rebels enjoyed a successful weekend at the State Track and Field Championships in Casper, with every athlete who qualified placing in at least one event. 

The Riverside girls took sixth place in 1A with only four competing while the boys took ninith.

Ada Pratt, in her first year participating track, placed seventh in the shot put.  

Varissa Olsen, in a fitting end to a very successful season that included several personal bests, earned two medals. After finishing fifth in the shot put, she set multiple personal bests in the discus competition, earning a silver medal with a throw of 118 feet, 7 inches

Vinaya Vanderploeg ended her career as a back-to-back state champion. For the second straight year, Vinaya won the 100-meter title while also adding a fifth-place medal in the 200.  

Kennedy Bassett scored 24 of the team’s points in individual events. She recovered from a false start that cost her the opportunity to medal in four events to earn three medals, including running personal bests in the 200 meters (27.39) and 300-meter hurdles (47.68). 

The Riverside boys also qualified four athletes. Those four athletes ensured a medal for everyone by taking second place in the 400-meter relay. Xander Dannar, Paul Stone, Wyatt Daly-Patterson, and Reece Whisenant ran the second fastest time of the year in 1A. 

Two Rebel boys earned medals in the jumps while also reaching season goals in their events. Junior Paul Stone finished seventh in the triple jump, but more important, became a 40-foot triple jumper for the first time. Likewise, Reece Whisenant crossed the 20-foot threshold, jumping 20-10 to place third in the long jump.

Whisenant added to his relay and long jump medals with two sprint medals on Saturday. He cemented his place as one of the top sprinters around with a fouth place finish in the 200 and a state championship in the 100.

Whisenant was the team’s only four-event placer and was joined on the all-state list by VanderPloeg, Bassett and Olsen.

GIRLS:  

100m DASH: 1, Vinaya VanderPloeg, 13.44, 2, Kennedy Bassett, 13.45 

200m DASH: 2, Bassett, 26.39 

200m DASH: 2, Bassett, 27.47 

300m HURDLES: 2, Bassett, 47.68 

SHOT PUT: 5, Varissa Olsen, 31-07.25, 7, Ada Pratt, 30-08.50 

DISCUS: 2, Olsen, 118-07 

BOYS: 

100m DASH: 1, Reece Whisenant, 11.72 

200m DASH: 4, Whisenant, 24.04 

4x100m RELAY: 2, Riverside: 1) Wyatt Daly-Patterson, 2) Paul Stone, 3) Xander Dannar, 4) Whisenant 

HIGH JUMP: 12, Daly-Patterson, 5-04.00 

LONG JUMP: 3, Whisenant, 20-10.00 

TRIPLE JUMP: 7, Stone, 40-01.00