Middle School sports wrap-up

Published by admin on Thu, 10/15/2015 - 9:11am

Middle school harriers conclude season at PowellThe 2015 middle school cross country season wrapped up Friday at the Powell Invitational meet, and area coaches used the final meet of the season to recognize the Big Horn Basin’s best runners.Coaches awarded ribbons to the top 10 runners from the Basin, with a few Riverton and Lander runners in between.Lovell eighth-grader James Caldwell finished his middle school career with another strong performance, placing fourth with a time of 12:15.32 amidst the usual competitors from Powell and Cody.“James ran good. He was in front,” Lovell coach Caleb Sanders said. “He tried to get a lead so he would not get out-sprinted. He had an outstanding season.”Seventh-grader Jacob Mangus finished 66th at 16:41.52, sixth-grader Gabe Helm 72nd at 16:51.29 and sixth-grader Kincaid Dickson 78th at 18:56.59. There were 89 runners in the field.Lovell had two all-Big Horn Basin ribbon winners in the girls race. Eighth-grader Lauren Mitchell placed eighth with a time of 14:04.37, and seventh-grader Raeghan Wacker was 10th in the Basin (13th overall) at 14:29.“They ran a great race,” Sanders said. “Both Raeghan and Lauren finished off their season really tough.”Eighth-grader Patti Sanders place 24th with a time of 14:56.48, seventh-grader Maddisun Steed 55th at 16:20.22, eighth-grader Sariah Hendershot 57th at 16:43.48, seventh-grader Brooklyn Walker 72nd at 17:48.47, eighth-grader Addy Dickson 85th at 19:01.02 and sixth-grader Krystalyn Palmer 95th at 22:17.13.There were 100 runners in the field.Rocky runnersRocky Mountain seventh-grader Zach Simmons nearly made the Big Horn Basin top-10 list Friday, placing 12th (20th overall) with a time of 13:32.25. Eighth-grader Richard Spann placed 31st in the 89-runner field at 14:10.44, eighth-grader Justin Dausman 48th at 15:00.71, sixth-grader Landen Stebner 50th at 15:07.64, sixth-grader Dylan Escalante 68th at 16:44.69 and sixth-grader Michael Escalera 80th at 20:26.54.In the girls race, seventh-grader Elsie Wassmer placed 58th out of 100 runners with a time of 16:47.15.“We had a good group, a big group of boys,” coach Tim Jones said. “They worked hard and by the end of the season were running with the high school kids. I saw good improvement.“There’s a lot of potential there. We will miss Richard (Spann) and Justin (Dausman). It would be nice to get a few more girls out.”

By David Peck

 Grizzly gridders fall to GreybullThe Rocky Mountain Middle School football squad fell to the Greybull Buffs 44-28 Saturday morning in Greybull.Rocky’s scores came on runs of 38 and 17 yards by Caden Welling, a six-yard run by Travis Simmons and a three-yard run by Brenen Hinckley.“The back and forth game took a Greybull turn late in the third quarter when the Buffs recovered an onside kick and a Grizzly fumble,” coach Justin Moss said. “We had our chances, but we turned the ball over too many times on offense and struggled to contain Greybull’s double wing offense.“I’m proud of our six eighth-graders. They fought hard and led our team all year. If they will dedicate themselves to the weight room they can be excellent contributors at the next level.”The Grizz finished the season 3-4 and were coached by Moss, Josh Collins, Ryan Boettcher and Joe Davis.

By Sam Smith

Rough week for LMS netters at conferenceThe Lovell Middle School volleyball squads had a rough week at their respective Yellowstone Conference Tournaments Saturday.Playing in Burlington, the eighth-graders fell to Rocky 21-5, 21-18, then fell to Cloud Peak in two close games 21-19, 21-17.“I think, even though we didn’t win any games, there was a lot of improvement,” coach Kim Bernstein said. “With next year’s team, there will be more experience and I’m hoping for a few more W’s.”The LMS seventh-graders fell to Greybull in Cowley 21-4, 21-12 and then fell to Thermopolis 21-12, 18-21, 15-11. The team played increasingly better during the tournament, generating significant excitement during the exciting match against Thermop, a Chroniclephotographer reported.The seventh-graders were coached byKristin Warner, assisted by Becky Rael.

By Sam Smith

Lady Grizzly middle school netters take fourthThe Rocky Mountain Middle School seventh- and eighth-grade volleyball squads took fourth place in their respective Yellowstone Conference Tournaments Saturday.The seventh-graders hosted the conference tournament and defeated Powell 11-21, 21-15, 15-12 to advance to the semifinal match against the Worland Lady Braves.In the semifinal match, the Lady Grizz fell to Worland 21-4, 21-7, then fell to Cody in the third- and fourth-place match to finish fourth.The seventh-grade volleyball team finished the season 8-7 and was coached by Ashlee Blackburn. Assisting her was Leslie Mayes.The eighth-grade squad defeated Lovell 21-5, 21-18, then fell to Cody and Powell to also finish fourth in Burlington.The Lady Grizzly eighth-graders finished the season 12-5 and were coached by Jenny Christiansen.

By Sam Smith