Coyotes look to improve despite series of personal bests at Pine Bluffs

Some people are never satisfied.

Despite 21 personal-best performances and additional event wins, many members of the Potter-Dix track team didn’t feel it was a solid performance.

“I would say about 15 were by athletes experienced in the event for which they earned a personal best,” said Coyotes head coach Robert Hilpert.

At the Pine Bluffs High School Invitational at Carlstrum Field yesterday the Coyotes boys team finished in second place with 95 points. Lingle-Fort Laramie was best with 117 points. Burns, with 61 points, edged out host Pine Bluffs by a point for third.

The girls team finished sixth of the 12 teams competing with 43 points. Kimball won the event by one over Burns 91-90. Lingle-Fort Laramie was third with 84.5 points.

Perhaps the most exciting event of the day was the boys 4 x 400 relay. The Potter-Dix team of Kelsey Rozelle, Brady Knigge, Luke Johnson and Cameron Purcell beat out favorite Kimball with a season best time of 3.45.00.

“They won by the length of a shirt,” said Hilpert.

More importantly, Potter-Dix established a distict-best time in the event this season.

“The four-by-one-hundred is an event the guys have been working on very hard to improve all season,” Hilpert said. “Their hard work has really paid off.”

Though Kimball was the narrow second-place winner on the track, it was disqualified when a runner threw down the the baton in frustration. Cheyenne Central was officially awarded second with a time of 3.46.15.

Among the dissatisfied Coyotes, Cody Aure won the shot put with a personal best of 44-11 1/2.

“He’s had his sights on 45-feet all season,” Hilpert said. “He came about as close as you can.”

In the long jump, senior Brady Knigge won with a jump of 19-4 1/4. After the event he sounded more like an also ran. As a sophomore Knigge jumped more than 20-feet.

“I feel like I should be doing better. I’ve been doing some weight training and put on some weight so maybe that has something to do with it,” Knigge said. “I’m just going to have to work harder to get where I want to be.”

Brady’s younger brother, Bryant, was no more excited with his win in the pole vault. While the junior took the gold with a jump of 12-2, his three attempts with a new pole at 12-8 fell short. Last Saturday at the MAC tournament Knigge cleared 12-7 for a personal best.

“I usually just psych myself out when I get to a new best, I have to work on that,” said Knigge.

Knigge has won the vault at every meet this year.

Freshman Cortney Lewis demolishd her personal best in the shot put with a distance of 30-11 1/2 to finish seventh. Before yesterday she had never thrown farther than 30-3. She wasn’t too satisfied either.

“It was my personal best but I was hoping for more. I really thought I could do better,” said Lewis.

Said Hilpert of Lewis and her young classmates, “We have a phenomenal freshman team. We also have a great 8th-grade class. They will be a big help to us next year.”

In the girls high jump Regyn Hicks cleared 5-0 for the first time. Her effort landed her in third.

“But she still wasn’t happy,” said Hilpert. “She hates to lose, she’s very competitive.”

Hicks also took second in the 300-meter hurdles and won the 100-meter hurdles by a whisker over teammate Kaidee Livingstone.

Livingstone was a force too in the pole vault with a height of 9-feet to finish second. Hicks finished seventh.

In addition to the success of Aure and the Knigee brothers on the boys side, Johnson finished second in the 1600-meter run. Cooper Hicks landed on the podium with by finishing second in the 300-meter hurdles. Potter Dix won silver in the 4 x 100-meter relay as well.