WYOMING STATE MEET 

Habtamu Wetzel Leads Star Valley To 4A Boys Title; Grant Bartlett Wins Fourth 2A Title

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor 

Sophomore Habtamu Wetzel won the 4A boys cross country race on Saturday and led Star Valley to the team title at the Wyoming state championships in Ethete, Wyo., which is located on the Wind River Reservation in the central part of the state.

Out of six championship races, only the 4A boys crowned a new team champion. The others were successfully defended by the 2021 winner.

Wetzel, who was fourth last year as a freshman, won by 21 seconds in 15:48.0. Star Valley put five scorers in the top 16 to unseat Cheyenne Central with 50 points. Cheyenne Central was second with 79. 

Cheyenne Central's girls won a close contest with Natrona, 40 to 46, to maintain the 4A girls crown. Senior Sydney Morrell ran to an 11-second victory in 18:29.7 to lead the team. Madison Antonio, a sophomore from Jackson Hole, was second in 18:40.1.

Cheyenne Central put five in the top 12. Natrona, led by a trio of sophomores, went 5-6-7 and could be the team to beat in 2023. 

In Class 3A, senior Owen Burnett (16:04.3) won for the second straight year and led Mountain View back to the top of the podium for its second state championship. Mountain View, located in the southwest corner of the state, packed six into the top 22. Burnett, who lives in Kemmerer, commutes to practice 44 miles on Mondays and Wednesdays to participate wtih Mountain View because his school in Kemmerer doesn't offer a cross country team. 

Sophomore Ameya Eddy from Lander Valley won the 3A girls race in 19:29.2 and by a margin of 10 seconds over Ryann Smith from Rawlins. 

Cody put three runners in the top 11 on the way to taking the team championship with 58 points. Taylen Stinson was third overall.  

Saratoga seniors and twin brothers Grant and Grady Bartlett went 1-2 for the third year in a row as they ran 17:24.5 and 17:32.0, respectively. It was Grant Bartlett's fourth victory at the state meet. 

Rocky Mountain held onto the title by winning a tiebreaker with Saratoga after both teams scored 47 points. Rocky Mountain had a 22-43 advantage with with its sixth runner.

Mallory Jones, a junior from Moorcraft, won the 2A girls race in 21:20.5. Saratoga dominated the team race with finishers at 2-5-6-7-8-9. 

Team Champions - 

Class 4A - Star Valley boys 50 points, Cheyenne Central girls 40 points - RESULTS

Class 3A - Mountain View boys 71 points, Cody girls 58 points - RESULTS

Class 2A - Rocky Mountain boys 47 points (tiebreaker), Saratoga girls 25 points (score 4) - RESULTS