(Written By Con Marshall)
Two double winners from Goshen County high schools at the Wyoming State Track and Field Meet in May are among Chadron State College’s top track and field recruits.
Ryan Clapper of Southeast High at Yoder won both the Class A 100 and 200 meters and Kyland Fuller of Lingle-Fort Laramie won the 400 and 800 races
Clapper’s winning time in the 100 was 10.98 seconds and he won the 200 in 21.79 seconds to break the Class A state meet record. He also was second in the 400 meters in 50.19 seconds.
Clapper opened the 2022 season by breaking the record in the 200-meter dash at Chadron State’s High School Indoor Meet in March in 23.08 seconds.
Fuller won the 400 meters in 50.02 seconds and was the gold medalist in the 800 in 2:04.62 seconds. He also placed third in the 200 in 22.68 seconds.
Another state champion from a Goshen County school who signed with Chadron State is Allison Brummell of Torrington. She won Class 3A triple jump this spring by going 35 feet, 6 inches. Earlier in the season she went 36-5. She also won the event at the Best in the West Meet in Scottsbluff.
Megan Baloun of Rapid City Stevens also has signed to compete for the Eagles in the jumps. She placed seventh in the Class 3A triple jump at the South Dakota State Meet by going 36-6 ¾. She had a season-best of 37-10 in the event and long jumped 17-8.
Another of Chadron State’s top recruits is Aaron Price of Scottsbluff, who cleared 14-6 while placing second in the pole vault in Class B at the Nebraska State Meet. Another Panhandle athlete signing with the Eagles is distance runner Lydia Peters, who was a member of Sidney’s district championship cross country team last fall.
Peters is among the dozen incoming freshmen who were signed by Luke Karamitros, the Eagles’ cross country and distance coach. Among them is Charles Fossey of Rock Springs, who placed fourth in Class 4A at the Wyoming State Cross Country Meet last fall and ran the 1600 at the state track meet in 4:26.20.
Among the women Karamitros signed is Lexi Rule of Buffalo, Wyo., who was fifth in the Class 3A 3200 at the state meet this spring in 12:03.4.
Another interesting distance prospect is Topi Alahuhta, who has citizenship in both Finland and the United States (See accompanying story).
Following are the names the Eagles’ new track and field and cross country recruits and the high schools they attended:
Male Recruits
Sprints—Ryan Clapper, Southeast Goshen, and Branden Werkele, Campbell County High at Gillette.
Middle distances—Kyland Fuller, Lingle-Fort Laramie, and Cameron Spence, Douglas, Wyo.
Distances—Topi Alahuhta, Conifer, Colo.; Charles Fossey, Rock Springs, Wyo.; Nate Mann, Queen Creek, Ariz.; Miles Mitchell, Douglas High, S.D.; Chance Stuhmer, Central City, Neb.; and Gabe Wilson, Grand Island.
Throws—Jerek Anderson, Chadron; Conner Lopez, Chadron; and Bryant Schoenthal, Wray, Colo.
Pole vault—Aaron Price, Chadron.
Women’s Recruits
Sprints—Allison Beard, Johnstown, Colo., and Cassie Wulff, Laramie, Wyo.
Hurdles—Tahlyn Bauer, Creek Valley at Chappell, and Charlotte Marasco, Campbell County High at Gillette.
Distances—Mackenzie Anderson, Chadron; Josie Diffendaffer, Berthoud, Colo.; Breanna Meats, Craig, Colo.; Lydia Peters, Sidney; Lexi Rule, Buffalo, Wyo.; and Alanis Soler, Orlando, Fla.
Jumps—Megan Baloun, Rapid City Stevens; Allison Brummell, Torrington; and Emily Mason, Seibert, Colo.
Javelin—Lamara Castanedo, Douglas, S.D.
Pole vault—Madison Clause, Skyview at Billings, Mont.