Star Valley High School

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updated April 21, 2008 by the Star Valley Independent in Sports

Llama Tracks - Slopping through the Spring Marsh

One thing about a newspaper, is that space available is King. Yours truly wrote that Audrey West was poised to break a record or two in the next couple of weeks, but wouldn’t you know it, the talented sophomore went out and did it before I even put my thoughts into the public.

West’s time of 59.47 in the 400 Meter Event over the weekend in Logan was .03 better than Rose Astle’s time from 1981. I know that’s not much, but considering how long that record stood, there’s no need for excuses. Here’s a few thoughts for this upcoming week.

- The Track kids, as well as the volleyballers should get some sort of frequent bus miles rewards or something on their trips to Casper. Heck, throw in the soccer kids, they’ve made the trip this year as well. The fact of the matter is, Natrona has made two trips to Star Valley this year and competed while they were here. Volleyball and Wrestling. And keep in mind that Regional wrestling was here so it’s not like it can be skipped. I know the schedule doesn’t change next year either, but I cant wait to get out of the current 4A West, simply due to traveling schedules. We’ve always driven in Star Valley, we’re not alone in this across the Cowboy State, but three trips to Casper in one season for any given program is just too darn much. Here’s a thought, if you’re hosting the culminating event of a sport, you’re not allowed to host regionals. Is that so hard? And I don’t want any arguing that Kelly Walsh and Natrona aren’t the same school. Casper is Casper when your cheeks hit those green seats.

- Speaking of Casper, I’m proud of the Braves on the road in their 0-1 game with the Mustangs on the Soccer Pitch. I had a gentleman ask me this week if it was difficult to write about the teams when they aren’t winning. I admitted that it’s more fun when the team wins, but it only takes one trip out to the soccer pitch to see that they’re working hard. This particular match came after they were blown up by Kelly Walsh, and Natrona scored the game’s only goal on a penalty kick. With three matches to go before regionals, hopefully the Braves can get off the goose egg this Thursday as they host Evanston. Keep your head’s up boys, it will be sweet when it happens.

- Looking at the WHSAA’s newest proposal for the 4A Class, it is an improvement. Cody and Jackson would join the 12 teams already competing and would replace Natrona and Kelly Walsh in the 4A West. That means Star Valley would be playing Evanston, Green River, Rock Springs, Jackson, Cody and Riverton as conference foes. These are teams that we played every year when I was in school in the early ’90’s anyway, so I like the layout. The last two football games we’ve played against Cody have been absolutely great, as they were in my day so I’d love to pick them up on the court as well. Jackson? That’s a no-brainer. Regardless of who takes the reins next year, it’s always fun and it’s the closest school we have. I appreciate Patrick Schmidt of the Casper Star-Tribune who covers the meetings and quite honestly does a lot of extra work when it comes to the classification ideas. He stated that states around Wyoming use something called “functional region of play.” When I read that, I translated it as “common sense”. Regional foes generally have similar enrollment and with fuel prices hitting highs each week, closer means better doesn’t it? Now, this won’t change anything next year where in preliminary discussions it looks like the Braves will be playing every 4A school on the basketball court next year. Don’t mistake my thoughts for an easy fix. I think the only way Star Valley competes with the bigger schools is by working in the off-season. There is no easy fix. The sooner we come around to way of thinking, the better off we’ll be.

-Oh, and one more thing, how about that half-court buzzer-beater by the “Old Guys” in the fund-raiser for the Cheerleaders on Friday? And the aching knees and backs went on to win by the way. I tried to explain it to the younger readers. That’s the “Pride” factor. Even if it cripples them/us, we need to win that game for our pride. Besides, as someone mentioned to me, when Todd Dixon and Shane Williams are covering the paint, ain’t nobody driving the lane are they? Thanks to everyone who competed, it was a lot of fun and with the youngsters cheering them on, I think this is something that will only continue to grow.

By the way, don’t be scared off by the comment section, it’s there for you to use. Use your name either in e-mail or user name and keep it civil. I don’t think that’s too much to ask is it?

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