LARAMIE, Wyo. (December 7, 2018) – In the annual Power Meet held in the War Memorial Fieldhouse on Friday, the Wyoming track & field teams opened their season on a strong note. The fans in attendance saw a school record fall, 14 event wins for the Pokes and team dual wins for both the Cowboys and Cowgirls.
 
"I saw them go out there and compete," said head coach Bryan Berryhill. "You could tell they haven't competed all fall. They were eager to get out there and see what all this training they've been putting in is going to do for them. I saw a lot of competitive athletes. I liked what I saw across the board, and I'm excited to see what we can do as we move through the season."
 
In the long jump, one of the first events of the day, senior All-American Ja'la Henderson stole the show with a school-record leap of 20 feet, seven inches, breaking a 38-year-old school record previously held by Patricia Miller set in 1980. Freshman Shayla Howell placed second with a jump of 19-3.5 in her first collegiate meet. The Cowboys also placed first and second in the long jump as sophomore William Nolan tied the 10^th-best mark in school history with a jump of 24-3.75 to place first, ahead of freshman Pete Mead's leap of 22-3.
 
In the pole vault, Ana George placed first by clearing a height of 10-11.75, which ties the fifth-best mark in school history and the best since Lauri Smith cleared 11-8.5 in 2006.
 
The Cowgirls swept the podium in the women's weight throw, as sophomore Addison Henry placed first with a personal-best throw of 54-1, junior transfer Anna Gillis took second with a heave of 49-7.75 and freshman Cosette Stellern took third by recording a mark of 48-10. The Cowboys joined their Cowgirl teammates by sweeping the weight throw event, as well. Junior Hap Frketich recorded a personal-best mark of 64-3 to place first, while sophomore Kirk Unland and junior transfer Eric McArthur placed second and third with throws of 61-8.5 and 56-6.75, respectively.
 
In the women's shot put, Henry placed first with a throw of 43-9.25, while freshman Mary Carbee finished second with a mark of 42-6.75. On the men's side, junior transfer Colton Paller finished first by throwing 50-11, while Frketich placed second with a personal-best throw of 38-11.5.
 
In the men's high jump, Mead placed first by clearing 6-4.75 in his first collegiate meet. On the women's side, sophomore Marie Doherty finished fourth by clearing 5-3.
 
In the triple jump, the last field event of the day, Wyoming swept the men's and women's first place spots. First, Henderson leaped 41-9.25 to win the event over teammate Aumni Ashby, who jumped 40-10.25. On the men's side, Nolan cruised to first place with a personal-best jump of 49-8.5, finishing two-and-a-half feet ahead of second place.
 
The Cowgirls also performed well on the track, winning three out of four events. Senior Jerayah Davis was the fastest woman in the building, winning the 55-meter race with a time of 6.79, three tenths of a second faster than second place. Davis' time converts to 7.31 seconds for a 60m dash. In the 200m dash, senior Jordan Edmonds edged Northern Colorado's Oliva Whitaker by .01 seconds, finishing first in 25.62. In the 600m race, freshman Jasmyne Cooper easily won the crown with a time of 1:36.77, nearly six seconds ahead of the second-place finisher. Senior Holly Huber finished second in the 55m hurdles with a time of 8.57.
 
The Cowboys went one-and-two in the 55m dash, as juniors Jace Marx and Sam Kirkeide finished in 6.42 and 6.45, respectively. Those times convert to 60m dash times of 6.90 and 6.93, respectively. Sophomore Jacob Harthun ran a 23.25 in the 200m dash to place second overall.
 
In the team scores, the Cowboys edged the Bears, 49-40, while the Cowgirls handled the Bears, 72-27.
 
The Wyoming track & field teams are back at it on Saturday, Jan. 19, when they travel to Fargo, N.D., for the NDSU Team Challenge.