The 2021 spring sports season in Sweetwater County is just around the corner. With practices underway and game days approaching quickly, we’ve put together a preview for each team in Sweetwater County.
In preparation for the start of the season, we’ve gathered general information such as last year’s results, a few comments from the head coach and every team’s schedule.
We invite you to be a part of our sports coverage this year by sending in any intriguing feature story ideas while you’re out at the games.
See you in the stands!
Rock Springs High School sports coverage is brought to you by these amazing sponsors:
RSHS Outdoor Track and Field Overview
Head Coach: Casey Walker – 2nd year as Head Coach
2019 Results: Girls team finished third at state; boys team finished sixth
Returning Varsity Players: Tyler Franklin, Kayleigh Hamblin, Edmon Huang, Taden Morrell, Kennady Nacey, Irving Rodriguez, Kayla Smith, Kendra Thorton, Allyson Turner, Emma Wells, Kameron Wilson
COACH’S CORNER
Q: Let’s talk a little bit about last season. What has it been like being away for nearly two years due to COVID-19? What challenges do you think that has posed for your team?
Walker: “We have a ton of kids that missed a year of learning the events and the sport. Our freshman this year haven’t participated in track since seventh grade. Our junior high program does such a great job with preparing them and without that experience as eighth graders we are going to have to do a lot teaching basics this year to get back on track.”
Q: What are your initial thoughts about this upcoming season?
Walker: “I am very happy with our numbers at this point in time. We are over 100 athletes out, with more to come after boys state basketball and we always have a few that are on the fence and decide to come out in the first couple weeks. I would love nothing more than to have 115 to 125 kids out this season, but realistically any amount over 100 this season will be great. Of that current number over 50 are freshman. That is a future strength of this program as we build it. They will have a lot of learning to do and will get to understand what it’s like to compete against upperclassman, but we are very excited about it. With that said, our upperclassman are going to have to lead by example and set the culture we want in this program. I am very excited to have two home meets this season (April 10 and May 1) in our newly renovated facilities. We return our boys medley relay and boys 4×800 relay that qualified and placed in state indoor this season. At this point with no season last year, we are just looking to get all the athletes going and we will see how this will shake out in the first few meets. It won’t take long to see who our competitors are.
Q: How do you compare against the competition?
Walker: “In our region we should be able to compete very well even with our youth. I think these numbers will be a huge boost for us and even more so in the future as we continue to build. At the state level, Coach Kelting at Sheridan has turned that program into a title contender every year as well as the usual competition from Natrona, Kelly Walsh, ect. Thunder Basin also had a good number of qualifiers for indoor state this year so it will be an interesting team title race at the state meet.
Q: Any other thoughts you’d like to include?
Walker: “I would like to encourage everyone to come out and catch our home meets. These kids work hard to make themselves better each practice and it is fun to watch them improve. I have received great support from the other athletic programs in the district encouraging the athletes to go out for track to make themselves faster, stronger and better competitors. I want to thank them for that support.”
2021 RSHS OUTDOOR TRACK AND FIELD SCHEDULE ?
03/20 – @ Glen Legler Early Bird/Lyman Track Invite
03/24 – @ Green River Track Invite
03/31 – @ Mountain View Track Invite
04/10 – Ted Schroeder Track Invite (Rock Springs)
04/14 – @ Dave Draney Track Invite (Star Valley)
04/16 – @ Evanston Track Invite
04/23 – @ Green River Track Invite
04/24 – @ Rawlins Track Invite
04/28 – @ Evanston Twilight Track Invite
04/30 – @ Pinedale Track Invite
05/01 – Rock Springs Track Invite
05/08 – @ Jackson Track Invite
05/14-15 – @ Regionals
05/20-22 – @ State
*Bold indicates home game
