Wyoming
PhotoFest! Wyoming Track Classic
The Wyoming Track Classic was held on Thursday at the Harry Geldien Stadium in Casper with cool, cloudy but calm conditions. A pair of WTC records were broken as Taliah Morris of Cheyenne East set a new mark in the long jump at 19-7.25 and Thunder Basin’s Bradley Ekstrom set the new standard in the 400 in 48.12. The bad news from the meet was Natrona’s Kaiden Lee suffered a broken ankle and ligament damage in the high jump. He won the event at 6-6 and was going for 6-8 when he got hurt. The senior had the state’s best marks this season in both the high jump and the long jump.
Here is the list of the top 2 finishers in each event:
Girls:
100 Meters:
1. Brooklyn Asmus-Torrington 12.40
2. Desirae Iacovetto-Wheatland 12.61
200 Meters:
1. Taliah Morris-Cheyenne East 24.60
2. Brooklyn Aumus-Torrington 25.02
400 Meters:
1. Lainey Berrybill-Laramie 56.10
2. Cherise Douzenis-Worland 57.32
800 Meters:
1. Ada Nelson-Cody 2.15.76
2. Ashley Gross-Natrona 2.18.53
1600 Meters:
1. Ada Nelson-Cody 5.06.50
2. Nicole Clark-Natrona 5.21.90
3200 Meters:
1. Maggie Madsen-Cheyenne East 11.10.64
1. Ally Wheeler- Natrona 11.22.44
100 Hurdles:
1. Addison Alley-Riverton 15.07
2. Carly Norman-Buffalo 15.10
300 Hurdles:
1. Paisley Hollingshead-Lander 45.57
2. Lillie Kirkham-Cody 46.32
High Jump:
1. Sarah McNiven-Burlington 5-3
2. Ashley Rogge-Thunder Basin 5-1
Long Jump:
1. Taliah Morris-Cheyenne East 19-7.25
2. Lily Nichols-Wheatland 17-5.25
Triple Jump:
1. Karson Tempel-Cheyenne Central 30-00.24
2. Nadia Burnett-Cheyenne East 35-9.25
Pole Vault:
1. Ava Andrews-Rock Springs 11-0
2. Isabelle Paddock-Cody 10-6
Shot-Put:
1. Teagan Becker-Kelly Walsh 42-10
2. Adelyn Anderson-Lander 42-3
Discus:
1. Brynn Sybrant-Natrona 128-4
2. Teagen Becker-Kelly Walsh 126-0
Boys
100 Meters:
1. Gavin Stafford-Big Horn 10.80
2. Tegan Krause-Cheyenne Central 11.04
200 Meters:
1. Carson Lundberg-Natrona 22.09
1. Bridger Norton-Thunder Basin 22.09
400 Meters:
1. Bradley Ekstrom-Thunder Basin 48.12
2. Flynn Arnold-Laramie-48.46
800 Meters:
1. Jonah Rigg-Cheyenne Central 1.55.15
2. Kalel Brubaker-Natrona 1.55.75
1600 Meters:
1. Race Morrell-Cheyenne Central 4.22.33
2. Trevor Schmidt-Cheyenne Central 4.22.76
3200 Meters:
1. Lucas Steveson-Cheyenne East 9.49.80
2. Davian Spoonhunter-Riverton 9.54.12
110 Hurdles:
1. Caleb Ortberg-Kelly Walsh 14.91
2. Shawn Basart-Cheyenne Central 15.31
300 Hurdles:
1. Caleb Ortberg-Kelly Walsh 39.36
2. Shawn Basart-Cheyenne Central 39.74
High Jump:
1. Kaiden Lee-Natrona 6-6
2. Josh Coleman-Natrona 6-4
Long Jump:
1. Gavin Stafford-Big Horn 23-0
2. Landon Walker-Kelly Walsh 22-5.25
Triple Jump:
1. Landon Walker-Kelly Walsh 46-9.75
2. Matthew Newman-Lovell 43-10.75
Pole Vault:
1. Maddix Blazovich-Rock Springs 15-6
2. Kavin Hoff-Natrona 15-6
3. Nicholas Lewis-Cheyenne Central 15-6
Shot-Put:
1. Quade Jordan-Encampment 56-8
2. Tyler Bennick-Torrington 55-7.75
Discus:
1. Tegan Seeds-Douglas 159-3
2. Logan Class-Cody 153-6
We have a large collection of photos from the Wyoming Track Classic Courtesy of Shannon Dutcher and WyoPreps. You can view those in our gallery below. Enjoy!
Wyoming Track Classic
Gallery Credit: Shannon Dutcher, Frank Gambino,
Wyoming High School Track and Field
Wyoming
Rivalries and Playoff Positioning Highlight Week 11 Wyoming Girls Basketball Slate
It’s Week 11 in the 2026 Wyoming prep girls’ basketball season. That means it’s the end of the regular season. 3A and 4A schools have their final game or games to determine seeding before the regional tournament, or if a team is locked into a position, one last chance to fine-tune before the postseason. Games are spread across four days.
WYOPREPS WEEK 11 GIRLS BASKETBALL SCHEDULE 2026
Every game on the slate is a conference matchup. Several rivalry contests are part of this week’s schedule, such as East against Central, Cody at Powell, Lyman hosting Mountain View, and Rock Springs at Green River, just to name a few. Here is the Week 11 schedule of varsity games WyoPreps has. All schedules are subject to change. If you see a game missing, please email david@wyopreps.com.
CLASS 4A
Final Score: Laramie 68 Cheyenne South 27 (conference game)
CLASS 3A
Final Score: Lyman 40 Mountain View 26 (conference game)
CLASS 4A
Final Score: Evanston 41 Riverton 39 (conference game)
Final Score: Natrona County 42 Kelly Walsh 38 (conference game) – Peach Basket Classic
Final Score: #4 Thunder Basin 64 Campbell County 32 (conference game)
CLASS 3A
Final Score: #1 Cody 77 Worland 33 (conference game) – 5 different Fillies with a 3, and Hays led the way with 34 points.
Final Score: #2 Lander 49 Lyman 34 (conference game)
Final Score: #4 Wheatland 51 Douglas 40 (conference game)
Final Score: #5 Powell 48 Lovell 42 (conference game)
Final Score: Burns 56 Torrington 43 (conference game)
Final Score: Glenrock 78 Newcastle 30 (conference game)
Read More Girls Basketball News from WyoPreps
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WyoPreps Girls Basketball Standings 2-23-26
WyoPreps Girls Basketball Week 10 Scores 2026
WyoPreps Coaches and Media Basketball Polls 2-18-26
WyoPreps Girls Basketball Week 9 Scores 2026
WyoPreps Coaches and Media Basketball Polls 2-11-26
WyoPreps Girls Basketball Week 8 Scores 2026
WyoPreps Coaches and Media Basketball Polls 2-4-26
WyoPreps Girls Basketball Week 7 Scores 2026
WyoPreps Coaches and Media Basketball Polls 1-28-26
Nominate A Basketball Player for the WyoPreps Athlete of the Week Honor
WyoPreps Coaches and Media Basketball Polls 1-21-26
WyoPreps Girls Basketball Week 5 Scores 2026
WyoPreps Coaches and Media Basketball Polls 1-14-26
WyoPreps Girls Basketball Week 4 Scores 2025-26
WyoPreps Coaches and Media Basketball Rankings 1-7-26
WyoPreps Girls Basketball Week 3 Scores 2025-26
WyoPreps Coaches and Media Basketball Rankings 12-24-25
WyoPreps Girls Basketball Week 2 Scores 2025-26
WyoPreps Coaches and Media Basketball Rankings 12-17-25
WyoPreps Girls Basketball Week 1 Scores 2025-26
CLASS 4A
Rock Springs at #2 Green River, 5:30 p.m. (conference game)
#4 Thunder Basin at #5 Sheridan, 5:30 p.m. (conference game)
#1 Cheyenne East at #3 Cheyenne Central, 6 p.m. (conference game)
Jackson at Star Valley, 6 p.m. (conference game)
CLASS 3A
#3 Pinedale at Mountain View, 4 p.m. (conference game)
#1 Cody at #5 Powell, 5:30 p.m. (conference game)
Buffalo at Glenrock, 5:30 p.m. (conference game)
CLASS 3A
Newcastle at Buffalo, 12:30 p.m. (conference game)
Glenrock at Rawlins, 3 p.m. (conference game)
Torrington at #4 Wheatland, 5:30 p.m. (conference game)
Wyoming Boys 4A Swimming & Diving State Championships 2026
4A Boys State Swim Meet for 2026 in Cheyenne
Gallery Credit: David Settle, WyoPreps.com
Wyoming
Political storm in Wyoming as far-right activist caught handing checks to lawmakers
Controversy has engulfed Wyoming’s state legislature after a conservative activist was photographed handing checks to Republican lawmakers on the state house floor, in an incident that has highlighted intra-conservative divisions and the role of money in the Cowboy state’s politics.
The political storm started on 9 February, when Karlee Provenza, a Democratic lawmaker, took a photo showing Rebecca Bextel, a conservative activist and committeewoman for the Teton county Republican party, handing a check to Darin McCann, a Republican representative, on the legislative floor. Marlene Brady, another Republican representative, stands in the photo’s background, a similar piece of paper pinched between her fingers.
“You have a person from the richest county in the country coming down to Cheyenne to hand out checks on the house floor,” Provenza said. “I have never seen something so egregious.”
Questions around the checks were soon swirling, and answers weren’t forthcoming. When asked what Bextel gave to her, Brady told a reporter for local outlet WyoFile: “I can’t remember.”
Then Bextel herself addressed the incident. “I raised $400,000 in the last election cycle for conservative candidates, and I will be doubling that amount this year,” Bextel wrote on Facebook on 11 February. “There’s nothing wrong with delivering lawful campaign checks from Teton county donors when I am in Cheyenne.”
Since then, it has emerged that the checks came from Don Grasso, a wealthy Teton county donor, who told the Jackson Hole News and Guide that he wrote the checks for Bextel to deliver to 10 Freedom caucus-aligned politicians. Grasso said the checks were intended as campaign contributions, and were not tied to specific legislation. It is unclear how many checks were ultimately delivered, but two of four confirmed recipients include the speaker of the house, Chip Neiman, and John Bear, the former head of the Wyoming Freedom Caucus.
The Wyoming house has formed a legislative investigative committee, and the Laramie county sheriff’s office said they’d open a criminal investigation.
Bextel declined to answer questions from the Guardian. Brady, McCann and Bear did not respond to requests for comment.
Neiman said he considered the criticism a “wraparound smear campaign”. He said: “It never once crossed my mind that this was bribery.
“These legislators, myself included, are now guilty until we can prove that we’re innocent. How is that right in this country? Isn’t that a little bit backwards?”
The scandal has highlighted long-standing divisions in Wyoming’s Republican party, which in recent years has seen a growing divide between old school, more moderate conservatives and a harder-right Freedom Caucus.
Several former Republican lawmakers forcefully condemned their colleagues for accepting the checks, and a local Republican party branch called for the lawmakers’ resignations.
Ogden Driskill, a Wyoming Republican senator, told the Guardian he does not consider Bextel’s actions to be illegal, but that “just because you can do it doesn’t mean you should”.
Bextel has spent years pushing against housing mitigation fees in Wyoming, and Driskill noted that she distributed the house floor checks just days before a bill she had publicly supported was set to be heard. Bextel was registered as a member of the press, not as a lobbyist when she delivered the checks.
“Ethically and morally, it’s bankrupt to a massive degree,” Driskill said.
Neiman said that he and other legislators who received checks have supported similar bills in the past: “Bribery is paying somebody to do something they would not otherwise do.”
Nationally, the 2024 election cycle saw record-spending from the mega-wealthy, as well as dark money groups. Wyoming followed the trend, in a tense red-on-red primary season.
For those gearing up to campaign this year, Teton county, the richest in the US, and Bextel’s picturesque home turf, is an essential stop. Its extreme wealth gives it a foothold on the national level as well. Palantir chief executive Alex Karp and Donald Trump attended an annual Republican leadership fundraiser at Jackson Hole in 2024, and JD Vance attended the same one in 2025.
Bextel pulls dollars from Teton county into the Freedom Caucus side of Wyoming’s conservative split. She hosted no-press-allowed meet and greets earlier this year benefitting leading candidates for Wyoming’s governor and open US House seat.
In an interview with the Open Range Record, a media network she co-founded, Bextel said controversy around the checks was solely because she was making “even playing field” in Wyoming against the state’s more moderate Republicans, who she calls “George Soros” candidates. She said that she will be sure to keep raising money – just away from the legislative floor.
“I guess I’m gonna ask all the gentlemen and gentleladies to step outside the Capitol while I hand them a check,” Bextel said. “Let me be clear: I’m doubling down.”
But it’s not just wealthy local donors putting their weight behind the factions. Last election cycle, out of state groups spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on anonymous and often inaccurate mailers.
“These actors, especially from the far right, they like to push the bounds of the norms,” said Rosa Reyna Pugh, an organizing and advocacy consultant at Western States Center, an Oregon-based non-profit focused on democracy in the western United States. “They like to see what policies they can kind of push, and see where they can play a piece,” Reyna Pugh said.
While Neiman and Driskill fight politically, they do agree on one thing: summer will bring an expensive and brutal campaign season.
“You’re going to see more dark money than you’ve ever seen. We’ve done absolutely nothing to enforce it. Our secretary of state has not even made a slight attempt to deal with it,” Driskill said. “You’re going to see lots and lots of outside money and I think you’re seeing it on both sides.”
As national questions swirl around pay-to-play politics and profiteering in the Trump administration, Provenza wants better for the Cowboy State.
“We should not be aligning ourselves with how the federal government is conducting itself or how federal elections conduct themselves,” Provenza said. “We owe something far better and more honest to the people of Wyoming than that.”
Wyoming
Wyoming man reaches plea deal to avoid jail time in wolf-abuse case
A Sublette County man who captured and brought an injured wolf into a bar in February 2024 has struck a deal with prosecutors that could keep him out of jail, reports WyoFile.
A signed plea agreement filed with the Sublette County District Court and acquired by WyoFile on Wednesday afternoon means that Cody Roberts, 44, would likely no longer face trial. It had been set to begin March 9.
Under the deal, Roberts withdraws his earlier not guilty plea and changes that plea to guilty or no contest for felony cruelty to animals.
The deal calls for a prison sentence of 18 months to two years that would be suspended in favor of 18 months of supervised probation and a $1,000 fine. Additionally, agreed-upon conditions of his probation include: no hunting or fishing; no alcohol, presence at bars or liquor stores; and a requirement that Roberts follow recommended addiction treatment.
As part of the deal, the parties are asking that a “pre-sentence investigation report” be ordered by the court.
Roberts allegedly acquired a wolf by striking it with a snowmobile, leaving it “barely conscious” on Feb. 29, 2024. Photos and video from that night showed him posing for pictures with the animal and even kissing it. The wolf’s behavior suggests that it was gravely injured, according to biologists who’ve reviewed video of the muzzled animal while it was prone and barely moving on the floor of the Green River Bar.
The Wyoming Game and Fish Department initially handled the incident, issuing Roberts a $250 fine for possession of warm-blooded wildlife. The state agency declined to seek stiffer penalties or jail time, and Game and Fish officials maintained that predatory animals, including wolves, were exempted from felony animal cruelty laws.
Sublette County law enforcement officials disagreed. In August, prosecutor Clayton Melinkovich convened a grand jury that indicted Roberts for felony animal cruelty. That crime could have put Roberts in jail for up to two years, though his plea agreement averts mandatory time behind bars as long as he successfully completes probation.
WyoFile is an independent nonprofit news organization focused on Wyoming people, places and policy.
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