Wyoming
Robust Montana boys sweep; Wyoming girls end skid in All-Star Basketball Series
BILLINGS — It had been nine long years since the Wyoming girls tasted victory in their annual all-star basketball rivalry with Montana.
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Robust Montana boys sweep, Wyoming girls end skid in All-Star Basketball Series
But that streak came to an end Saturday at Lockwood High School, as the Cowboy State snared an 81-75 victory to salvage a split in this year’s Midland Roundtable Montana-Wyoming series and win for the first time since June 10, 2016.
Meanwhile, the Montana boys had no designs on a split and rolled to a 98-73 victory in the nightcap, one year after being swept by Wyoming, which snapped a run of 22 straight wins.
The Treasure State boys took command early, leading by 25 points in the first quarter, and didn’t look back to extend their already commanding lead in the all-time rivalry.
MTN Sports
Montana boys 98 , Wyoming 73
The boys from the Treasure State came into the week aware of Wyoming’s two-victories from last season, which ended a long run of dominance.
“We just wanted to get the streak back going,” said Box Elder’s Tracen Jilot. “We didn’t want to be that team that lost. Everybody’s watching you. You have people texting you, ‘You can’t lose this game.’”
Jilot, who helped Box Elder to two states titles and back-to-back undefeated seasons, certainly did his part by scoring a team-high 19 points, including nine in the opening quarter as Montana built its advantage.
Missoula Loyola’s Reynolds Johnston added 15 points, not to mention an emphatic alley-oop dunk in the final seconds of the game that punctuated the victory. Johnston, the Montana Gatorade player of the year from this past season, scored 10 of his points in the first quarter.
Other standouts for the Treasure State included Billings Skyview’s Zakai Owens, who had 15 points, and Manhattan Christian’s Christian Triemstra, who added 11. Montana finished with 10 3-pointers, two each from Johnston and Owens.
Greg Rachac / MTN Sports
But Jilot credited his team’s performance on the other end of the floor.
“The big thing was our defensive pressure,” Jilot said. “The biggest thing you can control is your effort on defense. That’s one of the biggest things we focused on, just being relentless and letting our defense create our offense, and just being unselfish.”
Laramie’s Jaden Smith paced Wyoming with 16 points. Lane Hladky of Gillette Campbell County and Casper Natrona’s Tanner Hagar each added 12. Campbell County’s Truman DeGrange made three 3-pointers, account for his nine points for the Cowboy State.
Montana, following a 102-90 win at the Pronghorn Center in Gillette, Wyo., on Friday, now owns a 69-29 advantage in the longstanding series.
Montana was guided by longtime Three Forks coach Mike Sauvageau in lieu of Steve Keller, who was away due to responsibilities as head coach of the Great Falls Electric of The Basketball League.
Wyoming girls 81, Montana 75
In the midst of what was a back-and-forth first half, Montana’s girls were able to build a 10-point advantage in the second quarter. But Wyoming closed the half with a final-minute flurry, and the Cowboy Staters went into halftime trailing 43-39.
The teams were separated by just two points at the end of the third quarter, but after a hoop by Billings Skyviews’ Rae Smart on a pass from Huntley Project’s Paige Lofing, Montana jumped ahead 69-62.
Greg Rachac / MTN Sports
A tough shot in the lane by Lofing gave Montana a 71-68 lead with 4:35 left, but that was the last field goal the team made until Dillon’s Kenleigh Graham scored a bucket with 19 seconds left. In between, Wyoming took control.
A transition basket by MSU Billings-bound Lauren Kuhbacher of Gillette Campbell County put Wyoming in front 72-71 with 2:36 left, and a steal and hoop by Pinedale’s Elyn Bowers made the score 77-73 in favor of Wyoming with 55 seconds remaining.
Bowers, who is headed to play at Eastern Washington in the Big Sky Conference, scored 21 points and made 9 of 10 free throws in the fourth quarter as Wyoming won for the first time in the series in nearly a decade.
“We really upped our intensity,” Bowers said. “We kind of really came together. As a group, I think we hate losing. All of our teams — our high school teams — are highly successful. We just wanted to come together, bring the intensity and get a win.”
Lofing, who is headed to play at Gonzaga, led the Montana All-Stars with 13 points, though she was hounded by tight defense in the fourth quarter. The MSUB-bound Smart added 12. Miles City’s Alli Glasscock and Lockwood’s Tailey Harris each had nine points.
Douglas’ Lauren Olsen scored 14 points for Wyoming, and Cheyenne Central’s Karson Tempel had 11.
Montana, which prevailed 91-80 in Game 1 on Friday at the Pronghorn Center, still leads the all-time girls series by a 42-14 margin.
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Wyoming Sun Bucks is a net gain for children, families
Dear Casper,
Rep. Ken Pendergraft’s recent column opposing the Sun Bucks program raises concerns about cost, but it does so in a way that risks giving readers an incomplete picture.
It is true that the Department of Family Services requested approximately $3.5 million for startup and operations. However, that figure represents a combined state and federal investment, split evenly. Wyoming’s share is half of that — and more importantly, those dollars are not intended to purchase food directly. They fund the administrative framework required to deliver federally funded benefits to eligible children.
Those responsibilities are not trivial. They include verifying eligibility, processing applications, maintaining technology systems, preventing fraud and ensuring benefits are accurately distributed. Without that infrastructure, the program simply cannot function, and no child would receive assistance.
The initial startup cost of $1.6 million covers one-time expenses such as building the IT system, setting up application processing, contracting with the EBT vendor that issues and loads benefit cards, and establishing temporary staffing and support systems to serve families statewide. This is not “an office for one person,” but the foundation of a program designed to reach roughly 32,000 children.
Once operational, the ongoing cost to Wyoming is estimated at about $483,000 per year in state funds. In return, the program would deliver approximately $3.84 million annually in federal food benefits to Wyoming children. That is a significant net gain for families across the state.
While the article emphasizes administrative expenses, it overlooks the scale of the benefit those costs unlock. The question is not whether administration exists — it must — but whether the outcome justifies the investment. In this case, a relatively modest state contribution enables millions in direct food assistance to flow into Wyoming communities.
Reasonable people can debate the role of government programs. But that debate should be grounded in a full accounting of both costs and benefits. When viewed in that light, the Sun Bucks program is less about bureaucracy and more about whether Wyoming chooses to participate in a federally funded effort to help ensure children have access to food during the summer months.
Mike Thompson, Chairman of the Department of Family Services Oversight Council
Evansville
Wyoming GOP endorsement of candidates
Dear Casper,
I have read about the plans for the Wyoming Republican party to endorse specific candidates in the upcoming primary election. It is my understanding that the state law currently prevents the Wyoming Republican party from officially endorsing a candidate. I agree with the party’s position that this is not in keeping with the party and its members’ First Amendment right to free speech.
However, I think that the party should be careful in exercising this right. As the purpose of the primary election is to select the candidate that the majority of the registered Republican party members feel is best suited for the position, it feels like there could be a conflict of interest in explicitly endorsing a specific candidate without receiving the input from all of the registered members of the party.
Without seeking the input of the entire Republican electorate, how will the party itself provide a fair and accurate endorsement of a candidate? I certainly hope that the party leadership is not intending to offer an endorsement on behalf of the entire party based simply on what they (the leadership) might believe. To offer such an endorsement without seeking the input from all of the party members would be anti-democratic and would invoke Orwellian images of the party which, rather than listening to and responding to the input from the party members, would tell the party members what they should think.
If the members of the party leadership wish to offer an endorsement, they should do so as individuals and should not presume to speak for the entire membership of the party, at least not before the entire Republican electorate has had a chance to provide input regarding a party-level endorsement.
To circumvent this problem, I would recommend that the Republican party hold a vote among all of its registered members to determine whom the party ought to endorse. Maybe we could hold an event where polling places are established, where party members can go to indicate their preference for that endorsement. This would provide a fair and democratic method to ensure that the Republican party’s endorsement reflects the will of the party members.
I think that there might be an event similar to what I have described scheduled for Aug. 18. Maybe the party could do more or less the same thing for their endorsement event — or just wait until then.
Carlos Buckner
Casper
Related
The 2026 Wyoming High School boys’ soccer season is close to its finish. Only three weeks remain. 4A teams will conclude the regular season, as they jockey for positions going into next week’s regional tournaments. Meanwhile, 3A schools have this week and next week left in the regular season. They are trying to reach the top four of the league standings, as those are the teams that qualify for the state tournament in two weeks.
WYOPREPS WEEK 8 BOYS SOCCER SCHEDULE 2026
Three matches this week feature ranked opponents squaring off. Sheridan will host Thunder Basin on Friday. In 3A on Saturday, top-ranked Cody is at No. 5 Mountain View, and four-rated Torrington goes to No. 2 Buffalo. Just like the ladies, you have some rivalry matches on the schedule with Rock Springs-Green River, Jackson-Star Valley, and Thunder Basin-Campbell County. Wednesday will bring new soccer rankings. This is the boys’ schedule for Week 8. Schedules are subject to change.
TUESDAY, MAY 5:
CLASS 4A
Final Score: #2 Sheridan 2 Campbell County 1 (conference match)
Final Score: Riverton 3 Natrona County 1 (conference match)
CLASS 3A
Pinedale at Rawlins – postponed to May 11 – changed to May 9 for boys’ match only!
WEDNESDAY, MAY 6:
CLASS 4A
Laramie at Cheyenne Central – postponed to May 9
Cheyenne South at Cheyenne East – postponed to May 9
Read More Soccer News from WyoPreps
WyoPreps Boys Soccer Standings on 5-4-26
WyoPreps Week 7 Boys Soccer Scores 2026
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Nominate a Boys Soccer Player for WyoPreps Athlete of the Week
WyoPreps Week 6 Boys Soccer Scores 2026
WyoPreps Coaches & Media Soccer Polls 4-22-26
WyoPreps Boys Soccer Standings on 4-20-26
WyoPreps Week 5 Boys Soccer Scores 2026
WyoPreps Coaches & Media Soccer Polls 4-15-26
WyoPreps Week 4 Boys Soccer Scores 2026
WyoPreps Week 3 Boys Soccer Scores 2026
WyoPreps Week 2 Boys Soccer Scores 2026
WyoPreps Week 1 Boys Soccer Scores 2026
THURSDAY, MAY 7:
CLASS 4A
Final Score: #1 Jackson 8 Star Valley 2 (conference match)
Final Score: #4 Thunder Basin 3 Campbell County 1 (conference match)
Final Score: Rock Springs 2 #5 Green River 1 (conference match)
FRIDAY, MAY 8:
CLASS 4A
Final Score: Cheyenne Central 6 Cheyenne South 0 (conference match)
Final Score: #2 Sheridan 3 #4 Thunder Basin 1 (conference match)
Final Score: #2 Kelly Walsh 6 Riverton 0 (conference match)
Final Score: Laramie 3 Cheyenne East 1 (conference match)
Final Score: Evanston 2 Natrona County 2 – TIE (conference match) – Red Devils scored with 1 second left for the draw.
CLASS 3A
Final Score: #4 Worland 1 Rawlins 0 (conference match) – Kobe Bradshaw scored the GW goal on a PK in the 1st half.
Final Score: Douglas 2 Torrington 2 (conference match) – Shootout = Torrington wins 4-3!
Final Score: #1 Cody Lyman (conference match)
Final Score: #2 Lander 3 Pinedale 0 (conference match)
Final Score: Powell 1 #5 Mountain View 0 (conference match) – Gianrey Dallesandro with the GW-goal, assisted by Ethan Frame.
Final Score: #3 Buffalo 1 Newcastle 0 (conference match) – forfeit win for the Bison.
SATURDAY, MAY 9:
CLASS 4A
Laramie at Cheyenne Central, 11 a.m. (conference match)
Evanston at #2 Kelly Walsh, noon (conference match)
Cheyenne South at Cheyenne East, noon (conference match)
Riverton at Natrona County, noon (conference match)
Rock Springs at Star Valley, 1 p.m. (conference match)
CLASS 3A
Pinedale at Rawlins, 11 a.m.
#1 Cody at #5 Mountain View, noon (conference match)
Powell at Lyman, noon (conference match)
Torrington at #3 Buffalo, 2 p.m. (conference match)
#4 Worland at Douglas, 2 p.m. (conference match)
Final Score: Rawlins 1 Newcastle 0 (conference match) – forfeit win for the Outlaws.
Cheyenne Central vs. Cheyenne East HS Softball 2026
The Indians faced the rival Thunderbirds on April 15, 2026
Gallery Credit: David Settle, WyoPreps.com
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