Wyoming
Wyoming Girls Celebrate Long-Awaited B-ball Victory In Montana
It wasn’t the weekend Wyoming had in mind against Montana in their annual all-star basketball series, but the highlight was the Wyoming girls snapping a 16-game losing skid in the series. Montana swept the two games in Gillette on Friday night. Wyoming got the split on Saturday in Billings. The Wyoming girls used a late surge to beat Montana 81-75.
RECAP OF THE 2025 WYOMING-MONTANA ALL-STAR BASKETBALL GAMES
The Cowboy State ladies forced several turnovers in the last three minutes on Saturday, and Pinedale’s Elyn Bowers knocked down nine of 10 free throws to pull out the six-point victory. Bowers finished with a game-high 21 points for Wyoming. Lauren Olsen from Douglas followed with 14, and Karson Tempel of Cheyenne Central added 10 points. Wyoming trailed by four after the first quarter, 25-21, and at halftime, 43-39. They trimmed it to 58-56 at the end of the third quarter. Wyoming outscored Montana 24-17 in the final frame. It was the Wyoming girls’ first win since a victory in Sheridan back in 2016 (71-64).
Friday night in Gillette, the Treasure State girls topped the Cowboy State 91-80. Montana led 47-46 at halftime and 66-62 at the end of the third quarter. They pulled away in the fourth quarter. Jaden Meyer from Douglas led Wyoming with 18 points, and former teammate Lauren Olsen added 17 points. Bowers contributed 15 points.
Montana leads the girls’ series, 42-14.
Read More All-Star Basketball News from WyoPreps
WYOMING-MONTANA ALL-STAR BASKETBALL PREVIEW 2025
WYOMING-MONTANA ALL-STAR BASKETBALL ROSTERS 2025
WYOMING-MONTANA GIRLS BASKETBALL ALL-STAR GAMES 2024
WYOMING GIRLS ALL-STAR BASKETBALL GAME INTERVIEWS 2024
WYOMING-MONTANA BOYS BASKETBALL ALL-STAR GAMES 2024
WYOMING BOYS ALL-STAR BASKETBALL GAME INTERVIEWS 2024
WYOMING-MONTANA ALL-STAR BASKETBALL PREVIEW 2024
Montana won both games over the Wyoming boys
In the first game on Friday night in Gillette, Montana had seven players score in double figures in a 102-90 victory. The Treasure State built a 17-point lead by halftime and held off Wyoming. Laramie’s Jaden Smith led the Cowboy State with 15 points. Former teammate Neil Summers and Campbell County’s Lane Hladky added 14 points apiece. Evanston’s Jordan Mendez chipped in 13 points.
Saturday night at Lockwood (MT) High School, in the Billings area, Montana raced out to a 34-9 lead and never looked back in a 98-73 victory. Wyoming outscored them by six in the second half, but the hole was too deep to mount a comeback. Smith led the Cowboy State with 16 points. Hladky and Natrona County’s Tanner Hagar added 12 points apiece.
Montana holds a 69-29 edge in the overall boys’ series.
WyoPreps will have photos from the Friday games in Gillette on Monday. Below are last year’s photos, temporarily.
Wyoming-Montana Girls All-Star Basketball Series
Wyoming-Montana Girls All-Star Basketball Series
Gallery Credit: Frank Gambino
Wyoming-Montana Boys Basketball All-Star Game
Wyoming-Montana Boys Basketball All-Star Game
Gallery Credit: Frank Gambino
Oil City News publishes letters, cartoons and opinions as a public service. The content does not necessarily reflect the opinions of Oil City News or its employees. Letters to the editor can be submitted by following the link at our opinion section.
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
WyoPreps Coaches and Media Soccer Polls 4-29-26
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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