Central Girls Outdoor Track team picks up fifth straight title

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (Wyoming News Now) - Becoming a State Champion is no easy task. For the Central Girls Track and Field team, it’s become the expectation. The team had won four straight outdoor titles coming into this season. That total sits at five after the 2023 state meet.

Of the individual winners, four Lady Indians won a combined seven events.

Sydney Morrell, 4A Girls 800, 1600, 3200 Meter Run State Champion

Of this year’s individual winners, only one had been an outdoor state champion the year before. Sydney took the top spot in the 3200 as a junior. As a senior, she took three titles.

Sydney has seen the growth across team and specifically with her fellow seniors.

“My freshman year, we weren’t necessarily a state winning team. My cross-country season my freshman year, I think we ended up in third and that wasn’t really ‘our end goal was to win’. I just think like the growth that me and all of the other senior’s this year have had is crazy, we built ourselves up.”

Madisyn Baillie, 4A Girls 100 Meter Hurdles, High Jump State Champion

Madisyn finished second in the 100 meter hurdles and fifth in high jump as a junior. Twelve months later, she’s a champion in both events.

The feeling of becoming a champion is one that few athletes get to experience. After Madisyn won the hurdles, she got to share the moment with her team and those who have helped support her through the year.

“When I crossed that finish line, I was so excited. My coach came up and hugged me, Whitney Whitworth, she came up and hugged me too. It was just a great feeling knowing that I crossed that line with a big win.”

Brinkley Lewis, 4A Girls Pole Vault state Champion

Brinkley found herself at the top of the 4A Girls pole vault podium in 2023 after a second place finish as a Junior. She improved her state attempt by a foot, which allowed her to win the title by three inches.

She became the third senior to win a title this year, but that was far from a certainty when she started track. Had a couple things gone a bit differently in her Sophomore season, she might not have been at the state meet at all.

“Actually, in the event I got state champion in, I almost quit my Sophomore year because I just could not figure it out, so I’m kind of proud of myself I guess for pushing through and really figuring it out.”

Karson Tempel, 4A Girls Triple Jump State Champion

Karson marks the lone Lady Indian individual champion that will return next year. She’s a Sophomore this year, so she’ll have the rare chance to be a three-time state champion across her years in high school.

With so many seniors leaving the program, Karson stands to take a leadership role on the team next season. Not only is that a possibility for the state champion, but an opportunity she says she’s looking forward to.

“I am looking forward to leading. I think I’m one of the only jumpers for next year because of them leaving, but I think we have some younger ones that will be pretty good. I’m just excited to be that older role model for them like they all were for me.”

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