by nathan oster
The 2009 track season began in ideal fashion Saturday for the Greybull Buffs and the 14 other teams who converged for the Bill Gerrard Memorial Invitational.
With it being the “early bird” meet on the schedule, the weather is always an iffy proposition for the Greybull event. But not this year. Temperatures rose into the 60s, and with no wind, the thinclads got to work not only on their events of choice, but their summer tans.
“The weather was absolutely wonderful,” said GHS Coach Jeff Sukut, who boasts the largest roster of his tenure at the school.  With approximately 35 on the team, he even has a second assistant coach, with Lee Clucas joining Nolan Tracy in that supporting role.
Several Buffs missed the opening meet because they lacked the required practice time.
But those who did compete turned in good performances, said Sukut.
The Greybull boys accumulated 35.5 points, good for sixth place in the field. Wind River won it, scoring 115.  Lovell was second with 76 points, followed by Big Piney with 60, Burlington with 59 and Cody with 46.
Greybull’s only winner on the day was Shane Clucas. The sophomore won the 200 meters, posting a time of 24.32 seconds which was just .01 better than Doug Jordan of Wind River (who won both hurdle races).
Sukut said Clucas ran “a couple seconds” faster than he did last season, and he attributed that improvement to being “a year older and a year stronger” now.
The same applies to Clay Cundall, whose time in the 300-meter hurdles, a 44.87, is about three seconds faster than his best time from last season, said Sukut. With that clocking, the sophomore placed sixth on Saturday. He also just missed a top-six finish in the 110-meter hurdles.
Several freshman boys made a strong impression as well.
Victor and Edward DeCabooter were the team’s top scorers on the day. In the mile, they went second and third, with Victor posting a 5:01.28, Edward a 5:02.53.  Michael Smith of Big Piney won the event with a 4:43.
Victor added a fifth-place finish in the 800 meters.
“They’re going to be up-and-coming distance runners for sure,” said Sukut. “I was really pleased with their times — a 5:01 and a 5:02 are great, this early in the season.”
Sukut said that although they didn’t score points, his throwers established baseline distances. Hayden Goton “looked good in both the discus and the shot,” said the coach. Seniors Kyle Ellison and Trevor Jensen “will hopefully get to where they need to be prior to regional.”
Greybull also placed in the relays, as both its 400-meter and 1,600-meter quartets placed fourth.
On the girls’ side, Greybull placed 13th out of 15 teams. The Buffs scored four points, all coming in the 400-meter relay. That foursome included Carrinne Cheatham, Karly Thomas, Alex Powers and Lindsay Kern, who ran a 59.41.  Burlington, a 1A team, ran away with the team title, scoring 94 points. Rounding out the top five were Cody with 70, Lovell 67, Big Piney 36 and Big Horn 30.
“We have a young squad of girls,” said Sukut. “I was pleased with all their performances.”
With late-comers to the team, the coaching staff “is  still trying to gauge skill levels and fit athletes into events,” said Sukut, adding that the girls squad will benefit from the debut this week of Jaycie Cheatham, a state qualifier last year who missed the opener due to illness.
On the boys side, Dillon McCoy continues to rehab a knee injur. “Hopefully we’re able to work him into the mix yet this season,” said Sukut.
“We just need to continue to work and improve,”
The Buffs will compete against another big field of teams when they head to Cody Saturday for the Yellowstone  Sports Medicine Invitational. The meet is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m., weather permitting.