by nathan oster
The Greybull Buffs have their first automatic state qualifier in Jessica Hunt.
The sophomore soared 4 feet, 9 inches to win the high jump at Friday’s Wind River Invitational and punch her ticket to the state meet later this spring in Casper.
“Nice to have that one,” said Coach Jeff Sukut, who was hoping Hunt would AQ because she cannot attend the regional meet due to her commitment to attend the International Science and Engineering Fair.
Hunt nearly qualified in the triple jump as well, going 31 feet, 10 inches — just 5 inches short of the AQ standard — to capture fourth place in the event.
“She should be able to qualify in that as well,” said Sukut.
With Hunt leading the way, the GHS girls captured third place in the 12-team field, collecting 60 points. Lovell won it with 166, followed by Dubois with 163.
Several Greybull boys came up just short of state qualifying standards as the Buffs landed in sixth place with 36 points.
“Overall it went really well — a good outing for us,” said Sukut. “We weren’t battling the bigger schools like we have been, but it was a nice-sized meet, with some good performances by our kids.”
The team continues to score most of its points in the sprints and hurdle races.
In the 100, Shane Clucas was sixth in 11.5 and Dillon McCoy eighth in 12.25. In both cases, the times were their best efforts of the season.
In the 200, the Buffs finished fourth, sixth and seventh, as Clucas (24.59), Cundall (24.91) and McCoy (25.27) “all shaved off quite a bit of time,” according to Sukut.
Cundall ran a 16.56 to capture fourth in the 110-meter hurdles. It was a personal best for the GHS junior — and just six hundredths of a second off the qualifying standard.
Wyatt Good and Jordan Jolley scored points in the 300-meter hurdles, with Good running a 48.37 to take fourth and Jolley posting a 49.16 to claim fifth.
The 400-meter relay team Cundall, Clucas, Dylan Brenner and McCoy posted its best time of the season, finishing second in 47.13 seconds to round out the scoring.
The Buffs were without the services of Edward DeCabooter, who usually scores points in the distance races.
On the girls’ side, it was another quality team effort.
The Buffs again fared well in the hurdles.
In the 100s, Alex Powers placed third in 18:07, Michaela Jolley was fourth in 18:20 and Karly Thomas finished sixth in 18.76.
“All three of them looked really good and should be contenders at regionals,” said Sukut.
In the 300s, the finishing order was similar. Powers was third in 54.32, Jolley fifth in 56.07 and Thomas seventh in 59.42.
Michaela Denniston added time from the previous week, but the freshman was still fast enough to claim third in the 400 in a time of 1:11.15.
Lindsay Kern turned in a solid second place in the shot put, heaving the heavy ball 29 feet, 2 ½ inches.
The 400-meter relay foursome of Hunt, Powers, Jolley and Kate Wilkinson rounded out the scoring with a third-place finish, completing their trip around the oval in 56.74 seconds.
“We improved almost across the board, and even the kids who didn’t place shaved off a lot of time,” said Sukut. “We like to see that because we’re about halfway through the season.”
The Buffs will compete at the Riverside Twilight on Friday, with action there set to begin at 2:30 p.m.  All of the county teams are expected to attend.
Saturday it’s on to Powell for the LAK Invitational.