Laramie's Moore, Berryhill win conference titles
May 10—CHEYENNE — Finishing kick has long been Gideon Moore's strength.
However, even the Laramie junior had to admit the prospect of closing a 30-meter gap over the final 125 meters of a race seemed implausible. But that's just what Moore did to win the 3,200-meter run at the Class 4A East Conference meet Friday at Cheyenne South.
Moore finished in 9 minutes, 48.09 seconds after overtaking Sheridan senior Landrum Wiley (9:48.31) just before the finish line.
"I've always had that kick in me," Moore said. "I wanted to win that race and leave it all out there. I didn't want to walk away from that race feeling like I had anything left in me.
"I put it all out there, and had nothing left when I crossed the finish line."
Moore felt like he could have paced himself better throughout the race so there wasn't as much of a gap between he and Wiley during the final lap. He remembered the advice of his coaches as he discussed the finish.
"They say that no matter how bad it hurts in the middle, you have to keep pushing because it's always going to feel bad at the end," Moore said with a smile. "You just have to pour your heart out the entire race. I could have done a better job of that."
Laramie's boys sit fifth in the team race with 25 points. Cheyenne Central leads the field with 67.
Moore, Jackson Reed, Logan Brown and Flynn Arnold joined forces to finish third in the 1,600-meter spring medley relay (3:35.68). Junior William Brinegar added a fifth-place effort in discus (137 feet, 2 inches).
The Laramie girls ended the first day of the meet sitting second in the team standings with 53 points. Sheridan leads with 55.
Laramie freshman Lainey Berryhill didn't step to the starting line of the 800-meter run with a game plan. She wasn't sure what to expect from the race because she hadn't competed against most of the girls in the field this season.
It didn't matter. Berryhill overtook Natrona County junior Ashley Gross — who led for most of the race — late and held off Cheyenne East freshman Maggie Madsen down the stretch to win the title in 2 minutes, 15.30 seconds.
"I didn't know what the other girls' race strategy was, but it worked out," Berryhill said. "I had to adapt a little and made my move sooner than I would have. They went out pretty fast, but I was able to tuck in behind the leader and have enough left at the end."
The Plainsmen ended the first day of the meet sitting in second place in the team standings with 53 points. Sheridan leads with 55.
Laramie also picked up 13 points in the 3,200-meter run, thanks to freshman Keiran Giraldo and sophomore Sophia Gonzales, who placed second and fourth, respectively. Giraldo crossed the finish line in 11:35.10, while Gonzales clocked in at 11:58.67.
Giraldo and Gonzales ran side by side for much of the race before Giraldo started making her move.
"I wanted to save my energy for the last 400 and decided to start picking up my pace after the first 800," Giraldo said. "I was looking for a top-five finish, so second is really nice. I'm also really happy with the time I got."
Giraldo overtook Thunder Basin senior Mallory Jones in the middle of the final lap. The pair traded positions a few times before Giraldo pulled away for a 5-second cushion.
"I caught up to (Jones) and tried to pass her, but she sped up," Giraldo said. "At that point, adrenaline kind of took over, and I was able to get past her late."
The Plainsmen's 1,600 sprint medley relay quartet of Kierra Gardner, Kamrie Bingham, Leah Schabron and MacKenna Schabron closed the day with a runner-up time of 4:20.33. Sophomore Kate Lewis tossed the discus 115 feet, 5 inches to place third.
Jeremiah Johnke is the WyoSports editor. He can be reached at jjohnke@wyosports.net or 307-633-3137. Follow him on X at @jjohnke.
