Burns' Cody Hape has reset his goals this season

May 10—BURNS — Cody Hape has had his sights set on running the 400-meter dash in less than 50 seconds since he started showing promise in the event as a sophomore.

The Burns senior has done it five times in eight meets this season. That includes a pair of sub-50 times on his way to wins at the invitation-only Best in the West Classic and the Southeastern Wyoming Athletic Conference Championships last week.

"Forty-nine has been the goal for pretty much my whole high school career," Hape said. "Now, I'm running it kind of casually, and 48 is my new goal.

"I'm kind of cruising in the 400 right now. I'm running fast, but I don't feel like I really have to push it to get to 49 anymore. I'm able to keep my form with my knees high and keep a pretty good pace."

Hape also won the 100- and 200-meter dashes and placed third in high jump at the SEWAC meet. He added a fourth-place finish in the 200 at Best in the West.

Those efforts earned Hape Prep Athlete of the Week honors from WyoSports' Cheyenne staff.

Hape got as close as he possibly could to running a time in the 48s when he posted a personal-best 49.00 during a runner-up effort at the Wyoming Track Classic last month in Casper.

Crossing the 49-second threshold puts Hape in elite company, Burns boys track coach Cole Manlove said.

"When college coaches have a last-minute guy leave or someone commit somewhere else, they're going to jump into their computer system and start looking at times," Manlove said. "They'll see a lot of 49s, but 48s really jump off the page and put you in another class.

"Any college coach would love to have a kid who runs a 48."

Hape won the Class 3A state title with a 51.30 as a sophomore. He thought getting into the 49s was possible, but had started to wonder if he could get there, considering his best time entering this season was a 50.34 he posted while finishing third at the Class 3A state meet during his junior campaign.

Hape started this season with 50.43 and backed it with a 50.79 the following weekend. He was pushed at the Okie Blanchard Invitational and got over the hump with a 49.90.

Seeing what was possible made Hape reassess his goals.

"I honestly never thought I'd be in this position," Hape said. "Forty-nine was the goal, but it's hard to do. I've gone from going sub-50 in the third week of the season to running a 49.0 a few weeks later.

"That's a big jump and shows me how much potential I have. It's good to have new goals."

The Wyoming Track Classic is the only meet Hape has competed in this spring where he hasn't had the top time in the 400. Lander's Gage Gose — who has signed to compete as a hurdler at NCAA Division I Davidson — took top honors that day with a 48.27.

Hape was bothered by a chronically painful knee last season. He has done a good job of listening to and taking care of his body this spring, Manlove said.

Hape has beaten the state qualifying standard in the 100, 200, 400, 800 and high jump. He also was on relay teams that posted qualifying times in the 4x100, 4x400 and 1,600 sprint medley.

"He is so talented, he can do almost anything he wants and be good at it," Manlove said.

Burns wants to get the most out of Hape's versatility, which is why he is tentatively slated to run the 100, 200, 400 and 800-meter anchor leg of the sprint medley relay at next week's state meet. Hape will put that slate to the test at this weekend's 2A East Regional in Torrington.

The sprint medley would be the only event Hape would run on the first day of the state meet. He'd have the preliminaries of the 100, 200 and 400 on Friday, and the finals in those events Saturday.

Hape ran the 800 at Burns' first meet of the season and was four seconds off the school record. It's the only time he has run that race this year.

A solid showing in the sprint medley relay, combined with athletes performing up to their customary levels, could give the Broncs a serious look at their first boys track title since 2016.

"Coach (Brooks) Hoffman broke the numbers down, and Big Piney and Big Horn will be within six points of each other to decide first. We needed to decide where we were going to pick up some points," Manlove said. "(Hape) being willing to run that 800 again made some other guys take another look at running distances they're not always excited about.

"Athletes motivating each other and doing what's best for the team is what track is all about."

Others recognized for their efforts include:

n Mitchell Birkhofer, Stu Lerwick and Dalton Schaefer, boys track and field, Pine Bluffs: Birkhofer won shot put and placed second in discus at the Southeastern Wyoming Athletic Conference Championships.

Lerwick won both long jump and triple jump.

Schaefer won pole vault with a personal-best height of 12 feet, 9 inches. He also took second in long jump.

n Alyssa Brenchley, girls soccer, Cheyenne Central: Brenchley scored a pair of goals to help the Lady Indians go 1-1 on the week.

n Logan Custis and Samuel Lucas Smith, boys soccer, Central: Custis netted three goals to help the Indians beat Laramie and Cheyenne South.

Smith added a goal and two assists during those matches.

n Jaylyn Christensen, McKenzie Millar and Gracie Oswald, softball, Cheyenne East: Christensen batted .625 (5-for-8) with a home run and four RBI to help the Thunderbirds sweep a doubleheader at Laramie. She also struck out 12 batters and posted a 4.00 earned-run average across seven innings in the pitcher's circle.

Millar batted .714 (5-of-7) in those games.

Oswald posted an .857 (6-for-7) batting average with two doubles, a home run and seven RBI.

n Alexis Grady, Katie Hinz, Izzy Kelly and Izzy Thomas, softball, Central: Grady struck out 12 hitters across 15 innings in the pitcher's circle to post a 3-0 record on the week.

Hinz fanned 23 batters in 11 1/3 innings and went 3-0 with a 3.71 earned-run average. At the plate, she batted .538 (7-for-13), with a home run and eight RBI.

Kelly posted a .609 average (14-of-24), with two doubles, a triple, three home runs and 10 RBI, to help the Indians go 6-0 on the week.

Thomas batted .632 (12-for-19), with three doubles, two homers and 11 RBI.

n Brooklyn Paskett, girls soccer, East: The sophomore scored two goals on the week, including an overtime game-winner against Sheridan to help the Lady Thunderbirds go 2-1 on the week.

n Alyssa Slade, girls track and field, Pine Bluffs: The junior placed second in the 100- and 200-meter dashes and high jump at the Southeastern Wyoming Athletic Conference Championships on Saturday in Burns. She also was on the runner-up 4x100 relay team.

Jeremiah Johnke is the WyoSports editor. He can be reached at jjohnke@wyosports.net or 307-633-3137. Follow him on Twitter at @jjohnke.