Green River soccer has year to remember

The 2013-14 spring sports season was another banner year for soccer at Green River High School.

The campaign included a perfect regular season record for the Lady Wolves and a 4A West Regional title and third-place finish at state by the boys squad.

The Green River High School boys soccer team ended the season on a positive with a 1-0 victory over Cheyenne Central to finish third at the Wyoming 4A State tournament in Rock Springs.

The Wolves were able to defeat the Indians one day after dropping a tough 2-0 loss to eventual champion Laramie in the semifinals.

“It was great to get the win versus Central and I am very proud of them to finish out their season with a win,” he said.

With the win, Green River finished the season 15-5. Falling just one game short of the state final, Bieber said the program is moving in the right direction and they team was able to stay strong throughout the season.

While he praised a large group of seniors for their leadership and support, he also looked to the future of the program.

“I foresee another regional championship, along with a conference and state championship,” he said.

Green River opened the quarterfinals of the state tournament last Thursday with a 2-1 victory over Cheyenne East.

The Wolves captured the regional title in May with a thrilling 2-1 win over Riverton. Green River had avenged a loss to Riverton the prior week that gave the Wolverines the regular season 4A West crown.

The Wolves scored the first goal of the game on a goal from Chase Erickson. After the Wolverines tied it up with time running out in regulation, Green River sealed the regional championship late in the game when Taten Knight found Victor Alatorre for the winning goal.

“It was a great win for us, the players fought until the end,” head coach Chris Bieber said. “We wanted redemption after the regular season conference championship game to prove that we were the better team.”

GIRLS SOCCER

While the season didn’t end as expected, it was still quite the campaign for the Green River High School Lady Wolves soccer team.

The team finished the 2014 season as the 4A West regular season champions and won 18 consecutive games to start the season.

Despite three losses to end the year in post season play, head coach Tracy Wyant said that it seems like every year the program is progressing. Last year, she said they were able to beat Natrona for the first time and win a regional tournament championship, and this year she said they were able to start 18-0 and win the school’s first regular season conference championship.

She said they were doing really good, but they just could not win them all.

“Things just didn’t go our way,” she said.

Looking back on the season, Wyant feels the Lady Wolves are headed in the right direction.

“I think the program is growing and it is gaining in popularity,” she said. “Hopefully we can gain a few new firsts for the program next year.”

Green River lost three seniors off the conference championship team. Schneider, Andrea Flores, and Hope Hunt all graduated in May.

As the Lady Wolves look to continue the momentum of the program, Wyant said the offseason will be very important.

“We are already working hard and the way we look at it, when the season ends every bodies position is up for grabs,” she said. “What you do in the offseason -- the conditioning and the ball skills is going to determine wether you get your spot back or a spot on the varsity team. You can’t walk into a starting spot just touching a soccer ball three months a year. Soccer is something you have to develop all the time.”

GRHS TRACK

The Green River High School track team ended its 2014 season with some solid individual performances at the state tournament in Casper.

Leading the way for the Wolves were strong finishes by senior Josh Hartford and junior Holly Huber.

Hartford broke his own school record with a time of 1:52:45 in the 800-meter run. He finished second in the event, finishing behind Ricky Faure of Rock Springs.

Boyd said Hartford ran an amazing race and had the third fastest time in the history of the state track meet.

In the 400-meter event, Hartford did not place after a false start in the finals.

Boyd said he was given a standing ovation as he left the track and praised his senior standout.

“He was a great ambassador for our school and our community,” Boyd said.

Huber finished third in the 100-meter hurdles. Boyd said she had a great year.

The Green River 4x400 relay team of Hartford, Garrett Wilson, Steven Glasscock and Tyler Vendetti finished in third place.

Boyd said Vendetti had a solid state meet finishing fourth in the triple jump and seventh in the long jump.

Boyd thanked all of his seniors for their time at the school and said they were good leaders.