Turpin, Havens, and Walker Earn WyoPreps Athlete of the Week Honors 11-15-24 [VIDEO]

A state champion diver, a champion swimmer, and a football player who helped his team to a title game appearance were selected as the WyoPreps Athletes of the Week. These three excelled against the competition in the 13th week of the fall prep sports season for 2024-25. Maggie Turpin from Laramie, Vayda Havens of Lander, and Cokeville’s Kayson Walker were chosen for the awards. Turpin won the Class 4A diving title, Havens won two events at the 3A state swim meet, and Walker led the Panthers to a big semifinal win on the road in the football playoffs. We will honor volleyball next week.

WYOPREPS ATHLETE OF THE WEEK WINNERS 11-13-24

Girls Winners

Turpin defended her diving state championship last Saturday in Cheyenne with a record-setting performance. The senior won last year’s title in Gillette and faced quality competition at the 2024 state championships. Turpin excelled under pressure and won her second consecutive 4A title with a new state record of 478.60 points across 11 dives. That eclipsed the old mark by over 14 points. Turpin also helped Laramie win the 4A team championship with 231 points. She led a dominant performance on the diving board for LHS. The Plainsmen had three more divers finish in the top seven behind Turpin, which included runner-up Rowyn Birdsley.

Maggie spoke to WyoPreps about winning another title, how she felt she dove, Laramie’s depth in diving, what diving coach Ben Herdt means to her, winning the team crown at Laramie, and more.

Freshman Vayda Havens won both her individual events and was on two victorious relays at last weekend’s Class 3A girls’ swimming and diving state championships. Havens won the 200-freestyle race at 1:57.12. She followed that with a dominant victory in the 500-freestyle race at 5:20.59. Havens won that race by nearly 12 seconds. She also swam the anchor leg on Lander’s 200 and 400-freestyle relays. Havens helped Lander win the 3A team title for the seventh time in the last nine seasons.

WyoPreps finally caught up with Ms. Havens on 11-18-24.

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Boys Winner

Walker compiled 278 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns in the Cokeville Panthers’ 40-14 semifinal road win at No. 2 Mountain View. He ran for 192 yards and averaged 6.9 yards per rush. Walker added one catch for four yards and 82 return yards. On defense, Walker finished with 20 defensive points. He made eight tackles, which included three tackles for loss, and one sack. Walker’s effort helped Cokeville reach its first 2A state championship game and its first title game in five years. The Panthers are the smallest school in Class 2A, as they opt up to the 2A division.

Walker discussed his performance and the team win with WyoPreps. He explained the feeling he and the team had after the win, what some of the keys were, how he played, and more.

Congratulations to our weekly winners, Maggie, Vayda, and Kayson!