Graves, Olson, and Wilson Snag WyoPreps Athlete of the Week Award

A pair of cowgirls and a baseball player earned the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Wyoming WyoPreps Athlete of the Week honors. The selections were Sheridan's Abagail Olson, Wheatland trap shooter Jessie Graves, and Evanston Outlaws baseball player Walker Wilson. Those three were honored for their performances from June 3 through June 9, 2024.

We have updated our story with our video interview with Jessie Graves. See that below!

WYOPREPS ATHLETE OF THE WEEK HONORS JUNE 12, 2024

Girls Winners

Olson won her second straight barrel racing state title at the state finals rodeo last week in Rock Springs. Olson won the first Go at 17.477 seconds and the second Go at 17.255. In the short Go, Olson clocked the fastest run at 17.218 seconds and captured the average at 51.950 for the sweep. You don’t see that too often. She competed in three other events, goat tying, pole bending, and breakaway roping. Olson also placed in the top ten in the poles and goats.

WyoPreps caught up with Olson on Wednesday afternoon. She described her week as mixed but was happy to be a state champion again. Olson felt being in the same arena helped, how her horse isn’t easy to warm up but rises to the occasion, how her other events went, looked ahead to the National High School Finals Rodeo (NHSFR), and more.

Graves won her third straight state finals in trap shooting last week in Rock Springs. She finished with 96.5 points and posted a victory by 0.5 points. That gave Graves the season title, as well, for the second time in her prep career. Graves rallied down the stretch with a runner-up finish in Big Piney and victories in Gillette and Buffalo. She also dealt with a broken stock in the middle of the season. After fitting a new stock, she adjusted to shooting with a new set of angles to connect to the clay targets.

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Boys Winner

Wilson helped the Outlaws Legion baseball team to a 4-2 record last week, which included four conference wins on the road over Rawlins and Saratoga. He dominated in the two twin-bills in league games. Wilson tossed a no-hitter over five innings last Saturday over the Bandits. He struck out 12 batters on 85 pitches in a 26-0 victory. Wilson went 5-6 at the plate with 3 RBIs and scored 5 runs. He caught game two and went 4-5 with 3 RBIs and 3 runs scored. Against the Cutthroats, Wilson helped Evanston to 18-0 and 20-1 wins. He had 3 hits in his 3 at-bats, drove in 5 runs, walked four times, and scored 4 runs. That added up to 12 hits, 11 RBIs, and 12 runs scored over the weekend.

Wilson spoke with WyoPreps about his big weekend. He described his no-hitter, what pitches he threw that made him so effective, his plate appearances, how the team continues to adjust and improve, and more.

Congratulations to Abagail, Jessie, and Walker on receiving our weekly honor!

Last Week's WyoPreps Athlete of the Week Winner