SHERIDAN — Sheridan High School senior Josie Ankney is headed to Australia in July 2023 to compete with the U.S. track and field team against several nations.

Ankney began her throwing career with the shot put and discus in her sophomore year of high school and has already seen incredible results, including several university offers and opportunities to travel abroad.

Coast 2 Coast, a multi-sport program, offers many successful athletes from across the United States opportunities to compete against other nations in Australia, as well as enjoy sightseeing and other activities in the country and Hawaii. The 150-athlete U.S. team will be led by numerous college coaches.

Ankni is currently raising money to cover the cost of the trip, starting with a raffle of donated beef for the cause.

“Having been raised in Sheridan, everyone has been very supportive,” she said of the fundraising success so far. “People kept saying no [the beef], but they wanted to donate. Because of this, Ankney has also started a GoFundMe.

Marshall McEwen, one of Ankney’s hurling coaches at Sheridan High School, said, “She has all the things you can’t teach. McEwen worked to get her on the Sheridan hurling team as much as she could.”[I told her,] Josie, this will be the best thing you have ever done,” he said.

McEwen praised Ankney’s competitiveness, coachability and hard work ethic.

“If you had to pick up a straw and throw it, she’d want to throw it far,” he said.

Ankney, with no throwing history prior to her sophomore year, threw impressive distances with shot put distances of 40 feet, 5.5 inches and 113 feet, 3 inches in the discus. With a first-place finish at Wyoming’s Northwest Regional meet last year and a third-place finish in the shot put at a competitive state meet, Ankney’s progress and the results of her hard work are evident.

McEwen explained that throwing is an incredibly technical sport and takes as much technique as it does strength.

“They are not natural movements,” he said. “You couldn’t do anything as a kid like playing catch. The technique is not easy. “

McEwen said Ankney’s continued perseverance and ability to handle the frustration of such a game is impressive, and he will be incredibly successful in his hurling career in the future.

“I have to work hard on the discus; it’s a lot more technique,” Ankni said. “My favorite is the shot; it’s kind of my strength and I’m naturally very good at it.”

Looking ahead to his trip, Ankney said he’s looking forward to the sights and experiences the team will enjoy, and like the competition, he’s looking forward to meeting athletes from around the world. He hopes to take his parents to Australia as well.

Ankney is involved in many extracurricular activities including FFA, 4-H, trap shooting and National Honor Society.

“Josie said, ‘This is what I want to do,’ and she decided she wanted to get a scholarship, and she took that to heart, and I’m sure she’ll get a good scholarship. It was fun to watch,” McEwen said.

Ankney’s GoFundMe for the trip to Australia is titled “Josie’s International Track Meet.”