We hear the names Shane Brock, Ron Thon, Bill Strannigan, Don Runner, and Roy Peck and know an athletic event is coming to town, but too often we forget the person the event is memorializing.
This year marks the 50th Shane Brock Invitational Track Meet at Bill Bush Stadium in Lander at next Saturday’s meet.
On August 5, 1973, Shane Brock was about to enter his senior year at Lander Valley High School. On a hot summer day, he and two friends took a canoe to Bass Lake, northwest of Riverton.
One of the friends fell into the water, cramped, unable to swim back to the canoe. Shane dived into the water to save him and never resurfaced. The other two survived.
In his honor, the Lander senior class of 1974 started a track meet memorializing Shane.
Shane was an outgoing kid. He loved sports, especially distance running.
He grew up in the “Black Addition” neighborhood of Lander, near present-day West Elementary School.
Tim Green, a Lander English teacher had four boys about the same age as Shane and his three brothers. In a year 2000 interview in the Lander High School student newspaper, the “Tiger Connection” student reporter Melissa Siwik quoted Green, “Shane was the ‘King of the Black addition.’ He was one of the oldest boys in the new housing addition and he did everything from umpiring wiffleball games to keeping the peace between the huge number of boys in the neighborhood. He was everybody’s hero on our block. It left a big hole when he was gone.”
Kevin Green, one of those younger boys in the neighborhood and the Lander High School distance coach is honoring Shane’s memory on this, the half-century mark of the meet.
“Debbie (Green) and I got some tumblers and coolers for each event,” Kevin said. “The Elks Club is helping out.”
The plan is to present the winners of each event with a special gift in memory of Shane.
Billie Brock, Shane’s mom, and his younger brother Jeff are expected to attend.
In the early 1960s, Lander had a semi-professional baseball team.
Shane’s father, Floyd Brock, came up from Georgia to play baseball.
Floyd and Billie had four sons, Brad, Todd, Shane, and Jeff.
“They were all good athletes,” Kevin said. “Shane’s forte was track. He was the oldest of the neighborhood kids. We thought he was a god, he took care of everybody, making sure everyone was alright.”
The plan is to give each first-place athlete the award after their events are announced and to have a special presentation around noon.
“We’ll have a brief talk about Shane Brock to let them know who he was, and present gifts to his mom and brother,” Kevin said. “Karine Harms will do a tribute to her dad Bob with brother Brian.”
Bob Harms, the legendary Tiger track coach, passed away just last month.
The Tiger seniors will be announced after that.