MEEKER I The Meeker High School cross country team had double the competition this past weekend with a meet at Sweitzer Lake State Park in Delta on Friday, followed by the Moffat County Invitational on Saturday, held at Loudy Simpson Park in Craig.
“The race conditions were fantastic this weekend, with perfect temperatures and great courses,” head coach Marty Casey said. “The Sweitzer Lake meet was a new one this year, with a fast course and good competition.”
The girls ran first, with Julia Eskelson finishing 15th with a time of 21:35 while Briar Meszaros took 28th place with a time of 23:32.
The boys’ race followed, and Marshal Pool was Meeker’s first to finish, bringing home a sixth place medal at 17:10.
Matthew Beck continued to show improvement as the second Cowboy to finish, with a tie of 20:12 and 47th place. Clay Anderson and Christopher Strate were the next Meeker runners across the line, in 57th and 58th place at 20:40 and 20:44, respectively. Josh Cochran rounded out the team, finishing in 21:48, and 80th place out of a field of 105 competitors.
The girls started the day again on Saturday, and again Julia Eskelson finished in 15th place, at 22:55 while Briar Meszaros handled the course in 23:26, good enough for 23rd place.
On the boys’ side, Clay Anderson was the first Cowboy to finish, in 27th place with a time of 20:44. Christopher Strate was close behind, at 21:09 and 32nd place.
Josh Cochran crossed the line in 36th place, at 21:31, and Pake Burke ran a 22:30 for 48th place. Alex Murray finished in 73rd place, completing the course in 29:10.
“Back-to-back meets were definitely hard on our team, but we saw some good racing, and some great finishes on both days,” Casey said.
The Cowboys will be traveling to Aspen on Saturday for the Chris Severy Invitational, with the high school races starting at 9:30 a.m.
