MEEKER I The Meeker High School Cowboy cross country team participated in Fruita’s Anna Banana Memorial Invitational this past Saturday. The Fruita event is another large meet with some big schools.
The Anna Banana Memorial Invitational is known for being one of the faster courses of the season, and the Meeker team members had some great races, continuing to show improvement.
Abbi Ibach was Meeker’s first competitor of the day, finishing 48th among 68 in the junior varsity girls’ race, with a time of 26:51.
The MHS varsity boys ran next, with several teammates posting personal bests: Marshal Pool at 17:50, with a 34th place finish; Anthony Watt, 71st place in 19:34; Clay Anderson broke the 20 minute mark with a 19:55 and 77th place; and Christopher Strate finished 83rd in 20:29.
Austin Russell was our second man in, at 39th place. Although his 17:58 was not his best time of the season, it was an amazing effort, considering the fact that he was tripped and trampled at the start of the race.
Josh Cochran was our sixth varsity runner for the day, crossing the line at 20:32 and in 88th place. The Meeker boys managed an 11th-place finish out of 13 team scores.
Julia Eskelson ran in the varsity girls’ race to finish the day with a 21:53, good for 28th place.
“We are showing some solid improvements as the season progresses,” coach Marty Casey said.
“Everyone is working hard during practice, and the race times reflect that.”
The Cowboys will travel to Aspen on Saturday, with races starting at 9:30 a.m.
