MHS cross country team opens in Delta

MEEKER I Four Cowboys ran in Delta last Friday to open the cross country season for Meeker High School, with two varsity and two junior varsity runners.
“It was quite hot for both races,” coach Kris Casey said of the temperature at race time. “The boys did well, they ran together and helped each other on their first races.”
Sophomore Lathrop Hughes and freshman Willis Begaye represented the Cowboys in the varsity race. Hughes, Meeker’s only returning male runner, ran the 3.1-mile race in 21.13, finishing 59th in a field of 91. Begaye finished two runners and four seconds behind Hughes.
Sophomore Tala Atoafa and freshman Bailey Mantle made their high school cross country debut in the JV race.
“They too ran together for the majority race,” Casey said.
Atoafa ran the race in 27:39 and Mantle followed across the finish line six seconds later.
“They can now set some goals and we know how much work we need to do,” Casey said.
Casey hopes senior Joe McPhail and sophomore Savannah Johnson are able to run this Saturday in Carbondale.