RANGELY | The Rangely High School cross country team competed in Aspen this past weekend. Known for its high elevation and challenging hills, the Aspen course tests both mental toughness and physical endurance. The race takes place over rough terrain, mowed fields, and numerous hills, making it easy for runners to feel discouraged as they tire and the finish line seems far away.
The middle school team wrapped up their season with a 2.2-mile race that mirrored many of the challenges of the high school course. The girls’ team featured four runners: Alyxis Boren, Hailey Armstrong, Danielle Thayne, and Kylee Caldwell. Boren finished in 19:59, placing 20th out of 88 runners. Armstrong followed with a time of 22:04, while Caldwell finished in 26:38, and Thayne crossed the line at 26:52. On the boys’ side, Alec Gillard led the team with a time of 19:42, earning 28th place out of 76 runners. Tex Bird, who fell during the race, finished with a time of 23:55.
The high school girls’ team was one runner short of scoring as a team, but they performed well individually. Taya Wren dominated the race, taking first place with a time of 19:48, 38 seconds ahead of the second-place runner. Faith Prieto finished in 30:24, followed by Courtney Casto at 31:52 and Addison Thayn at 33:14.
The boys’ team, although missing a few runners, had enough participants to score. Kellen Lefevre led the way with a time of 22:01, finishing 12th. Dylan Moran and Tavan Morgan ran together, placing 23rd and 25th with times of 23:19 and 23:49, respectively. Kyler Fouts finished in 23:44, and Gage Nielsen crossed the line at 29:56.
The team will have next weekend off and will race again on Friday, Oct. 18, at the Whistle Pig Invitational at Yampa Golf Course in Craig, Colorado.
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Editor’s Note: This article was not received in time for this week’s print edition and so is only available online.
