Sept. 18-19, Rangely
Sept. 25-26, Craig
Oct. 9, Regionals, location TBA
Oct. 17, State, Colorado Springs
MEEKER | Cowboy cross country split its runners between two weekend races, with the varsity runners traveling to Delta on Friday, and the balance of the team running at another home meet on Saturday.
Delta hosted six other teams at Confluence Park, with the girls running first. Brighton Bair was the first Cowboy to the finish line, earning a new personal record (PR) of 22:12, and 11th place overall. Savannah Mendenhall and Nora Gianinetti ran well together for most of the race, and pushed each other to great finishes, taking 22nd and 23rd places, at 23:59 and 24:00, PR’s for both racers. Aiyana McCook and Sarah Kracht also had their best races so far, finishing in 26:17 and 27:14, for 29th and 33rd places respectively. The girls placed fifth as a team.
Meeker had great representation in the boys’ race as well, with third place in team scoring. Gabe Richardson was the first finisher for the Cowboys, in 10th place at 19:37. Ethan Drake was right behind him, at 19:38 and 13th place, a PR, and his first sub-20:00 race. Shane Kobald followed in 15th place at 19:44, and Colby Clatterbaugh finished in 20:11 and 19th, his best. Spud White and Buzz Clatterbaugh raced each other to the finish, at 20:19.45 and 20:19.84, for 21st and 22nd, PR’s for both.
“Delta’s meets at Confluence are always fast, and this was no exception. It was great to see the work paying off in our times this week. All of our new runners had their best times so far, most by two or three minutes.”
Meeker hosted another home meet on Saturday, drawing five other schools. The course began and finished on the practice field at the middle school, and included running around Paintbrush Park and areas of the fairgrounds. The girls raced here first as well, with Ainsley Selle and Alana Nielsen representing the Cowboys. Ainsley finished in 17th place, with a new PR of 28:00. Alana took 24th place at 34:06. The boys race had five Meeker runners, with Gage Richardson having a great finish, fending off a handful of competitors for 31st place, at 23:44. Owen Hannemann, Ashdon Seibert, and Gabe Smithers finished 34th, 35th, and 36th places, at 23:59, 24:23, and 25:06, a PR for Gabe. Stephen Koenig had his debut race of the season, at 36:26, for 40th place.
“It was good to fit in another meet this weekend, and to see some new competitors. We had teams from as far as Ouray. It was certainly a much harder course than Delta, but we got some positive feedback from our visiting teams, and will hope to use this course for future events,” said head coach Marty Casey. “I was pleased with the efforts of our runners today, and how well they all managed the course!”
Meeker will be competing in both of the Rangely meets this coming weekend, with varsity runners starting at 5 p.m. on Friday, and JV races at 9:30 a.m. Saturday. Both meets will be held at Cedar Ridges Golf Course.
