MEEKER | The Meeker High School cross country team hit the road Saturday to compete in the Chris Severy Invitational in Aspen, where runners faced a challenging mountain course under overcast skies, light rain and cool fall temperatures — ideal conditions for racing amid the changing colors of autumn.
The girls’ race kicked off the day, with senior Haylee Steele finishing in 29 minutes, 34 seconds for 26th place.
“Haylee is still dealing with some hamstring issues but managed the hills well,” said head coach Marty Casey.
Steele said she was proud of her effort on what she described as one of the toughest courses of the season.
“For this race, I thought that my performance was pretty good for being a much harder race,” Steele said. “The hardest part about Aspen’s race is the drive that I need to keep going up the steeper hills. I hope that my time will improve at the Rifle meet, especially because it is a mostly flat course. Knowing that it will be the same course as regionals helps me and the team prepare ourselves for what’s next in the future.
In the boys’ race, sophomore Bradley Conrado led the Cowboys with a seventh-place finish in 20:57, followed closely by sophomore Ryan Hanberg at 21:12 for ninth, and freshman Landon Damitz at 21:16 for 12th.
Senior Cameron Hanberg finished 17th in 22:34, continuing his steady improvement throughout the season.
“I feel like the race went pretty well, even with it being a pretty tough course,” Hanberg said. “I wasn’t expecting a personal best by a long shot, but I was still going to give it all I had.”
Sophomore Ryan Hanberg said teamwork and pacing made a difference for the boys’ squad.
“At Aspen, I feel like I handled the course well, going out more conservative to prepare for the early hills,” he said. “The friendly competition between Brad, Landon and me pushes each of us to our best, as we are each stronger at certain parts of the race, and one of us pushing the pace helps all of us strive for a better time.”
Freshman Jackson Steele rounded out Meeker’s top five with a 24:38 for 26th place, while sophomore Ashton Tapia and senior Remy Broussard finished as Meeker’s sixth and seventh runners, placing 30th and 37th in 25:57 and 29:47, respectively.
Steele said he was proud of his effort despite the tough terrain.
“I felt great about this week’s run, but it was a lot slower for one reason,” he said. “This race had many more hills than the last run. On the last run, I got a time of 21:55, breaking my previous record by almost three minutes. My next goal is a sub-20-minute run.”
“Brad, Ryan and Landon ran together really well again this week,” Casey said. “Cameron was more than a minute faster than his best time at Aspen, and Remy bettered his time by nearly three minutes. Jackson ran hard the whole time, and although Ashton was not feeling well, he still ran a solid race.”
The boys’ team placed third overall in team scoring with a total of 68 points.
The Cowboys have a busy week ahead, racing Tuesday at Rifle Creek Golf Course starting at 4:40 p.m., and Friday afternoon at Lincoln Park Golf Course in Grand Junction starting at 5 p.m. — the same course where the regional meet will take place on Oct. 23.
The Meeker High School cross country team earned a third-place finish in the boys’ division at the Chris Severy Invitational in Aspen this past weekend. Back: Head Coach Marty Casey. Middle, from left: Ashton Tapia, Bradley Conrado, Landon Damitz, Cameron Hanberg, Ryan Hanberg, Jackson Steele and Haylee Steele. Front: Remy Broussard.