RANGELY | Following a weekend off, the Rangely Panther cross country teams (high school and middle school) traveled to Aspen, Colorado, for the Chris Severy Invitational. The Panthers raced Aspen’s mountains that are much better suited for skiing down than running up with strength and persistence, showing just how locked in the team is moving into the final weeks of the season.
James Talbot and Taya Wren each handled the tough 5K with boldness on their way to winning the high school varsity boys and girls races, respectively. Talbot won his second race in a row with a time of 19:09 shortly after Wren claimed her first career individual victory with a time of 23:02.
Joining Wren in the girls’ race was Courtney Casto and Macy Morgan, completing the race in 30:00 and 36:49, respectively. Talbot led his team of Joseph Valdez who finished in 22:03, Logan Peterson in 22:58, Justin Allred 23:51, Lincoln Harris 24:27, Gage Nielsen 27:26, and Matthew Morgan 29:59.
“I’m so, so proud of this group of kids,” said head coach Beth Scoggins. “This is a really hard race and everyone just put their heads down and got to work. Taya had a big goal this weekend and to see her surpass that goal and get her first win was really special. The regional meet is going to be here in no time and today was a big step in the right direction of being at our best.”
The Rangely middle school team joined the high school team at Aspen, racing a shorter, but no less challenging, 3,200 meter course. Alyxis Boren led the way for the young Lady Panthers in 21:38, followed by Hailey Armstrong in 23:33, and Kesleigh Kennedy and Olivia Olsen both in 27:53. Taven Morgan ran a solid 19:14 with his teammate Alec Gillard shortly behind him in 20:39.
The Rangely Panthers will be traveling to Craig, Colorado, next weekend for the Whistle Pig Invitational, their last regular season meet of the year.
