MEEKER | The Meeker High School cross country team hit the road over the weekend, competing at the Moffat County Invitational and turning in a solid performance. The Cowboys’ boys team finished ninth overall with a final team score of 205 points.
Sophomore Bradley Conrado led Meeker with a breakout race, crossing the line in 18 minutes, 57 seconds to place 30th overall. Just behind him was sophomore Ryan Hanberg, who clocked 19:02 for 32nd.
“I was so pleased with how these two performed,” head coach Marty Casey said. “It is great to see the results of all of their hard work!”
Freshman Landon Damitz continued his strong debut season, running 19:20 to finish 40th. Casey praised the newcomer’s natural ability.
“Landon has natural talent,” Casey said. “He can only get better with experience.”
Senior Cameron Hanberg fought for a top-50 finish, clocking 20:02 for 47th. In the middle of the pack, sophomores Ashton Tapia (21:51) and Jackson Steele (21:55) finished just four seconds apart in 72nd and 73rd.
“These two worked hard the entire race,” Casey said. “It was great to see that teamwork, and it helped push Jackson to a new PR.”
Senior Remy Broussard turned in a gritty effort, running 26:37 for 93rd despite losing both shoes midrace.
“I feel great about my time — it was an unexpected time considering I was trying to get a 28,” Broussard said. “After the first lap we ran through a nature trail and on the trail my shoe came untied. My shoelace was worn down and didn’t hold enough tension to stay tied, so as I’m exiting the nature trail my shoe comes off. I knew it would waste too much time to try and tie it, so I just kicked off the other shoe and hit the dash and I finished with just my socks.
“My mindset was I was gonna PR at a 28-minute 5K, and obviously I did surprisingly better. My next goal is to PR by at least another minute. I definitely need to get some new shoelaces,” he added with a laugh.
On the girls’ side, senior Haylee Steele ran 26:54 for 73rd. While still managing hamstring issues, she said she was happy with her performance.
“My performance for the Craig meet was pretty good for not being at 100%,” Steele said. “My time in Craig was way better than my time at the home meet, and my performance was stronger than at the home meet overall.
Casey said Steele’s determination reflects her leadership in her final season.
“Haylee is dealing with some hamstring issues but is still trying hard,” he said. “That will be a bit of a balancing act these last few weeks.”
Casey said the Craig results showed both progress and room to grow. “I think we had a pretty good day,” he said. “There is always room for improvement, and that is our constant goal.”
Next up, Meeker will travel to Aspen this weekend for the Chris Severy Invitational, where they will face another test against Western Slope competition.
“We will keep up the intensity and try to be ready for the altitude,” Casey said. “Our underclassmen have not raced in Aspen, and I am interested to see if they like the course as much as I do!”
