The Rangely Panthers cross country team took a week off from racing to pile on some mileage and grind through some additional workouts before competing in Craig, Colorado, this past Saturday. The extra week’s worth of training really showed as head coach Beth Scoggins was ecstatic with her team’s performance.
DWIGHT SIVERSON PHOTO
“We had a really good meet. Macy, Colton and Gage ran personal bests. The boys finished second as a team. James won the varsity boys race and we even had Taya Wren win the middle school race. Everyone ran super well and I’m so proud of them,” Scoggins said.
Macy Morgan was the lone Panther in the high school girls race, but worked hard the whole way. On what isn’t known as a fast course, Morgan managed to not only break 28 minutes for the first time, but she also broke 27 minutes to earn a shiny new PR of 26:53.
In the boys high school race, James Talbot took out hard at the gun and didn’t look back. Talbot won his first high school cross country race in 17:47 without ever relinquishing his lead. Andrew Dorris was next across the line for the Panthers in 18:22 and a top 10 finish, crossing the finish in seventh place.
Anthony Dorris, Kevin Wren, and Fisher Winder have been proving to be a solid pack this year. The group stayed close with Dorris leading the way to place 26th in 20:11, Wren to capture 30th in 20:23, and Winder just a few spots back in 35th in 20:44. Justin Allred ran a 22:06, Colton Stevens finished with a new personal best of 23:08, Logan Peterson finished in 23:35, Joseph Valdez ran a 24:39, and Gage Nielsen also ran a personal best in 26:09.
Joining the high school team were middle schoolers Taya Wren, Samantha Granger and Alex Gillard. The middle school competitors raced a 3K instead of a 5K. Wren won the girls race in 14:54. Granger finished in 19:19 with Gillard completing the boys race in 19:29.
The boys varsity team finished second behind a tough Uintah team, but finished ahead of the likes of Moffat County and Steamboat Springs. The Panthers have just three regular season competitions left before they will try their hand at the 2A Region 4 Regional Championships to see who will be moving on to the state championships.
“Everyone just seems to be getting better each week, which is so great to see. But as much improvement as we make, other teams are making improvements as well. We need to keep running hard, working together, and getting the most out of these last few weeks. I have a lot of hope for this team and am just getting more and more excited for each of them,” Scoggins said.
Special to the Herald Times
