RANGELY | Ten Rangely High School cross country runners extended their season to compete in the Nike Southwest Regional meet on Nov. 23. The prestigious meet, held in Mesa, Arizona, drew top athletes from Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona and Nevada.
Rangely was represented in a variety of races. Alec Gillard, an 8th grader, made his 5K debut in the Citizens Race, clocking in at 22:22. His performance bodes well for a promising high school career.
In the Girls’ Small School Race, Faith Prieto led the way for Rangely, setting a new personal record of 23:47. Courtney Casto and Addison Thayn also achieved personal bests, finishing in 25:17 and 26:31, respectively.
The Boys’ Small School Race saw strong performances from Rangely’s athletes. James Talbot, in his final high school cross country race, secured 17th place out of 209 runners with a time of 16:24. Joseph Valdez and Kellen Lefevre ran together for much of the race, finishing with times of 19:24 and 19:28, respectively. Tavan Morgan, Matthew Morgan, and Gage Nielsen rounded out the team’s performance.
Taya Wren, who qualified for the Championship Race, faced tough competition from 257 other runners. She achieved her goal of finishing in the top half and breaking 18:30, placing 74th with a time of 18:24.
As the cross country season concludes, these athletes will transition to their winter sports, including cheerleading, wrestling, basketball, and indoor track. Coach Scoggins expressed her pride in the team and her anticipation for their future endeavors in track and field.