The Rangely Panther cross country teams traveled to Colorado Springs to kick off Labor Day weekend at the Cheyenne Mountain Stampede. This is the pre-state course, giving teams an opportunity to gain some familiarity with the course that will host the state championships later this fall. Schools from all divisions took this chance, and even with there being multiple sections, the Rangely runners faced fields of well over 200 competitors.
“It was an eye-opening experience for our team this weekend,” said coach Beth Scoggins. “We have a lot of potential this year, and as well as the season started in Meeker and Basalt, we still have a lot of work to do if we want to compete at the next level.”
In a crowded, hot, and dusty race, James Talbot worked his way up through the race to place 28th in 19:23. Andrew Dorris, not quite where he was hoping to be, finished 49th in 20:19. Anthony Dorris and Kevin Wren both came across the line in 22:04, with Fisher Winder right on their tales in 22:09. These five rounded out the scoring for the Panthers and claimed the 14th team spot.
Also running for the Rangely boys were Justin Allred, Logan Peterson, Joseph Valdez, Colton Stevens, Caiden French, Gage Nielsen and Matthew Morgan. Macy Morgan was again the lone female racer this weekend, completing the course in 32:35.
The Panthers will head to the Grand Junction Tiger Invite next weekend to keep the season going.
Special to the Herald Times
