TMS cross country wraps up

Last Friday, middle school cross country students travelled to Powell for their conference meet, their final competition for the season.

Coach Stephanie Metz said it was a great meet with a nice, flat course and the students are familiar with it for the most part. “We had some good races,” Metz said, noting Dazlynn Hunt’s keeping up with a Lander competitor and splitting a 6:03 in the first mile. Hunt took second in the competition with 12:57.53.

“6:03 wasn’t what we were shooting for,” Metz said, “but she held that Lander girl throughout the first mile. She raced really tough.” Hanna Hill had a breakout meet as well, Metz noted, and has been improving every meet.

For the boys, Metz said Seth Needham and Isaac Robinson had a good race at the end, finishing only one second apart. Needham finished at 14:04.45 and Robinson finished at 14:05.53. “That’s what we like to see,” Metz said. “Seth pulled through at the end, but Isaac gave him a tough race all the way until the end.”

Metz also noted Jesse Rodriguez’s being under seven minutes for both miles. He finished with a time of 13:29.17. She’s excited for Rodriguez to return as an eighth grader. Kanyon Gerber, she said, is now very comfortable with his pacing and can solidly run a 7:00 to 7:30 pace. He finished at 14:33.08

Though Brody Potter, the sixth grader, is new to the team and running, Metz said his splits are right there with everybody else.

“I’m just really impressed with all of their times throughout the season,” Metz said, as they are running 6-8 miles, and this is really promising for the future of Thermopolis Cross Country. If we’re able to keep these students into high school, she said, it will be a solid team over the next couple years.

Additional times from the meet include:

Elizabeth Peterson 15:37.71

Hanna Hill 15:49.10

Sofia Gerber 16:32.75

Kendall Bradshaw 16:37.92

Brody Potter 14:40.49

Aidan Freeman 21:04.20

Though the middle school runners are done for the season, high school will have one final competition with the State Championships at Sheridan on Oct. 20.