Bobcats earn top spots at cross county meet

Thermopolis hosted the Bobcat Invitational Cross Country meet at the Thermopolis Golf Course on Friday, September 22. Teams from Thermopolis, Wyoming Indian School and St. Stephens competed on a day which started out somewhat cool and cloudy, but in which the heavens came through, with sunshine all around during the four event meet.

The high school girls event was off to a great start at 2 p.m., and the boys began at 2:30. The high school course was a 5K event, that again had ups and downs, with which the top-notch runners were required to contend. Both varsity team events were taken by the teams from the Wyoming Indian School, with a girls team average time of 25:40, and a boys team average time of 20:17. The Bobcat boys varsity team finished second in their event, with an average team time of 20:37 – just twenty seconds behind, the team from Wyoming Indian School. First-place individual varsity honors for both boys and girls, however, went to local runners.

The Bobcat team is young – comprised of just four seniors, with four sophomores and three freshmen. For the varsity girls, senior Jayda Griffin, finished at the top of the field, with a time of 24:16.28. Sophomore Sadie Martinez finished third, with a time of 24:42.34.

For the varsity boys, the local team placed four runners in the top ten. First Place went to sophomore, Cole Keller, with a time of 19:05.15; sophomore Jadeth Elder finished fourth at 19:57.41; senior, Jesse Rodriguez finished sixth, with a time of 20:53.94, and senior, Seth Needham finished eighth, at 21:10.24 and Teancum Gevas had a time of 21:59.79.

Head Coach, Stephanie Metz, advised that four members are needed to field a boys team to compete in class 2A events. It is the same for the girls. “Historically, Thermopolis has had a difficult time putting together a team to compete in boys events, and overall, the teams have not always been competitive.” In her eleven years with the program, eight as head coach, she has never had the luxury of a boys team like she has this year. “The boys and the girls teams this year are just amazing.”

“Jayda Griffin has been competing since her sixth grade year, and has battled injuries. To have her finish first was just the culmination of all of her efforts. And, that was a huge win for Cole, who competes every event with his teammate Jadeth Elder, with great passion.” As for Jadeth, coach Metz states that she is always impressed with the cerebral approach he takes to the sport, not relying merely on physical ability.” Finally, coach said she is equally impressed with the way Sadie Martinez has battled through some injuries this year, and her finish was a great accomplishment, as a result.

For the junior varsity runners, Ava Dafoe came in second for the girls with a time of 27:55.51 and Camille Rodriguez was ninth with a 37:41.62. Michael Stevens came in eighth for the boys with a time of 24:09.85.

Nine teams filled the course for the middle school races. The middle school course is comprised a total of 2 miles in length, with uphill challenges, and downhill relief. The Thermopolis Middle School boys team finished second. Ammon Gevas came in third with a time of 12:13.56 and Trevin Shaffer was sixth at 12:42.67.

Other middle school boys competing were Lane Jennings, 13:52.67; Clayton Keller, 14:02.12; Tanner Myers, 14:03.61; Christian Eplin, 14:48.41; Orion Jenks, 14:49.64; Cameron Martinez, 14:55.67; Apollo Jenks, 15:33.23; Garret White, 16:00.71; Allen Thurman, 16:08.15; Joel Skelton, 17:11.25; Braxton Egger, 18:14.35; Aiden Cleare, 19:06.90; Brayden Jones, 19:07.40 and Walker Sanning, 20:55.11.

The middle school girls team was lead by Hailey Robinson with a time of 15:32.38. Other middle school girls times were Emma Dean, 15:34.18; Creighlee Williams, 16:01.67; Ruth Needham, 17:26.83; Kylie Geis, 17:30.23; Silvanna DeVries, 17:31.85; Jadriene Jeffs, 19:45.15; Aliyah Deere, 22:38.66 and Kimber Jeffs, 25:32.83.

Overall, coach Metz says the future looks bright for the Thermopolis Cross Country Team. Upcoming events will be held later this week in Worland, followed by an event in Powell. The Conference Championship event is coming up early next month, followed shortly by the State Finals on October 22in Cheyenne.

At the end of the meet, seniors, Jayda Griffin, Seth Needham and Jesse Rodriguez, together with their parents, were recognized for their contributions to the team, to the school, and to the community.