After a freshman campaign where she was constantly battling as the No. 1 or No. 2 runner for Powell High School, Kinley Cooley set out this season to solidify herself as the No. 1 runner and compete for a top-10 spot at the state meet in Ethete on Saturday.

Cooley did that and more, finishing her impressive sophomore season with a PHS school record in cross country and a seventh place finish (20:44.42) at the state cross country meet to earn All-State honors.

“She ran an excellent race, going out with the leaders and establishing a good position which she was able to maintain for the entire race,” coach Ashley Hildebrand said.

Her seventh place finish was the highest for a Panther girl since 2017, when Kayla Kolpitcke finished fifth.

“It is really exciting to get All-State, I am proud of myself,” Cooley said. “We all worked really hard this season, we were hoping to beat Cody as a team but we didn’t — we all tried our best and that is really all that mattered.”

After the top-10 finish Cooley said she is more motivated to push forward with running, helping her to love the sport more and push for a higher finish next year.

That will be a difficult task, with four of the six runners who placed ahead of Cooley returning, including state champion and fellow sophomore Ameya Eddy, from Lander.

“I am excited for our team next year,” Cooley said. “I think we have some definite improvement that we can make and we are going to do great next year.”

She said finishing out this season she is sad to see the seniors leaving the team heading into next year, with those seniors being some of the best friends she has made.

She knows next year will be tough, but is hoping to make strides heading into track and putting miles on in the summer before cross country returns next fall.