Returning to Montana for the second time this season the Powell High School cross country runners benefitted from racing against top competition, as the Panther girls were sixth as a team and the boys were 22nd in races that featured well over 200 competitors in each.

Leading the way for the Panthers girls once again was Karee Cooley, who took ninth with a season best time of 19 minutes, 6.4 seconds.

“To place in the top 10 in this race is quite an accomplishment and was Karee’s goal going into the race,” coach Ashley Hildebrand said.

Second across for the Panthers was Anyston Keller in 36th with a time of 20:07.7 with a season best time, just ahead of Aubree Kraft in 37th with a 20:09.6, to make her the No. 9 runner in PHS history.

Kaytlee George ran a personal best time just behind Keller and Kraft, as she took 45th with a 20:22.4.

“Having those three girls cross the line so closely packed together really helped our overall team score,” Hildebrand said.

Finishing the team scoring was Eleasah Horsley, who was the fifth runner in with a time of 22:10.5 to take 110th overall.

Kara Sanders was just behind her in 148th with a time of 22:15.7, while her older sister Paige Sanders took 148th with a season best time of 23:10.4 despite fighting a cold.

As a team the Panthers were third among a field of mainly 4A teams from Wyoming, as Helena won the overall team title, with Kelly Walsh the highest Wyoming team in third with 137 points. Powell was just behind Star Valley which was fifth with 213 points, Powell had 219 and Cody was seventh with 235.

Big Horn’s Lyla Marney was the highest placing Wyoming racer in fourth and Cooley was the next highest. There were 223 runners and 36 teams entered in the girls’ race.

In the boys’ race the Panthers once again were led by Ryder DeBoer, who took 86th in a personal best time of 17:55.6.

“Ryder is proving himself to be a very strong runner, we are excited to see how he continues to progress over the season,” Hildebrand said.

Channing Wenzel was next  in for Powell with a time of 18:38.2 to take 138th.

He was 10 places ahead of Michael Stensing, who finished in a time of 18:53.6, while Nathan Varian was close behind Stensing in 151st with a time of 18:54.6.

Ben Smith turned in a personal best time to be the fifth runner for the Panthers, as he finished in 166th with a 19:17.2.

Karson Howe finished in 169th with a time of 19:25.6, and Wyatt Hill was the seventh runner with a time of 22:14.5 to take 235th.

Entries for the varsity race were able to be more than seven, as Matthew Watson was the eighth runner for the boys, taking 238th with a personal best time of 22:18.9.

“Our boys continue to get better and we were so happy with how well they raced in Bozeman,” Hildebrand said. “They’re really starting to put things together and it was fantastic to see them run so well.”

As a team the Panthers were 22nd with a score of 604, improving from 26th in Billings a couple of weeks ago.

Sheridan’s Eli Balkenbush won the individual title and pushed the Sheridan boys to a team title with 58 points, Wyoming had four of the top 10 teams.

In the JV race the Panther girls finished 10th as a team, as Landyn Horsley took 59th (24:29.7), Charlie Taylor took 65th (24:43.7), Natalee Laing was 72nd (24:56.1), Abigail Curdy was 89th (25:20.8) and Beth Black was 113th (26:02).

This week the Panthers are splitting up their squads, as the junior varsity runners head to Lander on Thursday, while the varsity runners head back to Montana to race in the Mountain West Classic in Missoula
on Saturday. 

Hildebrand said the MWC will give the Panthers an opportunity to race against schools from Washington and Idaho as well as Montana.