The Panther cross country team kicked off its 2020 campaign on Saturday at Homesteader Park.

Citing several strong performances on both the girls’ and boys’ teams, head coach Ashley Hildebrand was pleased with the season-opening meet.

“We had a beautiful day and great first meet to start our season,” Hildebrand said. “I was really happy with how both the boys and girls ran. I thought they all ran really well in this first competition after a hard week of practice.”

In an event with runners from Cody, Worland, Thermopolis and Lovell, the Panthers’ five best boys’ scores were all in the top 15 of the standings. Sophomore Daniel Merritt’s time of 18:18.5 was the Panthers’ best and fourth overall. Joey Hernandez, a senior, was right on Merritt’s tail, finishing in fifth with a time of 18:18.68. Freshman Chance Franks took ninth with a time of 18:35.

Just days before the meet, senior Lane Franks was involved in a car accident and suffered minor injuries. But he still managed to finish in the top 15 — taking 13th — with a time of 19:11.32.

“At that point in the week we weren’t sure if he would be able to race, but as the week progressed he felt better and ended up running a really good race for being so stiff and sore,” Hildebrand said of Franks. “He ran that race with a lot of heart and I am excited to see how he progresses over the season.”

Riley Schiller took 14th with a time of 19:13.50.

As a team, the boys took third place with 44 points. Worland topped the field with 37 points, followed by 39 from Cody.

On the girls’ side, PHS junior Kabrie Cannon ran the event in 21:13.86, taking fourth overall in the competition.

“She worked hard this summer to prepare for this season,” Hildebrand said of Cannon. “And it showed in this first race.”

Behind her, freshman Mary Shopa and sophomore Gabby Thomas placed 10th and 12th, respectively.

Powell and Cody were the only two teams with enough girls to qualify for a team score, with the Fillies posting 17 points to the Panthers’ 46 to win the event.

Powell will head to Buffalo for the Panthers’ second meet of the season on Saturday. Two seniors who weren’t able to compete in the opener — Tyler Pfeifer and Hailee Hyde — will make their 2020 debuts at the meet.

“Both worked out this summer and it will be good to see how they compete in their first races of the season,” Hildebrand said.

Powell Cross Country Opener

Boys

4. Daniel Merritt 18:18.50

5. Joey Hernandez 18:18.68

8. Chance Franks 18:35.00

13. Lane Franks 19:11.32

14. Riley Schiller 19:13.15

26. Isaac Summers 20:50.02

27. Jace Bohlman 21:10.28

Girls:

4. Kabrie Cannon 21:13.86

10. Mary Shopa 23:03.83

12. Gabby Thomas 23:26.74

18. Jozi Simpson 25:00.62

19. Madelyn Horton 25:43.18

Girls JV

7. Ava Carder Miller 29:08.65

8. Sara Shopa 30:04.17