Breezy conditions mixed with rain from start to finish led to a challenging running of the Foxes and Hounds cross country meet in Cody on Friday afternoon, as the Panther girls’ team finished second and the boys’ team finished third.

“Our kids didn’t let a little bad weather slow them down,” coach Ashley Hildebrand said.

In the Foxes and Hounds race, the junior varsity runners all start at the same time, and then every 20 seconds the varsity runners begin, beginning with the No. 7 runner up to the No. 1 runner starting 2 minutes and 20 seconds behind the JV runners.

Times are used to determine the overall place of the runners for team standings, but the first 15 runners across the line, regardless of if they were JV or varsity, received a T-shirt.

Leading the way for the girls was Karee Cooley, who placed fourth overall with a time of 19 minutes, 14 seconds.

“Karee went into the race as our No. 1 varsity runner and ran an excellent race considering she was very sick earlier this week,” Hildebrand said.

Anyston Keller finished eighth for the Panthers, moving to the No. 4 spot all time in school history with a personal best time of 19:59. She was 11th across the line.

Shelby Zickefoose was third across for the Panthers, finishing 12th overall in a time of 20:23, just behind her personal best and 1 minute, 45 seconds ahead of her time last year.

Kaytlee George was Powell’s fourth runner, finishing in a personal best time of 21:02.

“Kaytlee gets better and better each week, and we look for her to break 21 minutes next week,” Hildebrand said.

Eleasah Horsley finished 24th with a time of 21:38, starting with the JV group and staying ahead of the pack for most of the race before finishing 10th across the line. Hildebrand said she not only earned a T-shirt, but a varsity spot in the next race.

Kara Sanders took 30th with a time of 22:02, Landyn Horsley took 31st with a personal best time of 22:07, Paige Sanders was 38th with a time of 22:45, Avery LeBlanc was 40th with a personal best time of 22:49, Ashlee Jacobsen ran a season best time in 44th with a time of 23:02, Caydee Eden ran a personal best time of 23:04 to take 45th, Natalee Laing took 47th in a personal best time of 23:33, Hayden Serr was 52nd with a personal best time of 23:50, Macie Velasco was 54th with a time of 24:01, Allison LeBlanc was 58th with a personal best time of 24:36, followed closely by Charlie Taylor with a personal best time of 24:39 in 59th. Jordyn Nelson finished 70th with a time of 27:05.

Powell took second in the girls’ team standings with 58 points, behind host Cody with 43. Buffalo was third with 70 points and Worland was fourth with 72.

The Panthers were without one of their top five runners in Melissa Merritt, who Hildebrand is hopeful will run at their home meet this week.

In the boys’ race Korbyn Warren led the charge once again, nearing a personal best time but running a season best time of 17:26 to take ninth overall.

Nathan Varian made a leap into second place for the Panthers, running a personal best time by over a minute at 17:56 to take 19th.

“Nathan was the biggest surprise of the day, running out of his mind to 19th place,” Hildebrand said. “He has been looking really good in practice and it was so much fun to see how excited he was after this race, knowing that he could run fast enough to break 18 minutes.”

Joining Varian in running a personal best time and breaking 18 minutes was Colin Walker, taking 20th overall with a time of 17:59.

Channing Wenzel started with the JV runners and led most of the race, crossing the line third but finishing 27th overall with a time of 18:31.

Michael Stensing was close behind Wenzel in both standings, crossing the line fifth and finishing 28th in the overall time standings with a run of 18:33.

“Both boys ran over a minute and a half faster than they did on this course last year,” Hildebrand said.

Alex Warner took 34th overall, with a personal best time of 18:45, Troy Cheatham was 42nd with a personal best time of 19:13, Ben Smith was 52nd with a personal best time of 19:34, Karson Howe was 66th with a personal best time of 20:23, Thomas Shuman was 86th with a season best time of 21:26 and Wyatt Hill was 91st with a personal best time of 22:01.

The Panther boys took third as a team, finishing with 103 points behind Buffalo with 68 and Worland with 64.

“While the girls have consistently scored well as a team, our boys have struggled and at times have not run with a full varsity team, but this week they had a full team and they ran to the potential that we have believed they had this entire season,” Hildebrand said. “We are so proud of all of these young men. The work they are putting in every day is really starting to pay off.”

Powell now finally returns home for its lone home meet of the season, welcoming in teams to the Powell Golf Club on Thursday afternoon.

Races start at noon, as the Powell Middle School racers take part in the Big Horn Basin Conference Championships before the high school races start. JV races begin at 1 p.m. and varsity races at 2 p.m. followed by awards and senior recognition at 3 p.m.

“We hope to see big crowds out there on Thursday,” Hildebrand said. “It is a terrific course for spectators and it is a fast course for the runners so we should see some great races.”