A unique race mixed with cooler temperatures Thursday helped the Panther cross country team post personal best times at the Foxes and Hounds Invitational in Cody. Powell senior Daniel Merritt won the boys race and Kinley Cooley broke the school record with her third place finish to lead the Panther girls to a second-place finish.

The Foxes and Hounds race begins with the junior varsity runners taking off from the starting line, and then varsity runners, starting from the seventh runner on each team, take off and try to catch the runners that started before them.

Racers take off in 20-second intervals, finishing with the top runner for each varsity squad starting 2:20 after the junior varsity runners.

A big storm and a lightning delay led to uncertainty if the race would be run, but a break in the weather allowed cooler temperatures for athletes to run top times.

Merritt crossed the finish line 11th, but won with the fastest time of the day (16:38.94).

“Daniel ran a really strong race and it was good to see him get back into the 16’s — especially after a hard week of practice and homecoming activities,” coach Ashley Hildebrand said.

Coming in second for the Panthers for the first time this season was Jace Hyde (18:21.24) in 22nd, who has continued to shave time off quickly in his first season of cross country. Hyde’s time was a personal best mark by 40 seconds.

Just behind Hyde was Korbyn Warren (18:30.96) in 25th place.

Juan Torres (19:00.6) was the No. 4 runner across for the Panthers in 38th, continuing his time shave over recent weeks to improve in his sophomore season.

Breckin Streeter (19:30.04) rounded out the scoring for Powell in 50th, followed within a second by Liam Taylor (19:30.38). Justin Hobbs (19:43.79) was the final varsity runner across for the boys.

The boys team placed sixth overall out of nine teams.

Cooley reached the summit of her climb to the top of the Powell High School all-time cross country list with a time of 19:53.3. In finishing third overall, she finished as one of the first 10 across the line after starting the race in the last group.

Kenna Jacobsen (20:32.7) was the second runner across for Powell, finishing in seventh overall.

Third across for Powell was Melissa Merritt (21:12.29) who ran a personal record and finished 12th.

Behind Merritt was Brynn Hillman (21:17.46), placing 13th overall in a personal best time.

Jordan Black (21:34.47) placed 19th in a season best time and Audrey Johnson (21:41.09) was just behind her in 20th with her personal best.

Megan Jacobsen (21:45.49) placed in a personal best time to finish 21st as the seventh runner across for Powell.

Despite having seven of the top 21 runners, Powell placed second to Cody but narrowed the gap by 10 points compared to the weekend prior in Worland.

Powell now turns its attention to the only home meet of the season, hosting the Pinnacle Bank/Powell Invitational on Friday at the Powell Golf Club.

Middle school races begin at noon and 12:30 p.m., followed by junior varsity races at 1 p.m. and 1:30 p.m.

Varsity races begin at 2 p.m. with the girls followed by the boys at 2:30 p.m.

“It is a fast course and is very spectator friendly so we would love to see the community come out and cheer these kids on,” Hildebrand said.

FOXES AND HOUNDS INVITATIONAL

BOYS 

Team scores: 1. Cody 56; 2. Worland 68; 3. Buffalo 95; 4. Riverton 104; 5. Lander 110; 6. Powell 132; 7. Rocky Mountain 133; 8. Lovell 253; 9. Thermopolis 260

1. Daniel Merritt 16:38.94; 22. Jace Hyde 18:21.24; 25. Korbyn Warren 18:30.96; 38. Juan Torres 19:00.60; 50. Breckin Streeter 19:30.04; 51. Liam Taylor 19:30.38; 58. Justin Hobbs 19:43.79; 61. Kyle North 19:58.94; 78. David Polson 20:56.83; 79. Jon Hawley 20:57.13; 81. Stuart Shoopman 21:03.51; 90. Landon Hyde 21:39.22; 98. Tate Allred 22:03.03; 119. Drew Valdez 25:34.01

GIRLS

Team scores: 1. Cody 35; 2. Powell 50; 3. Worland 106; 4. Lander 108; 5. Buffalo 109; 6. Riverton 151; 7. Lovell 202; 8. St. Stephens 220

3. Kinley Cooley 19:53.30; 7. Kenna Jacobsen 20:32.70; 12. Melissa Merritt 21:12.29; 13. Brynn Hillman 21:17.46; 19. Jordan Black 21:34.47; 20. Audrey Johnson 21:41.09; 21. Megan Jacobsen 21:45.49; 28. Salem Brown 22:27.47; 30. Shelby Zickefoose 22:31.75; 52. Gracie Wolff 24:25.13