Competing in the largest meet of the season the Powell Panther cross country team put up some of the strongest times of the year, as the girls’ team placed seventh in Bozeman and the boys’ team took 22nd on Saturday.

Leading the way for the girls was Karee Cooley, who took eighth overall in her first race of the season with a personal best time of 19 minutes, 7 seconds.

That time moved her to second all-time in school history.

Also joining Cooley in the school record books was Anyston Keller, as she took over the No. 10 spot with a time of 20:21 to take 35th overall.

Just behind Keller was Shelby Zickefoose, who took 37th with a time of 20:27.

“I think that we may see more movement on that list and more of our current runners getting their names on there as the season progresses,” coach Ashley Hildebrand said.

Melissa Merritt was Powell’s fourth runner, taking 70th with a time of 21:04.

Kaytlee George and Macie Velasco finished close together, with George taking 92nd and Velasco taking 93rd with times of 21:42 and 21:44 respectively.

Eleasah Horsley was the seventh runner across, taking 100th with a time of 21:51.

Due to the size of the Bozeman Invite, the Panthers were able to enter more than seven into the varsity race, as Kara Sanders placed 111th in 22:07 and Landyn Horsley was 139th with a time of 22:56.

“We were able to enter more girls in varsity at this race, and while their places were not used for team scoring, they gained valuable experience racing in such a large group,” Hildebrand said. “We have a large group of talented girls competing for seven varsity spots and allowing them to race together as a team will only help them get better.”

Powell finished seventh overall as a team, with 42 teams and more than 200 runners in the race.

Leading the way for the boys was Korbyn Warren, who took 106th with a time of 17:44.

Channing Wenzel was the next across the line, taking 153rd with a personal best time of 18:26.

“He is really starting to get into good shape and I think he will break into the 17s in the coming weeks,” Hildebrand said.

Nathan Varian was the third Panther across, taking 172nd with a personal best time of 18:50.

Colin Walker took 185th in his first race of the season, finishing in 19:16.

“Colin ran extremely well as he is coming off of a really nasty upper respiratory illness,” Hildebrand said. “We look for him to make a big impact in the coming weeks as he recovers.”

Michael Stensing also ran a personal best time of 19:17 to take 186th.

Alex Werner took 217th with a time of 19:56 and Ben Smith placed 230th with a personal best time of 20:50.

“We were very pleased with the boys’ team and how well they are running in practice and in races,” Hildebrand said. “They have a lot of heart and are working really hard to get better. We know their hard work will pay off and expect their times to come down quite a bit as the season progresses.”

In the JV races, the Panther girls took 10th led by Paige Sanders, who broke her personal best time by one minute in 22:53 to place 32nd.

Avery LeBlanc was 48th with a time of 23:38, Natalee Laing took 52nd with a 23:43, Caydee Eden was 68th with a 24:17, Allison LeBlanc was 73rd with a time of 24:28 and Hayden Serr was 145th with a time of 26:20.

The boys’ JV team was led by Karson Howe in 126th with a time of 21:24, Thomas Shuman was 176th with a time of 22:18, Wyatt Hill was 187th with a time of 22:32 and Murray Chavarria was 315th with a time of 31:34.

The Panthers now drop back into Wyoming for the remainder of the season, starting with a race at 11 a.m. on Saturday in Sheridan.