Girls bring home second

The Hot Springs County High School Cross Country finished their season Saturday, at the 3A State Championships in Sheridan. The girls team brought home a second place finish with 80 points; Star Valley took first with 58.

Jules Ward came in at under 20 minutes for the course, with a second place finish of 19:17.92. McKenna Bomengen placed ninth with a time of 20:22.38, and Tahja Hunt finished 10th with 20:41. The three girls were also selected as All-State in cross country by the Wyoming Coaches' Association. Hudson Roling, who finished seventh for the boys with a time of 17:18.96, was also named a WCA All-State athlete.

There were strong finishes from the rest of the team as well, with Olivia Weyer coming in at 25th with 21:33.69, Stacy Lewis in 35th with 22:19.92, Erica Meier at 54th with 23:51.97 and Aime Robinson at 61st with 24:48.7. On the boys team, Sean Miller placed 66th with 19:53.85.

Coach Brenna Abel stated "The girls team had a great season. The girls team won three invitationals this season (Riverton, Home, and Powell) and won 3A East Conference, and placed 2nd at 3A State."

The team motto this season, Abel stated, was "Rise Up" and the girls definitely did that. "Being back in 3A this season allowed our competition to increase - the pure number of competitors in the races, and higher challenging level. Our girls competed well at state giving it their all and leaving nothing on the course, Star Valley had a great race and they were the better team on Saturday."

Abel also acknowledged the four All-State individuals, pointing out Ward was a four-time All-State Runner; Ward placed second in 2013 and 2016, and first in 2014 and 2105.

"She goes into the Bobcat record books as one for the best cross country runners from THS," Abel stated. "She had a phenomenal career and her achievements speak for themselves. She has been a great leader by her work ethic and dedication."

Abel also said Bomengen and Hunt acheived some great things as freshman, receiving 3A All-State and All-Conference honors. She's excited to see their future within Bobcat cross country.

"Roling received All-Conference and All-State honors as a freshman in 2014. He did not run in 2015, but came out after golf with very limited distance training and was able to accomplish some outstanding results as he received 3A All-State and All-Conference honors this season. He's a great competitor and has pure talent for running."

Abel noted Miller had some huge improvements this season, setting a new career personal record of 19:02 and showing a lot of growth.

"Stacy Lewis and Liz Rhodes are seniors that will be missed by the team," Abel said. "Stacy is a four-time letter winner and Liz a three-time letter winner. Stacy received All-Conference honors in 2015 and 2014. They have been dedicated to the team over their career and will be deeply missed."

Meier, Robinson and Weyer are three freshmen that made some huge improvements over the season, Abel noted. "We are excited to have them within the program and excited to see what their future holds for Bobcat cross country."