Cross country invite Saturday

This Saturday Thermopolis will be home to the Bobcat Cross Country Invite, beginning at 10 a.m. at the golf course.

Coach Stepahnie Metz said this week the Bobcats have been focusing on the mental aspects of dealing with hills. The high school runners will have hills frequently, hitting the big hill once and then more throughout the course. It’s important, Metz said, for them to stay in the mindset they can do it and finish hard.

For the middle school runners, she said, this course will be the longest hill they have had all season so getting them over that hill with the mentality that they have to finish just as hard. With the hill being early on in the race, Metz said if they let it eat into them they’re done for.

Last Thursday the runners competed at the invite in Worland. Metz said team members didn’t hit the times they were hoping for, for the end of their season, but they are getting back down to where they want to be. She noted there were two middle school girls in the top ten — Dazlynn Hunt at second with 12:43 and Jayda Griffin at seventh with 13:05.82 — and she’s hoping to see Elizabeth Peterson break into the top 10 this weekend.

McKenna Bomengen ran a better race, Metz said, and though it was not her best time it was a lower time. She noted Bomengen has been working on her splits to bring it down a bit more.

Though the high school girls had a rain delay, Metz said the weather didn’t affect how they performed and they were all able to warm back up and get back at it.

Regarding the middle school boys, Metz said several ran under seven minute splits, and the repeaters in seventh and eighth grade all broke their times from last season.

“It was a great course and everybody had a good meet,” Metz said of Worland. “I’m proud of all of them.”

Additional results from the Worland meet include:

Varsity Girls

Tahja Hunt sixth 20:11.35

Bomengen 12th 20:51.91

Olivia Weyer 17th 21:50.27

Hallie Martinez 22:37.73

Aime Robinson 23:42.38

JV Girls

Rebekah Johnson 28:02.58

JV Boys

Karsten Hart 29:09

MS Girls

Peterson 18th 13:55.52

Hanna Hill 15:47

Sofia Gerber 16:50

Kendall Bradshaw 17:00

MS Boys

Jesse Rodriguez 12:59.41

Isaac Robinson 13:24.82

Seth Needham 14:03.26

Kanyon Gerber 14:07.01

Brody Potter 14:11.73

Joseph Crow 20:14.41