Braving chilly temps and tough competition, the Powell High School cross country teams  posted solid performances at Friday’s Pinnacle Bank PHS Invitational at the Powell Golf Club.

Runners from nine schools participated on the boys’ side, with the Panthers finishing fourth with 65 points. Tongue River took the top spot with 50 points, followed in second by Worland with 57 points and Cody in third with 64.

On the girls’ side, the Lady Panthers also finished fourth out of nine teams with 91 points. The Cody Fillies ran to the top spot with 27 points, followed by Worland with 78 and Wyoming Indian with 88.

“It was a pretty good showing for both teams,” said PHS head coach Cliff Boos. “I don’t think the weather hampered times as much as we thought going in — it stayed sunny and calm for the most part. The meet itself was run well, and everyone seemed to enjoy it.”

Owen Preston of Cody finished in the top spot for boys with a time of 16:20.64, while Riley Smith, also of Cody, was first on the girls’ side with a time of 18:43.36.

Panthers

Continuing to improve by leaps and bounds as his first season nears its conclusion, freshman Daniel Merritt was the top finisher for the Panthers, placing fifth overall with a time of 17:37.26.

“Daniel [Merritt]’s been really consistent all season,” Boos said.

Joey Hernandez was just two spots behind Merritt, finishing seventh in 17:49.25.

Lane Franks posted a 13th-place finish with a time of 18:21.82.

Dylan Cordes was 18th, posting a time of 18:56.38, while Isaac Summers was 22nd with a time of 19:49.70.

“Dylan Cordes really continues to run well,” Boos said. “He’s doing a great job in workouts, as is Isaac Summers, who knocked eight seconds off his time from last year’s event.”

Cole Frank was 25th with a time of 20:11.24, while Tyler Pfeifer rounded out the Powell varsity contingent, finishing in 34th with a time of 30:27.99.

“Tyler [Pfeifer] is still nursing that calf injury, so he loped in at 30 minutes,” Boos said of his top runner, who’s been hobbled by the injury the last few weeks. “I wish he hadn’t run, honestly. Hopefully we can just rest him until the conference meet, see what the medical people think as we get closer.”

The JV boys finished second as a team behind Worland, which bodes well for the future of Panther cross country. Riley McKeen (19:41.91, seventh place), Riley Schiller (19:43.45, eighth place) and Dylan Escalante (20:02.24, 10th place) all posted top 10 finishes.

Lady Panthers

Senior Kayla Kolpitcke and sophomore Kabrie Cannon each cracked the top 10 on Friday for the Lady Panthers. Further, the battle for team bragging rights continues to get closer, with just eight seconds separating the two teammates.

Kolpitcke finished fourth overall, posting a time of 20:15.05, while Cannon crossed the finish line in eighth with a time of 20:23.75.

“Kabrie Cannon knocked two minutes off of last year’s time, which is phenomenal,” coach Boos said. “When you run a 20:23, that’s pretty good. She’s really getting up there now.”

Cannon was followed by Karina Boreen, who finished 18th with a time of 23:27.13. Teammate Kaitlyn Decker was 30th with a time of 24:44.08.

Elisa Polson rounded out the top five, finishing 31st with a time of 24:45.72.

“Elisa knocked 75 seconds off last year’s time,” Boos said. “She’s really been improving throughout the season. She’s stayed healthy, which has helped.”

Juniors Madelyn Horton (25:38.30) and Hailee Hyde (25:43.07) finished 37th and 38th, respectively.

The JV girls also finished second, led by Jenna Merritt (26:10.45, 11th place), Jozi Simpson (27:18.94, 16th place) and Elsie Spomer (27:52.38, 18th place).

The PHS cross country teams head to Lander Friday for the 3A West Conference meet.