The Cooley family has cemented its residence atop the 3A podium at the Little America Golf Course in Cheyenne. Senior Karee Cooley made it three years running and a second consecutive individual title for herself by winning the 3A state championship on Saturday morning. Her and her sister have won all three of the recent 3A titles held at the Cheyenne course.

“It feels so good. I’m so sad that we can’t keep going just because it is so cool,” Cooley said. “Three years is really something to be proud of. I know me and my sister [Kinley, who won in 2024] can hold that as a memory forever. I think it’s just something we can both be really proud of.”

Defending her title was not easy for Cooley this time around. She won by 24 seconds last year, but was pushed to a victory by only nine seconds this year over Worland’s Ava Tapia.

“I enjoyed it more just because I feel like I had to work for it a little more,” Cooley said. “Obviously there’s been good competition every year, but this year I had Ava right with me, so I definitely was able to get a better time this year. I also had someone to race with the whole time, so that was better.”

Cold weather played a factor heading into the day, as temperatures sat in the 30s at the start of the girls’ race with the wind adding to the chilly morning in the capital city.

With that weather affecting the race, Cooley wasn’t concerned with her time heading in, but she still broke under 19 minutes and improved her time by 13 seconds over last year’s victory.

“I wasn’t really worried about time on this course, I knew the weather wasn’t going to be ideal for the course in general, and it was going to be really cold,” she said. “I don’t feel like I handle cold weather very well, so I was mainly just going for place and not time. It just ended up being a lucky coincidence that I was able to do pretty well in timing also.”

Cooley also added a second team title to her continually growing resume as a Panther, as she was part of the title winning team her freshman year before the Panthers finished second the past two seasons.

“It feels so good. I think it’s the best years you could win. Going in with such a good win, and then ending your (senior) season with a win too. I feel like it couldn’t have gone better,” Cooley said. “The first one felt a little more special. But that’s only because I was a freshman, and it was just so crazy to me. This year, I feel like we went in really confidently, so I didn’t have a doubt in my mind that we would be able to pull it off.”

As a team the Panthers had different competitors step up throughout the year. Cooley noted that the team had injuries and sickness hit at different times but they continued to hold everybody accountable from the beginning.

“Obviously we all had things that we all had to work on, and obviously we all had some problems throughout the season, whether it be injuries or sickness. I think the main thing was that we all did our best to get out to practice every day. We held each other accountable and made sure that we were all doing what we were supposed to,” Cooley said. “Just knowing that we could win made it easier for us to go out to practice every day and work our hardest.”

That confidence to push towards a victory was instilled in the Panthers from day one by their coaches, Ashley Hildebrand, Tracy McArthur and Rachel Carlson.

“They’re super positive, they made everything so much easier because they are so willing to help us. They’re the biggest part of our running. Obviously, we wouldn’t be here without them,” Cooley said. “I’m really grateful for everything they do. They’re so caring. It’s beyond coaching. They don’t just care about us as athletes. They care about us as students and also people in general, they’re always there for us even when it comes to life and not running. They’re super important to all of us.”

Cooley leaves behind a legacy she and her sister built, as she was All-State three out of four years, with her and sister Kinley taking the individual title three years running in Cheyenne and leading the team to its two most recent team titles to bring the total in school history to five.

“It’s amazing. She and her sister both have run all through middle school and worked very hard. They put in the miles in the summer,” Hildebrand said. “They’re so talented, plus they work really hard, and with that combination, it’s not surprising to see them go three in a row. We’re gonna miss Karee very much obviously.”

Ending the year crossing the finish line, Cooley had plenty of family and friends supporting her, bringing an emotional aspect to the end of a strong high school career.

“It was good, they always make me cry,” Cooley said. “I’m just really happy they could be there for me.”