A picturesque fall day at the Powell Golf Club saw the Powell Panthers cross country runners posting numerous personal best times at the Pinnacle Bank/Powell Panther Invitational on Thursday. Karee Cooley took the win in the girls’ race to pace a second place Panther finish and Korbyn Warren led the boys once again in a ninth place effort.

Cooley led the way from the start in the girls’ race, claiming the first victory of her career with a personal best time of 18 minutes and 34 seconds, coming a long way from what she expected when she first entered high school.

“It’s really encouraging. It lets me know that I can do the things that I didn’t think I would be able to. Because coming in as a freshman, everything is so different. There’s a lot more competition and really great runners,” Cooley said. “So being able to come up to high school and work your way up is really motivating, and it really makes you realize that you can do things that you didn’t think you’d be able to do.”

Cooley nearly set the school and course record, both of which were set a year ago by her older sister Kinley in a time of 18:26. Karee believes she will reach that milestone with one more year of competition while knowing she needs to set higher expectations for herself should she reach the record.

“It feels really good, but it also makes me think that once I get there, that I need to set my own goals after," she said. "Because I think I will get there, and I think it’s going to be hard to set my own goals after.”

Cooley said she feels this victory will help push her even harder down the stretch, as she tries to follow in the footsteps of her older sister and chase down an individual state title this season to become the second individual champion in school history.

“I never thought I’d get there. None of this stuff seemed really possible to me. But, I’m really proud of myself and the team for pushing me to get where I am,” Cooley said.

Along with this victory, coach Ashley Hildebrand feels that Cooley will break the course record during her senior year next year “weather permitting.”

Second behind Cooley in the race was Shelby Zickefoose, who also ran a personal best time of 19:47 to take seventh overall.

“Shelby’s goal all season has been to break the 20 minute mark and her hard work and determination paid off this week,” Hildebrand said.

That time moved her to No. 4 on the all-time list for the Panthers.

Just behind Zickefoose was Anyston Keller, who ran a personal best time of 19:51 to take ninth overall and fifth on the school record list.

Fourth across for Powell was Melissa Merritt, who returned to the lineup to take 13th overall in a time of 20:44.

Kaytlee George ran a personal best time to be the fifth runner, breaking the 21 minute mark to finish in 20:52.

Sixth across for Powell was Eleasah Horsley in 23rd with a time of 21:19 and Kara Sanders was seventh with a time of 21:32 to take 26th overall.

The Powell girls were second behind Cody by just two points, finishing with 41 points to the Fillies' 39.

That gap continued to narrow, as Cooley believes the Panthers have what it takes to overtake their rivals down the stretch.

“The team’s been really good for each other … We’re all a really good, tight-knit group,” Cooley said. “I think once everybody realizes that running is not even like solely for yourself, it’s for the team that you have, you really realize what a win means for your team. So I think once everybody fully understands that a win is for your team, then everyone will want to do it for each other and not just themselves.”

The boys’ team once again was led by Korbyn Warren, who took 13th overall with a time of 17:35.

“Korbyn is consistently challenging for one of those top 10 spots and is racing really well. He broke into the top 10 in Cody and I think he has an excellent chance to get into the top 10 this week at conference,” Hildebrand said.

Colin Walker was next across, taking 21st in a time of 18:01.

Michael Stensing and Alex Werner ran nearly identical times, as Stensing just beat out Werner at the finish line with times of 19:01.47 and 19:01.85 to take 41st and 42nd respectively.

Fifth across was Troy Cheatham in 63rd with a time of 20:18, while Nathan Varian was sixth with a time of 21:25 to take 68th.

The Panthers were not at full strength, as Channing Wenzel did not run due to illness and Varian was also battling sickness, Hildebrand said.

Powell finished ninth as a team with 176 points, as Worland took the boys’ title with 72.

Hildebrand said she expects the boys to be at full strength for the conference meet this week.

The JV girls finished second, as Landyn Horsley took sixth in a personal best time of 21:51, Paige Sanders was eighth with a personal best time of 22:22, Hayden Serr was 12th in a personal best time of 23:19, Caydee Eden was 15th with a time of 23:27, Natalee Laing was 16th in 23:39, Allison LeBlanc was 17th with a personal best time of 23:41, Ashlee Jacobsen was 22nd in a time of 24:09, Avery LeBlanc was 24th with a time of 24:33, Charlie Taylor was 26th with a time of 25:04 and Jordyn Nelson was 33rd with a time of 27:02.

The JV boys did not put up a team score, but Ben Smith was eighth with a time of 19:56, Thomas Shuman was 20th in a personal best time of 20:53, Karson Howe was 21st in a time of 21 minutes flat and Wyatt Hill was 47th in a time of 22:55.

The Panthers head on the road for the postseason, heading to Lander on Thursday for the 3A West Conference meet with races set to start at 1 p.m. at the Lander Golf Course.