The race has officially ended for Powell cross country. 

Powell High School runners wrapped up their 2020 seasons over the weekend, competing at the state meet in Afton on Friday. Both the girls’ and boys’ squads finished 11th place overall in the Class 3A team standings. 

Despite not earning any medals, head coach Ashley Hildebrand was impressed with her athletes. 

“We didn’t bring home any hardware, but we had some great performances out of some of our runners,” Hildebrand said. 

For the girls, Kabrie Cannon was once again Powell’s top finisher. A time of 21:21.4 earned her 14th in the individual standings. 

“Kabrie ran a terrific race,” Hildebrand said. “She showed a big improvement from this year to last year on this course.”

Meaghan McKeen had the Panthers’ second-best time in the girls’ race at 23:39.7, ahead of Madelyn Horton, who finished third for PHS with a time of 24:10.7. They finished 57th and 68th overall, respectively.

Horton’s time was a personal best and “made huge gains this year,” Hildebrand said. 

Rounding out Powell’s scorers were Gabby Thomas and Hailee Hyde, who finished 70th and 85th respectively. And Jozi Simpson was just behind that duo in 91st. 

Daniel Merritt logged the Panthers’ best time on the boys’ side at 18:35.9 for 27th overall. Though he felt he could have ran a better race, Merritt plans to use this as fuel before next season.

“He had a bit of an off day, but I look for this to motivate him, and I know he will come back with a lot of fire in his belly,” Hildebrand said.

Just over 20 seconds behind Merritt, Joey Hernandez finished 43rd overall, clocking in at 18:57.5. Close behind Hernandez, Chance Franks and Cole Frank both posted times of 19:08.4. Lane Franks was Powell’s fifth finisher at 82nd overall. Also competing, Riley Schiller and Tyler Pfeifer finished 85th and 86th, respectively.

It’s now almost 10 months until the PHS runners will hit the course again. But Hildebrand is excited for seeing how the team grows heading into the fall of 2021.

“Overall, we had a great experience, and coach Tracy McArthur and I couldn’t be prouder of the hard work put in by these kids this season,” Hildebrand said. “We are already looking forward to next year.”

Cody finished in first place in the team girls’ standings, with 87 points, and Lander Valley cruised to first place in the boys’ division, with 45 points. The Powell girls’ top five placings added up to 285 points, while the PHS boys posted 250 points.

Girls’ results:

14. Kabrie Cannon 21:24.4

57. Meaghan McKeen 23:39.7

68. Madelyn Horton 24:10.7

70. Gabby Thomas 24:19.1

85. Hailee Hyde 26:25

91. Jozi Simpson 27:05.5

Boys’ results:

27. Daniel Merritt 18:35.9

43. Joey Hernandez 18:57.5

48. Chance Franks 19:08.4

52. Cole Frank 19:08.4

82. Lane Franks 20:30.7

85. Riley Schiller 20:35

86. Tyler Pfeifer 20:40.9