The Powell High School girls’ cross country team finished second on a beautiful Cheyenne day in the 3A State Championships, paced by two All-State finishers, while the boys’ team finished fifth behind one All-Conference racer.

Leading the way for the Powell girls was junior Karee Cooley, who made it two years in a row for the Panther girls taking the individual title as she took the lead from the jump to take the win in 19 minutes, 6.5 seconds.

“Karee took the lead from the starting gun and never looked back. She distanced herself from the pack immediately and finished 24 seconds ahead of second place,” coach Ashley Hildebrand said.

Second across for Powell was freshman Anyston Keller, who finished with a time of 20:42 to finish in 10th in her first state cross country meet.

“I was actually really proud of how I did,” Keller said. “I came into this race expecting to do well. So I was actually not as scared for this race as most, I was ready for it.”

Coming into high school Keller said she was prepared and knew what she needed to do to finish in the top 10, despite being unable to train to her best capabilities in the offseason.

“I have worked really hard. Coming into the season I didn’t think I’d do amazing,” Keller said. “I couldn’t run all summer and I was injured, so being able to do something like this is an honor.” 

Keller attributed much of her success in her freshman year to the third Panther across the line, senior Shelby Zickefoose, who finished 11th with a time of 20:45.

“She really pushed me to be the best I could,” Keller said of Zickefoose. “We’ve been back and forth all season, but I’m really glad to have her. She’s a senior, so she’s going to be gone, but I’m really glad that she was there because we pushed each other to be the best we could.”

Finishing in 11th, Zickefoose also earned All-Conference honors, as it was determined the first 10 finishers from the west at the state meet would earn those honors after the conference meet in Lander was canceled the week prior.

“Shelby came through the first 2 miles in the top 10 and then started to struggle the last half mile, but fought her way to the finish line,” Hildebrand said. “She is so unbelievably tough. A lot of runners would settle and fall back when they started to feel as badly as she did, but Shelby gave it her all.”

Zickefoose finished as the fourth fastest Panther in school history with a performance at the Panther’s home meet in early October.

Fourth across for Powell was another freshman in Kaytlee George, who placed 13th with a time of 21:18, just outside of All-Conference honors.

Melissa Merritt was fifth across for Powell, as the senior took 18th with a time of 21:34.

“Melissa’s time was faster than the time she ran last year and she will leave our program with a lasting impact,” Hildebrand said. “She has consistently been one of our top five runners every year she has competed for PHS and that includes being part of a state championship team in 2023.”

Junior Eleasah Horsley was sixth across in 20th with a time of 21:49, improving on her time from last year, while freshman Kara Sanders was the final runner across in 35th with a time of 22:46.

In the team race the Panther girls finished second with 52 points, just 17 behind Cody, while Buffalo was third with 86.

The Panther boys were led by senior Colin Walker, who had a strong day leaping from the 31st fastest runner in 3A all the way to 15th at the state meet with a time of 18:20.

“We were so excited to see Colin have this success in the last race of his high school career,” Hildebrand said.

That finish helped Walker earn All-Conference honors.

Second across for Powell was junior Nathan Varian who battled to 29th in 18:58 to lead a contingent of Panthers around that placement.

Just behind Varian was sophomore Alex Werner in 30th with a time of 18:59 and senior Korbyn Warren in 32nd with a time of 19 minutes flat.

“Nathan and Alex ran excellent races, both ran faster this year than last year on this course and Alex came close to his personal best,” Hildebrand said. “Korbyn is usually our top runner and started the race in a great position, coming through the first mile in the top 10, but was not feeling well and really started to struggle.”

Fifth across was sophomore Michael Stensing in 34th with a time of 19:05, sophomore Channing Wenzel was sixth across in 37th with a time of 19:08 and senior Troy Cheatham was the final Panther in with a time of 20:05 to take 61st.

Overall the Panther boys finished with a team score of 140, just 12 behind Worland for trophy placement while Mountain View ran away with the boys title by 25 points over second place with a score of 52.

“We are really proud of the boys and how they continued to get better all season and were able to finish in the top third of teams in 3A,” Hildebrand said. “Coach [Tracy] McArthur, coach [Rachel] Carlson and myself are so proud of all of our runners for how much they improved, how well they competed each week and how they bonded as a team. Most of all we hope that they had fun and will grow to be lifelong runners and happy, healthy individuals.”