Runners have solid times at Murray meet

A recent trip to Murray, Utah turned into a good meet for members of the Green River High School Cross Country team.

Head coach Steve Boyd said the runners saw improvement during the meet, which included nationally-recognized cross country teams from Davis, Utah and American Fork, Utah. Boyd said senior Josie Givens had a great run, placing 35th in the seeded girls division with a time of 20:23.2 for the course. The seeded division hosted a total of 150 runners. Others had great runs as well. Cassie Newcomb placed 20th in the girls open division with a time 21:47.0 while fellow runner Kaisa Arnell wasn’t too far behind with a 27th place finish in that division, with a time of 22.04.8. That division saw a total of 310 runners competing. In the freshman-sophomore girls individual group, Kiersten Plott finished 90th with a time 24:50.7 and Hailey Westenskow finished 189th with a time of 29:16.7. Westenskow and Plott competed in a group totaling 228 runners.

For the boys, Boyd said GRHS finished 3rd in the open division. Braden Reichl finished 26th in that division with a time of 17:57.5. His teammates also placed well in the competition, with Brayden Kovick finishing 47th at a time of 18:40.2, Curtis Westenskow finishing 51st at 18:42.7, Tanner Adam placing 76th at 19:09.3 and Miles Moffat 84th with a time of 19:16.0. The boys competed in a pool of 389 runners.

In the freshman-sophomore boys division, Caleb Nathan finished 65th at 19:49.2 and Colton Milard finished in 279th place at 25:16.6. Nathan and Milard ran with 315 other runners in their division. Boyd said the Murray, Utah course was more challenging than some of the other courses the team will compete on.

“I like the fact we’re running difficult courses,” Boyd said.

Boyd said the difficult courses will help the runners later on in the season as they approach the regional competition in Evanston and state competition in Sheridan. While the Murray, Utah course is recognized as a 3-mile run, Boyd said the event was closer to a true 5K for his team, saying the team’s pedometers measured the run at nearly 3.1 miles. Also, Boyd said the team had to deal with record-high temperatures during the meeting.

The cross country team will travel to Evanston Friday for an opportunity to run on the course used for the regional cross country competition.

“We’re working hard to prepare for the end of the season,” Boyd said.