Cross Country team sees exciting wins

The Green River High School Cross Country team has been working hard on getting faster and has seen both some exciting wins and tough competition in the last few weeks.

"The girls have been doing really good, they've been moving up in the rankings," Head Coach Craig Leavitt said. "Our boys team is pretty young but they're getting faster."

Two weeks ago the team headed to Lander to compete and saw some impressive wins. The Wolves had four top finishers among the girls and one top finisher for the boys. Being in the top 10 in their events, the team members not only took home some impressive times, but also some free t-shirts.

Among the girls, the most impressive win was Freshman Ellie Quiroz coming in first place for JV. Isabelle Murdock and Madison Murdock came in fourth and fifth respectively for the Varsity girls, with Lily Murdock finishing in 10th. Makynzee Bagshaw just missed the top finish and came in 11th. For the JV boys, Jesse Kimble had an impressive second-place finish.

Last week the team headed to Riverton, where the competition was especially tough. The meet was a good preview for what's to come in the rest of the season and during Regionals, which will also be hosted in Riverton.

"They got to see the other side of the state, so that was good to see," Coach Leavitt said. "They got to see some kids that are gonna be in their conference. And I think our conference is probably the toughest in the state. Especially with Cody and Powell in there. So it was nice to get to see all the competition they have."

Having one varsity girls team member out and not enough team members in other events to score, the Wolves focused on getting Personal Records (PRs), which almost everyone was able to achieve. And even with the tough competition, Coach Leavitt feels the Wolves aren't too far behind the other teams.

This week the team will be in Rawlins, where they'll run on a new course they haven't competed on before, and next week they'll head to Saratoga, getting a chance to see the other corner of the state.

The team members themselves seem to be feeling good about the season so far, especially among the girls.

"I think the girls are feeling pretty confident," Leavitt said. "They're getting faster all the time. I think they're ranked fifth in the state right now in 3A, so that's a pretty big boost for them."

The boys team is much younger in general, with no seniors and lots of first-year runners. While they realize how young they are, Leavitt said they're continually getting faster.

Coach Leavitt himself is also feeling confident about the season and the team members themselves.

"They're getting quite a bit better and getting tougher all the time," he said. "They've been a really nice team to work with - a lot of nice kids."