Grizzlies turn in strong times at Worland

The Rocky Mountain High School cross country team headed to Worland last Friday for the annual Worland Invitational, where the Grizzlies found a large field of runners, a golf course in excellent condition and weather that helped produce some solid times.

Temperatures hovered around 80 degrees as teams from across the region competed on the relatively flat Worland course.

Rocky Mountain head coach Gerry Burton said the meet provided another good test for his runners as they continue to build toward the latter part of the season.

Sophomore Rowan Hanusa led the Rocky Mountain varsity boys, finishing 47th in 19:58. Hanusa has been one of the Grizzlies’ most consistent runners this season and once again broke the 20-minute mark.

Junior Ethan Haslem continued his return to form, placing 68th in 23:02.

On the girls side, senior Avery Thomas turned in another consistent performance, finishing 39th in the varsity race in 23:28.

“Standouts this week were James Demers for bringing his time back down by about three minutes and Rowan and Avery for having been consistent,” Burton said.

Demers was one of three Rocky Mountain freshmen competing in the junior varsity boys race. Derek Hedges led the group, finishing 63rd in 26:38. Demers followed in 64th place with a time of 26:56, cutting approximately three minutes from his recent times.

Tristan Kerchner rounded out the Rocky Mountain JV contingent, placing 66th in 27:22.

“The three freshmen continue to gain experience and develop as runners as they work through their first high school cross country season,” Burton said.

Burton said he has enjoyed working with this year’s team.

“They are a great group of athletes and easy to coach,” he said.

Thomas was also selected as Rocky Mountain’s Spirit of the Grizz recipient for the week, recognizing her contributions to the team beyond her performance on the course.

With Worland behind them, the Grizzlies are preparing for a trip across the state to compete at Wright on Saturday. Burton said the meet is one the team looks forward to because it provides an opportunity to compete against runners they do not normally see during the regular season.

“All of the runners are prepping for a meet in Wright,” Burton said. “We love going to this meet to see athletes from the other side of the state that are in our conference. They have been training hard and are hoping for some new personal bests.”

The Wright meet will provide another opportunity for the Grizzlies to measure their progress as they move closer to the championship portion of the season.

The meet will be held at the Wright Golf Course, with the girls scheduled to run at noon and the boys at 12:30 p.m.