LHS runners break personal records at Cody meet

The Lovell Bulldogs cross country team had a standout performance Friday at the Cody golf course. They competed in the unique Fox and Hound racing style that tested their focus and speed. Despite rain and wind picking up as the girls started, the Bulldogs came out with an incredible day full of personal records (PRs).

“It was one of our most rewarding meets,” Coach Caleb Sanders said. “I honestly couldn’t pick one runner of the week because there were just too many great performances. I’m proud of every single one of them.”

On the girls side, there were multiple standout PRs.

Candace Walker broke her overall PR, running a 25:27 and beating her personal best from the past two years. Toree Herman also hit an overall PR with a time of 27:45. Both had a huge PR from their entire running career.

Caylee Herman, finishing in 24:03, and Atlee Sanders, finishing in 28:53, each set their personal best for the season.

Senior Elana Schilthuis didn’t run a PR but still had a strong performance and led the Lady Bulldogs. She was able to finish with a strong time of 21:59.

On the boys side, there were many personal records set, as well.

David Durfee led Lovell’s boys with an overall PR of 17:42. Isaac Sanders (20:02), Ethan Hendershot (20:34), Jaxson Clark (21:12), Grant Rose (21:19), Zander Stahl (22:21), Taevan Henton (26:16) and Gage Pillow (27:06) each came away with the best times of their running careers.

Jay Mayes, finishing in 21:22, Sam Mayes in 20:16 and Jacob Thomas in 19:24 all earned season PRs. Owen Hill had a strong performance as well, finishing in the 19:30s.

Coach Sanders said what stood out the most was that many of the Bulldogs who don’t always get the spotlight stepped up and ran incredible races.

“I’m especially happy for runners like Gage Pillow and Zander Stahl,” he said. “They’ve been working so hard, and to see them cut big chunks of their times off means a lot. Some of these runners are finally seeing their effort pay off.”

With cooler weather settling in and the team’s momentum building, the Bulldogs are in a strong position heading into their next race in Powell on Thursday. Many of the runners are hoping for even faster times.

“Our focus this week is to go chase more PRs,” Sanders said. “Everyone has their personal goals for this meet, but David and Elana are specifically trying to make it into the top three runners in Lovell’s history, an achievement that could be reached on the Powell course.

The JV girls will race at 1 p.m., followed by the JV boys. The varsity girls race begins at 2, followed by the varsity boys.