Local harriers run in Billings to open season Friday

With nearly two weeks of running under their belts, plus summer workouts, the Lovell and Rocky Mountain high school cross country teams are poised to open the 2025 season at the Billings Invitational this Friday.

Running begins at noon at Amend Park with the junior varsity boys race followed at 12:25 p.m. by the JV girls, varsity boys at 12:50 and varsity girls at 1:25 p.m.

Rocky Mountain

Tim Jones is beginning his third season at the helm of the Rocky Mountain Grizzlies though his 19th season coaching cross country at RMMHS including many years as the top assistant for longtime high school head coach John Bernhisel and as the head middle school coach.

Jones said practice began August 18, but several athletes ran during the summer.

“We’ve been running different routes from the school,” Jones said. “We had weekly runs during the summer, and some did better at that than others. We also ask kids to run certain distances on weekends. They’re young, so they can run six days a week, though not as much right before a meet. I know we’re definitely not overdoing it.”

The weather was “crazy hot” when practice began last week, Jones said, but cooled off a bit after that and could be in the 70s for the meet on Friday.

The Lady Grizzlies are the most experienced runners in the program, featuring two seniors and a junior transfer from Lyman. Ellie and Evynn Alvarez are returning for their fourth year in the high school program and are joined this year by Lyman transfer Avery Thomas.

“Avery had a good year for Lyman last season,” Jones said. “She has an Achilles injury and may miss the first couple of meets. (Ellie and Evynn) are always fun to coach, and they always do their best.”

The Rocky boys are young, with two sophomores and two freshmen. The Grizz lost two runners from last year to a family move and one to football. The leading returner is sophomore Zach Unruh, who competed at the state cross country meet in October.

Unruh is joined by sophomore Ethan Haslem and freshmen Rowan Hanusa and Grant Weierman.

“Zach ran well for us last year. He got injured just before State but still ran well,” Jones said. “He’s gritty. And all of our new runners are gritty. I’m excited about that. There’s a point in cross country when it’s going to hurt, and you have to lean into that and accept it.

“I’m excited to see the work they do and how it develops over the course of the year.”

Lovell

Lovell head coach Caleb Sanders is working with 18 runners as the season begins, 13 boys and five girls, with one more boy expected after golf season.

“I’m happy with our numbers,” he said. “They’ve been running on their own (during the summer), and we reward the person who ran the most miles with at least an alternate (status) at State unless they’re already in the top seven.”

Senior David Durfee was the top male runner for the Bulldogs, recording 96 miles. Sophomore Caylee Herman was the top Lady Bulldog.

“We left it pretty open,” Sanders said. “We tell them they’ll make the most improvement when you initiate your own workouts.

“Our challenge for the first couple of weeks is the heat. We’d like more miles, but we have a nice, long season to get ready. I don’t feel a ton of urgency in the beginning. It’s healthier to gradually get in running shape.”

The Lovell boys lost Stetson Asay, Dino DeLaCruz and Thane Zollman to graduation but return their top runner in senior Durfee, who placed 38th at State last year in a time of 19:11.

“David put in the miles this summer,” Sanders noted.

Senior Jacob Thomas will join the team once the golf season is over, and senior Owen Hill has returned to the team after running his sophomore year. Also returning with experience are seniors Jay Mayes and Jaxen Clark, along with juniors Sam Mayes and Hudsen Mickelson.

“They’ll compete for the top spots,” Sanders said of his veteran runners. They’re pretty competitive. I imagine it will swap from meet to meet for the fourth, fifth and sixth positions.”

Also running are sophomores Gage Pillow and Rick Jensen and freshmen Isaac Sanders, Oscar Garcia, Ethan Hendershot, Grant Rose and Taevan Henton.

Noting team goals, Coach Sanders said, “I really want them to figure out their racing style. What makes them the fastest? Some like to start at moderate pace, and some do better with a faster start. We’ll figure out over the course of a season what’s best for them.”

A second team goal is to not just set personal records but to improve on the team’s average time at State from a year ago. The top seven boys last season ran an average time of 20:07 at State as the team, and the top seven girls ran an average of 26:27.

“In recent years we did a great job setting personal records, but I want culminating events to be more successful,” Sanders said. “Our goals will center on performance at State.”

Lady Bulldogs

The top three runners from the girls squad return this season in senior Elana Schilthuis, sophomore Caylee Herman and junior Candace Walker, along with senior Atlee Sanders. Joining the squad is freshman Toree Herman. The team lost only Danika Crumrine to graduation.

Schilthuis raised eyebrows last year with a strong season in her first year of cross country competition, and Herman was a strong freshman.

“I like the improvement I’ve seen from Candace,” Sanders said. “She’s taken some steps forward. Atlee improved throughout the season (last year).”

Coming up

After the Billings Invitational, the Bulldogs will look forward to the Wyoming Indian Invitational at Ethete on September 5 while the Grizzlies attend a meet in Hardin, Montana, the same day.