Lovell High School harriers open season at Billings Invitational

The Lovell High School cross country team competed in the Billings Invitational this past Friday, Aug. 29. Coach Caleb Sanders said the weather was much better than in previous years. Instead of temperatures in the 90s, it was upper 70s – much more enjoyable running conditions.

Coach Sanders had all of the girls compete in the junior varsity race to get them on the course sooner in hopes of missing a later thunderstorm. The top runner was Elana Schilthuis, who finished with a time of 24:16, placing 19th overall. She improved her time by two minutes from her last race on this course, Sanders said.

This week the coaches nominated a runner of the week: Candace Walker. She ran nearly eight minutes faster than last year on the same course, finishing in 50th with a time of 27:26.68. The progress shows her hard work paying off, the coach said.

Other girls’ results included:

Caylee Herman, 34th place, 25:22.70.

Toree Herman, 103rd place, 31:10.68.

Coach Sanders said he was proud of all the freshmen who ran, since for many of them it was their first 5K. It was also Toree Herman’s first race this year, and she finished strong.

Boys results

The boys team had four boys compete in the varsity race. Owen Hill, who was nominated runner of the week, was the top finisher for the boys despite taking a break from the sport for a couple years. He placed 51st with a time of 19:32.79.

Jaxen Clark ran faster this year than the year before with a time of 21:48.18, placing 98th. Jay Mayes also improved this year on the course with a time of 22:15.54, placing 101st.

Sam Mayes placed 81st with a time of 21:09.44 for varsity.

Coach said the top spots for the boys’ team will be very competitive this year, with many of them finishing close together.

In the JV race, the coaches were especially excited about Oscar Garcia, a freshman who finished 24th overall with a time of 20:55.78. That made him the second-fastest boy on the entire team. Coach Sanders said this shows “an excellent starting point for his high school career.”

Other JV results included:

Grant Rose, 50th place – 22:10.38.

Ethan Hendershot, 51st place – 22:13.51.

Gage Pillow, 138th place – 32:21.90.

Taevan Henton ran his first race and was able to complete it with a time of 30:12.56, placing 128th. He was able to find satisfaction in it, which was very rewarding for the coaches to see, Sanders said.

Next up, the team will return to a course they haven’t run on in a few years — the historic TA Guest Ranch for the Buffalo Invitational. The meet will be held Friday, Sept. 5, starting at 10:30 a.m. The team is excited to have more runners compete this time, Sanders said.