Lovell runners show improvement at Lander conference meet

The Lovell High School cross country team returned to Lander for its conference meet Saturday, and for head coach Caleb Sanders, the results offered encouraging evidence of how far his young team has progressed this season.

With seven runners recording personal records and nearly three-quarters of the team improving their times from an earlier race on the same course, Sanders was pleased with the Bulldogs’ performance as they prepare for the state championships.

“Almost every single one of my runners got better times in Lander,” Sanders said. “And then we had seven total runners get PRs. So that’s good.”

The weather provided ideal racing conditions, with temperatures in the mid-50s, and the opportunity to compete on a familiar course gave runners a clear measure of their progress.

“We were excited to run this course again because we had something to compare with earlier in the season,” Sanders said. “It was the exact same course, the Lander course.”

Girls show steady improvement

Freshman Macee Winterholler led the Lovell girls, placing 31st in 23 minutes, 35 seconds, a personal record and nearly a minute faster than her previous performance at Lander.

Fellow freshman Rylee Mayes also delivered one of the team’s strongest improvements, finishing 53rd in 26:40, nearly three minutes faster than her earlier Lander race.

Sanders was particularly impressed with the progress of his two freshmen as the season nears its conclusion.

“Those two really just improved throughout the season, which is great for freshmen because as the season drags on, sometimes it gets harder for freshmen because their bodies aren’t used to a longer season,” he said. “But these two really come through.”

Senior Candace Walker finished 47th in 25:57, recording one of the best performances of her high school career.

“She’s only ran in the 25-minute range one other time,” Sanders said. “So this was her second fastest 5K in her 5K career.”

Walker also improved her previous Lander time by approximately one minute.

Junior Caylee Herman finished 46th in 25:36, while sophomore Bonnie Buchholz placed 48th in 26:06. Junior Kaylynn Mickelson finished 58th in 29:39, improving her previous Lander performance by nearly a minute.

“It was a good effort from the girls,” Sanders said. “I’m proud of them. I’m proud to see their improvements.”

Walker leads Lovell boys

Junior Aaiden Walker continued to lead the Bulldogs, placing 18th among 88 runners with a time of 18:14.

Walker, who has consistently been Lovell’s fastest runner this season, improved his previous Lander time by approximately 20 seconds and established a new personal record.

“Aaiden Walker was our fastest boy this time as he has been all season,” Sanders said. “He ran an 18 minute and 13 second time, which was 20 seconds faster than what he ran in Lander before, and it’s his new personal record.”

Sophomore Isaac Sanders continued his steady season, placing 30th in 19:06.

“Isaac Sanders was our second fastest runner this meet, and he’s been pretty consistent as our second fastest all year,” the coach said.

Another sophomore, Oscar Garcia, turned in one of the team’s most impressive performances, placing 42nd in 19:47.

“Oscar Garcia was our third quickest runner, and he ran an overall PR of 19:47,” Sanders said. “It’s the fastest 5K he’s run, and it beat his Lander time by 40 seconds.”

Grant Rose, also a sophomore, finished 61st in 21:14, five seconds faster than his previous Lander performance. Senior Hudsen Mickelson followed in 62nd at 21:21, while sophomore Ethan Hendershot placed 70th in 22:10.

Freshman Dagan Reuter finished 71st in 22:13, sophomore Connor Grant was 78th in 23:18 and freshman Jackson Sanders placed 80th in 23:26.

Grant’s time represented a personal record and an improvement of approximately 26 seconds over his earlier Lander race.

Junior Anthony Garcia, competing in his first cross country season, saved his best performance for the conference meet, placing 83rd in 25:37.

“This is his first year doing cross country, and he ran his best race in his last race at the conference meet,” Sanders said. “He ran a PR of 25:37, which was almost a minute faster than what he ran in Lander last time.”

Sophomore Christian Garcia placed 85th in 27:35, a time Sanders considered especially encouraging given the difficulty of the course.

“His PR was on the Billings course, which is flat, and Lander’s more challenging,” Sanders explained.

Junior Gage Pillow placed 86th in 28:09, recording a season-best time and improving by approximately two minutes over his previous Lander race. Sophomore Taevan Henton rounded out the Lovell boys in 87th at 30:30.

“Overall, I’m happy with the boys’ team, as well,” Sanders said, pointing to the number of runners who improved their performances on the familiar course.

Bulldogs turn attention to state

With the conference meet behind them, the Bulldogs are preparing for Saturday’s Wyoming Class 3A state cross country championships in Cheyenne.

The girls are scheduled to race at 10:30 a.m., followed by the boys at noon.

“Our goal is to just perform better,” Sanders said. “Those who’ve run the course before want to run faster times than what they did last year at State.

“Overall, we want to walk away as a team having a better feeling about how we competed, that we just didn’t show up and run hard, that we actually focused, dialed in and intentionally ran better than what we did as teams last year on this upcoming course.”

Elevation is an issue, the coach said.

“We know it’s elevation. We’re going up 3,000 feet,” Sanders said. “We know that’ll be a challenge, but we don’t want that to get in the way of us running our best meet.”

Some runners have set particularly ambitious goals despite the more demanding conditions.

“In fact, some kids are even shooting for PRs on this much more challenging course,” Sanders said. “So we’ll see what happens.”

For Sanders, the improvements at Lander provide a positive foundation as the Bulldogs head into their final competition of the season.