All hustle as XC nears season’s end

Time is running out for the Glenrock Herders cross country team to get ready for the State Championship. Their most recent run was a tour through paradise — specifically the Paradise Valley Golf Course in Casper. The kids from GHS went one county over as one of six schools to bring runners into the Glen Legler Memorial Meet.
Leading the way for the Herders boys in the varsity run was the Halvorsen brothers once more. Despite both of them cutting over one minute off of their times from the last week’s meet in Thermopolis, both brothers fell well out of the top 10 for the first time this season for either brother. John Halvorsen finished the race in 18:32.23, good for 20th on the day with his brother James in 22nd after finishing in 18:51.58.
The next two finishers for the Herders also shared a last name. Paxton Piasecki crossed the finish line in 20:02.47, earning 28th place. Four spots later in 32nd came Cody Piasecki, stopping the clock at 20:15.36.
Only five boys were in the varsity race in Casper, the fifth being Andrew Albrandt. Albrandt came in 37th after cutting a minute off his time from Thermopolis and recording a 21:16.68 finish. Those five combined for a fifth-place team score out of the six schools that competed with a group time of 1:38:58.32, ahead of only Wright High School.
Braving the cold weather and a light drizzle, 20 Herders made the trip and worked together to improve and best the course. Waiting at the finish line for each and every runner is coach Chris Gray. The girls did not have enough runners in the varsity race to qualify for a team score with only three challenging the field.
Anna Grant was their highest finisher in 22nd place with a 22:21.35 time. Two more minutes passed on the clocks before another Glenrock student reached the finish line. Rana Mcclure’s time of 24:31.46 gave her the 30th spot. Two runners later came Emily Taper. Taper’s time of 26:12.96 cut 16 seconds off of her last run.
While there were five boys in the varsity race, only two were left in the junior varsity category. Joel Bryan earned 23rd place in 21:10.83 while Jarrett Fife came in just 30 seconds later, but seven spots behind. Fife ended in sole possession of 30th place and recorded time of 21:45.01.
Only three girls took on the varsity race, but out of the 43 runners in the junior varsity category, eight ran in the distinctive Glenrock purple. Tyne Loyd led the way for the JV Herders girls with a 25:46.43 time for 23rd place.
The next Glenrock runners came in back-to-back at 30th and 31st places. Alecia Jenkins crossed the line in 26:44.66 with Emma Cotton right on her tail. Cotton finished the course in 26:45.14 for the 31st spot.
A trio of Herders came in together, all within minute 28, starting with Sarah Winger in 36th place in 28:10.93. Adele Sexson and Gracie Keizer were less than one second apart in 37th and 38th places. Sexson’s time was 28:21.55 while Keizer came right after in 28:21.86.
Hilda Williams finished in 42nd place for the girls in 30.46.91. Kayleen Harris rounded out the team in 43rd place, clicking the stopwatch at 31:15.19. The Glenrock junior varsity girls also fielded enough competitors to qualify for a team score. They earned a combined time of 2:15:48.71 and fourth place among the teams.
The dynamic duo of Glenrock middle school cross country started the day for the school when Cora Grant came in 74th place with a time of 14:24.31 on the 3K course. Bailey McGuire recorded a finishing time of 16:11.57 and 84th place. The only race of the day that did not include a Herder was the middle school boys 3K race.
The next meet for the Herders will be at Wright on Oct. 5. The following week will be the team’s last official meet of the year at Cheyenne East. The weekend of Oct. 20 will be the intrasquad race at the Glenrock Golf Course. They only have three weeks before the State Championship meet in Afton Oct. 26.