Herders set 9 PRs in Casper, seniors running by example

An astonishing nine personal best times were set by the Glenrock cross country team at Saturday’s Glen Legler Invitational at Paradise Valley Golf Course in Casper.
In many ways, it was the culminating meet for the Herders as times continued to improve in the weeks leading up to Saturday’s meet. Head coach Chris Gray was very pleased with his team’s performance.
“It was a great course to record good times,” he said. “All of the kids ran really well and made improvements.”
In the boys varsity race, James Halvorsen set the pace for the Herders in 30th with a time of 19.47, a personal best. In 46th, Skyler Piasecki crossed the finish line in 20:33. John Halvorsen took 56th in 21:16 and behind him, Paxton Piasecki finished in 67th with a time of 22:24. Rounding out the varsity race for the boys, Andrew Albrandt and Wes McCullough took 71st and 75th, respectively, and both set seasonal best times. Albrandt finished in 22:54 while McCullough clocked at 23:15. In 81st, James Huck also set a personal best time of 25:04.
The middle school boys also competed in Casper, running a three-kilometer race. Cody Piasecki took 5th in 9:43 and Hunter McCullough finished in 70th with a time of 12:21.
Skyler Piasecki, the lone senior on the boys varsity team, has been a leader for a team that’s more than half comprised of freshman. His three years of cross country experience have helped bring along those younger runners this season.
In the varsity girls race, a total of seven runners set personal best times and another set a seasonal best. Emily Taper led the way for the Lady Herders with a personal best time of 21:41 in 9th. Behind her, Annelise Clark crossed the finish line 13 seconds later at 21:54, also a personal best. Yesi Hermosillo recorded a seasonal best time of 23:55 in 32nd. In 36th and 37th, Abbi Cerny and Abby Nunez each set personal best times as they finished just three seconds apart. Cerny timed in at 24:23 and Nunez at 24:26.
Kayleen Harris, Emma Cotton and Addy Sexson rounded things out for the Lady Herders, each setting personal best times.
“We are young,” Gray said. “But with the leadership of Skyler, Yesi, Annelise and Abby Nunez, they are setting great examples for the younger kids and they’ve done a great job of taking the seniors’ lead. They’re getting better each day.”
In just her freshman season, Taper has set the pace at most meets for the Lady Herders and has done so with the help of her senior teammate, Clark.
“Emily continues to get stronger and her times are coming down,” Gray noted. “She has competition in practice and that has enabled her and the rest of the girls to run harder in practice.”
Gray also glowed about Glenrock’s middle school runners, who continue to run strong meets and are making noticeable strides.
The Herders return to the course on Saturday in Wright at the Brittany Rentas Memorial.