Dogies brave the elements

Sonja Karp
NLJ Sports Reporter
 
Cross country is a fall sport. Those are famous last words when you live in Wyoming, and the Newcastle Dogie and Lady Dogie runners learned that the hard way as they headed to Gillette last Friday to run in just over freezing temperatures.
Given the adverse weather conditions and the absence of both of the men’s top runners, those who competed put up some impressive times and finished well.
“It was a pretty cold and windy day to get any personal bests, but it is always a good day to get out and race, and to make sure each individual runner has one last chance to work on their racing strategy, whether it be their final kick, middle of the race push, or not losing sight of the runner in front of them,” head coach Kathy Beehler stated. “This meet is a great practice for state as there is some really tough competition since the meet is comprised of mostly 4A schools.”
The teams also got a sneak peek at some of their competition for next week’s Regional meet in Douglas as Buffalo and Douglas were also racing in Gillette.
Three Lady Dogies suited up to run at the meet with Hailey McGuire being the first to cross the finish line in 31st place. Lara Lopez was next in 46th, and Avery Alishouse was hot on her heels in 48th place.
“I thought the girls ran well,” Beehler began. “Their times were pretty close to their best even though it was really cold and windy.”
The men have been steadily improving in their ability to remain grouped together to benefit the overall team score, and on Friday, they finished particularly well in that regard.
Zach Purviance led the pack in 32nd place, with Bridger Alishouse finishing three seconds after him in 34th. Avery Chick was 36th two seconds later and Jacob Rhoades was five seconds behind in 41st place. 
“There was only five seconds between our first three runners and 57 seconds between our first and fifth runners, so we were happy with our packing ability,” Beehler smiled. 
Beehler held Tristan Troftgruben and Carson Bock, the Dogies top two runners, and Alaina Laurence out of the race as a cautionary move to avoid any nagging injuries this week at the regional meet.  
In the junior varsity division, Max Makousky crossed the finish line first for his team in 23rd place. His time of 20:29 is only 16 seconds behind the varsity runners so Beehler noted that is reassuring to know the squad’s jv runners can step up to the varsity role if needed.  
“We are excited for regionals,” she exclaimed. “We think we have a great chance of doing well, but Worland is going to be our big competition, as they are ranked second to us by one point in a hypothetical meet.”
The Dogies and Lady Dogies will find out how they stack up on Friday as they head to Douglas for their Conference meet.