Runners prevail despite adversity

The 3A East Conference Cross Country meet in Rawlins last Thursday was more than a challenge for each team that was there to compete. Impending inclement weather caused the meet scheduled for Friday to be moved up a day, but even still, as the men’s race got underway the runners were hit with 50 mph wind gusts, pelting rain, and cold temperatures.

Despite the adverse conditions, head coach Kathy Beehler was pleased with how her Dogie and Lady Dogie runners dug deep to finish well in their respective races.

Individually, Sam Cunningham was third in the men’s race, and Aspen Bloom ended up in fifth place in the women’s division. With those finishes, the two earned All-Conference Honors and led their teams to second and fourth place respectively.

“We ran really well, and as well as we should have,” Beehler began. “I looked at how we were ranked going in, and we did a great job of finishing faster than we were anticipated
to finish.”

It all came down to the resiliency and grit of each and every runner on the course. Even though the terrain was conducive to turning in fast times, the horrible weather was a major deterrent to getting those times. Those who succumbed to the conditions found it difficult to continue to fight throughout the 3.1 miles of the race.

“The weather was rough, and when we took off it started to rain, so it was like ice blowing in our faces,” Caleb Hoover began. “I didn’t let the weather get me down though. I just decided that this was what we were given, and I had to make the best
of it.”

The Lady Dogies ran first, and because of the timing, finished their race before the rain started to fall and the big wind gusts hit. Nonetheless, conditions weren’t ideal for running.

However, Bloom finished the race battling it out with a Buffalo runner that ended with the Lady Bison just edging Bloom out for fourth place by only one-tenth of a second.

After not having enough runners to compete as a team since 2021, Beehler and crew were excited to not only post a team finish, but also to do so by tying for third place. Team scores are established by how the first five runners place, and in the event of a tie, the finishes of the “pushers” (the sixth/seventh runners) are factored in to determine who places where. In this case, the Rawlins pushers finished ahead of Newcastle’s pusher which gave the Lady Outlaws third and the Lady Dogies fourth.

“The girls went in tied with Rawlins and came out the same way,” Beehler said. “They ran really well though, especially with the situation, and the kids were really excited with their team finish.”

To add to the adversity offered by rain and wind, there were technical difficulties prior to the men’s race which resulted in the runners having to cool their heels at the starting line for 40 minutes prior to taking off.

In that time, muscles got cold and athletes got a little tight before the gun went off. With things finally underway, the Dogies had to fight for every mile they put behind them. Beehler’s crew proved they were up to the challenge, finishing in second place as the 3A East Conference runner up Champions.

Cunningham fought his way to third place, finishing just three seconds behind the second place runner. Landen Hill, Caden Esposito and Archer Ohnstad finished within 23 seconds of each other in 21st, 22nd, and 23rd places which went a long way to earning the team their second place finish.

“Sam did a great job,” Beehler said. “He beat some Buffalo kids he wasn’t supposed to beat, which means he has a great chance of placing at state if he runs like that again.”

Hoover had a great race as the senior gutted it out in the final conference meet of his career. He finished as the Dogies’ fifth runner, earning a spot on the team for the State Meet this weekend.

“The finish was the toughest part of the race!” Hoover said. “It was about 500 yards and straight into the wind. No one who crossed the finish line had anything left to give!”

“Man, Caleb ran well and really saved the day for the boys,” Beehler said, smiling. “He was really out to run that day, and he finished eight places better than he was ranked, so that was really great!”

The Dogies and Lady Dogies will wrap up their season this Saturday in Cheyenne as they compete in the 3A State Meet. The ladies race will begin at 11:30 a.m. and the men will run
at 1 p.m.