McNiven repeats as conference champion

With snow and cold on the forecast for Friday, the conference cross country meet was moved up to Thursday in Thermopolis. “It turned out to be the right choice,” said Coach Ryan Olson. “Even though the course was wet, the showers and wind died down enough to make for almost perfect running conditions and I feel our kids took advantage of that.” 

The boys took the course first and the Burlington harriers finished in third place. Olson said, “Howard McNiven repeated as conference champion with a time of 18:07. Paul McNiven also was awarded an all-conference certificate, finishing fourth. James McNiven and Colt Haslam were our other official team scorers. Connor Hoyt wasn’t feeling well that day and didn’t compete.

“On the girls’ side, Adelle Olson and Raygen Andrew ran great. Adelle ran under 26 minutes for the third week in a row, placing 8th and getting all-conference honors. Raygen also hit her goal, running under 30 minutes and finishing 13th. It’s great to see these girls healthy again. They can be proud of what they’ve done this season.” 

The Huskies look forward to the state meet in Cheyenne Saturday with the 2A girls race at 10:30 a.m. and the boys running at noon. “We’re excited to be headed to the state. We’ve been preparing for this since the track season ended in May,” said Olson. 

5 RIVERS CONFERENCE RESULTS 

GIRLS – 8, Adelle Olson, 25:54.37; 13, Raygen Andrew, 29:51.03.

BOYS – 1, Howard McNiven, 18:07.51; 4, Paul McNiven, 18:50.25; 13, James McNiven, 19:33.48; 29, Colt Haslam, 22:04.03; 25, Ben Mendenhall, 23:14.38; 39, Brian O’Barr, 25:43.77; 41, Jackson Olson, 34:24.82.