Alvarez sisters earn all-conference honors at cross country meet

Competing a day earlier than planned due to expected cold weather on Friday, the Rocky Mountain Grizzlies ran at the Five Rivers Conference cross country meet Thursday in Thermopolis.

Times were down from the week before (at Powell) on the tougher Legion Golf Course, but the Grizzlies were competitive in the 2A West field.

“The conditions were really ideal,” head coach Tim Jones said. “The ground was a little wet, but the temperatures were good. It was good for running except for the four hills.”

Jones said the course had one long uphill stretch and three other hills, then a downhill finish.

Juniors Evynn and Ellie Alvarez earned all-conference honors with top 10 finishes. Jones noted that two Wyoming Indian runners shown in the MileSplit.com results do not count in the standings. Only the top seven for a team can be counted.

Evynn Alvarez placed ninth in a time of 27 minutes, and sister Ellie placed 10th at 29:40. Injuries have ended the season for senior Rebecca Herren.

“I was really happy for them,” Jones said. “It was tough. Some of the uphills really got to the kids, both boys and girls.

“I love coaching the girls. They’re a lot of fun. They’re constantly trying and giving their best effort. I feel I’m learning more from them than they are from me.”

In the boys race, the top finisher was sophomore Sam Loyning, who just missed a top-10 finish at 11th place in a time of 19:28.

“That was tough,” Jones said. “Wyoming Indian (four top 10 finishers) ran strong. I thought it would be between Burlington and Thermopolis, but Wyoming Indian ran incredibly well. They ran as a pack, which interfered with Sam’s ability to place, but he ran a good race on a very difficult course. He ran closer to his season best than some of the top runners.”

Freshman Zach Unruh finished 25th in 21:28, junior Dyami Rock close behind in 27th place at 21:48.

“Zach was a little hobbled,” Jones said. “He was running on a bad knee. We hope to get it feeling better by Saturday. Dyami was well. He ran a good time on this course.”

Freshman Cody Miller finished 38th in 25:44.

“We have room for improvement across the board,” Jones noted.
“We need to push ourselves this week and in the final races Saturday, give it our all.”

State meet

The Grizzlies will travel to Cheyenne this week for the Wyoming State Cross Country Meet held at the Little America Golf Course. The 2A girls run at 10:30 a.m., 2A boys at noon.