Loyning 13th as Grizzlies run well at state cross country

By: 
David Peck

Running on a beautiful fall day in Cheyenne, the Rocky Mountain High School cross country team finished the season on a high note, running well at the Wyoming State Cross Country Meet in the 2A Division on Saturday at the Little America Golf Course.

“I felt like the kids worked hard, ran hard,” head coach Tim Jones said. “I don’t think anybody fell short of their capabilities.”

Rocky’s twin junior sisters Evynn and Ellie Alvarez placed 26th and 27th, respectively, with times of 28:27 and 28:37.

“The girls ran well,” Jones said. “Both ran under 29 minutes on a tough course. The course was a little tougher than last year, more up and down. Last year the country club course was a little flatter. So not only was this course at altitude, it was more up and down.”

On the boys side, sophomore Sam Loyning finished just 23 seconds off an all-state ranking (top 10), placing 13th in a time of 19:08.

“He worked hard. He beat a few kids that beat him at Conference and some decent kids from the other side of the state. He needs to continue to work in the summer and early in the season to put himself in a situation to break into the top tier.”

Junior Dyami Rock ran his best race of the season and finished 37th in 21:23.

“He ran well. He has continued to improve all year long,” Jones noted. “He ran nearly his best time at State. He worked hard and tried to get everything he could out of himself.”

Freshman Zach Unruh gave it a go even though he was nursing a knee injury and finished 40th in 21:31.

“He did all the therapy he could,” Jones said. “Halfway through the race he was hurting, but he just gutted it out. He finished the race, but it was a struggle.”

Finishing 55th was freshman Cody Miller, running the course in 23:32.

“The elevation got to Cody a little bit,” Jones said. “He worked hard the entire race and did a good job. He competed with us the whole season. There’s a lot to build on in the future.”

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