Rocky runners set personal bests at Burlington regional

Rowan Hanusa and Avery Thomas are All-Conference

The Rocky Mountain High School cross country team saved its best racing for the right time Saturday, as every Grizzly runner posted a lifetime personal record at the 5 Rivers Conference West Regional meet in Burlington.

Sophomore Rowan Hanusa led the Rocky Mountain boys, finishing 10th overall in 18 minutes, 26 seconds. His performance moved him seven places higher than his pre-race ranking and gave him a new level of confidence heading into the state meet.

“He didn’t know he was that fast,” Coach Gerry Burton said. “He said, ‘I didn’t know I could do that.’”

Hanusa had been ranked 17th entering the regional race. Burton said the sophomore’s improvement was especially encouraging, as he appeared to run his own race rather than measuring himself against another runner.

Burton’s advice to Hanusa? “Just run your race, man.”

Freshman Jason Unruh was 21st in 20:07, narrowly missing his goal of breaking the 20-minute mark. Burton said Unruh ran well despite conditions that did not necessarily favor him.

“Jason’s doing good,” Burton said. “He’s more of a warmer-weather type runner, and for him to do that in that weather and cold, he did actually really well.”

Junior Ethan Haslem placed 28th in 21:23, cutting nearly a minute from his previous best. Burton said Haslem is becoming a stronger runner as he works to lengthen his stride and become more efficient.

Freshman Tristan Kerchner continued his steady improvement, placing 36th in 23:04. Kerchner had hoped to break into the 22-minute range and came within four seconds of that goal.

Freshman James Demers was 39th in 23:34, and freshman Derek Hedges followed in 41st at 23:37. Both also set personal records.

“It wasn’t just a season PR. These were all-time PRs,” Burton said. “Everybody PR’d.”

Senior Avery Thomas led the Rocky Mountain girls with a strong race of 21:32. Burton said Thomas followed the team’s race plan well, backing off her opening mile by about 15 seconds and using better pacing to finish much stronger.

“She did what she was supposed to,” Burton said. “We talked about slowing up that first mile a little bit, and it made a huge difference in the race. She did really good on her pacing.”

Thomas enters the state meet healthy and with a chance to contend for a top 10 finish, though Burton noted that some teams, including Pine Bluffs, do not regularly post all of their runners’ results online.

The regional meet marked the third consecutive week of major improvement for the Rocky Mountain runners. Burton credited the athletes’ work ethic and willingness to train.

“They all work hard in practice,” he said. “They put their hearts into it.”

The Grizzlies will travel to Cheyenne on Friday and compete Saturday at the state cross country meet. The course is on a golf course and includes repeated hills, which Burton said will make it a challenge.

“The Cheyenne course is tough,” he said. “But we are prepared, rested and ready for the challenge.”

The girls race is scheduled for 11 a.m., followed by the boys race at 12:30 p.m.