Wheatland Bulldogs shine at home cross country meet

WHEATLAND – Perfect weather provided the backdrop for the 2019 Wheatland Bulldog cross country meet, held at Lewis Park Oct. 4.
Bulldog runners recorded seasonal best finishes against solid fields, and are rounding into fine form for the homestretch of the 2019 cross country season.
Once again, Danielle Brow led the way with an impressive third place in the girls varsity division, which featured arguably the top high school female cross country runner in the nation in Rawlins’ Sydney Thorvaldson.
“Dani ran a smart and tough race. She shaved over one and half minutes from her time last year. Coach Nichols and I are impressed with her work ethic this season and her determination. She’s having a great year,” coach Joe Wilson said with enthusiasm.
Behind Danielle, Raylee Buchanan ran to a top five finish in the girls JV division.
“Raylee has improved steadily from the start of the season and is looking like a solid runner. I anticipate her continued improvement the remainder of the season,” coach Wilson noted.
Lupita Perez and Grace Hanni rounded out the Lady Bulldog runners as they finished 11th and 12th, respectively.
“Lupita and Grace are important pieces of our cross country team, their steady presence has been a nice relief. If they continue to work hard, they will have great running careers for Wheatland,” Wilson said.

On the boys side, Matthew Streets earned a hard fought fifth place finish in the boys JV division, running a lifetime best of 20:06.
“Matthew has steadily improved with each race, and he’s on the verge of breaking 20 minutes in a 5K,” Wilson explained. “He will be running in the varsity division the rest of the season.”
Behind Matthew, senior Luke Anderson finished 34th in the competitive boys varsity division.
“Luke has been a trooper all season. He agreed to come run cross country in part to prepare himself for his senior year of basketball, and he’s been a leader from day one,” Wilson relayed. “I’m grateful he chose to be a part of the cross country team.”
Rounding out the Bulldog runners were Robert Hendon and David Bookout, finishing in 26th and 28th place respectively, in the boys JV division.
“Robert improved his time by over a minute from last year’s race, and David continues to earn valuable race experience with each week. Coach Nichols and I are grateful for their willingness to stick with the cross country program,” Wison said.
Next up for the Bulldogs is the LeRoy Sprague Invitational cross country meet hosted by Cheyenne East this Friday. Temperatures and conditions should be an excellent precursor for the state meet, to be held Oct. 26in frigid Afton.  
Results:
Girls:
Danielle Brow  3rd place, girls Varsity 20:23
Raylee Buchanan 4th place, girls JV, 25:50
Lupita Perez  11th place, girls JV, 28:42
Grace Hanni 12th place, girls JV, 29:31
Boys:
Matthew Streets, 5th place, boys JV, 20:06
Luke Anderson 34th place, boys Varsity, 21:01
Robert Hendon, 26th place, boys JV, 25:30
David Bookout, 28th place, boys JV, 27:02