Star Valley XC rings the bell at home invite

Dahl Erickson August 30, 2024

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Habtamu Wetzel and Jase Burton lead the pack in the boys race. (SVI Photo by Dahl Erickson)

With the exception of some rouge smoke from regional forest fires it would have been hard to request a more perfect day to run the 2nd Annual More Cowbell Invite at Valli Vu Golf Course in Afton on Thursday August 29. Teams from Wyoming and Idaho competed on the course known for its long drawn-out inclines and had some fun as a large crowd cheered them on and other prizes were given out as part of the whimsical start to the cross-country season.

Star Valley won the combined team score and thus retained the ‘Walken’ trophy. The Braves held off a tough Skyline squad for the boys team race and the Lady Braves finished second behind perennial power Soda Springs.

Individually, the Braves took the top three spots as Habtamu Wetzel and Jase Burton tilted at the line with the former getting first place by two-tenths of a second. Both runners went under 16 minutes. Colton Cranney was third with Brigham Hahn also placing in the top-ten. Anson Robinson rounded out the scoring five for the Braves. It was a good start for a program gunning for their third straight Wyoming 4A team title.

Klarisa Earl of Thunder Ridge won the girls race with a time of 21:02.59, five seconds in front of Soda Springs’ Lizzie Beutler. The Cardinals nabbed third place as well with India Galloway running a 21:33.12. Star Valley’s top time came from sophomore Macy Kennington who placed seventh. Fellow sophomore Carlee Angell also placed in the top-ten. Alexis Angell, Kylee Linford and Gracey Visser rounded out the varsity five for the Lady Braves.

The SVXC teams will be in Soda Springs next week for the Cardinal Classic which draws some of the best teams from the region in Utah, Idaho and Wyoming and serves as an annual early-season litmus test for the programs.