Panthers up and running

The long distance runners from Saratoga and Encampment have returned to the track this year, though under slightly different circumstances than in years before. With the effects of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) still being felt, precautions are being taken which resulted in four separate races in Green River this weekend.

Despite long downtime and a tough start to the season, however, Head Coach Rex Hohnholt sees good things for the Panthers going forward.

“I thought we had some bright spots for kids not competing for the past six months, but I think if you asked every kid they would have thought they could have done better,” said Hohnholt. “With that, we have a lot of work to do but I have been extremely happy with the effort each has put into practice despite the uncommonly hot weather and smoke we had to deal with over the past two weeks.”

Boys

Saratoga’s boys have a lot to work towards this year as they will need to defend their back-to-back 2A Championship. While the Panthers lost Encampment’s Jarom Herring to graduation, last season’s champion, Grant Bartlett, and runner-up, Grady Bartlett, have returned to the team.

Over the weekend, Grant finished in 7th place out of 137 runners with a time of 18:33.74. Grady was only 19 seconds behind, but landed in 16th place with a time of 18:52.70. Calvin Condict came in 74th at 22:34.41 and Brayden Barkhurst finished in 75th place with a time of 22:47.27. Kelton Johnson finished in 95th place with a time of 22:48.75.

With some runners finishing, literally, within seconds of each other the Saratoga boys had competition from some tough schools over the weekend.

Girls

The Saratoga girls have a few new runners this year, who already showed off their skills in Green River. Marilee Williams placed 51st out of 98 runners with a time of 26:16.66. Amber Williams followed shortly after, placing 58th with a time of 26:49.32. Kaitlyn Campbell placed 85th with a time of 31.02.63.

The next meet for the Saratoga Panthers will be on Friday, September 4, at the Burns-Pine Bluffs Invite.