PhotoFest! Cheyenne Cross Country Meet

The huge Wyoming Invitational Cross Country Meet was held on Friday at the Little America golf course in Cheyenne as the runners got a look at the course that will be used for the State Meet later this fall.

Maggie Madsen of Cheyenne East won the girl's race in 18.52.2 with Ally Wheeler of Natrona taking 2nd in 19.03.6. Lyla Marney of Big Horn was 3rd, Cheyenne Central's Sofia Rose was 7th and Lillie Kirkham from Cody was 8th.

A year ago, Madsen placed 4th at the 4A 2023 State Cross Country Meet as a freshman and also had a strong 4A State Track Meet placing 2nd in the 1600 and 3200-meter runs and 5th in the 800. There were 172 runners in the girl's field and plenty of contestants from various Colorado schools. Boulder, CO took 1st in the team standings with 44 points, Cody was 2nd with 122, Central 3rd with 124, Natrona 4th with 128, and Dakota Ridge, CO 5th with 164.

Worland's Trajn Swalstad won the boy's race and looked impressive with a time of 16.10.57. He outpaced Lucas Wik from Boulder by just under 10 seconds with Patrick Hardesty of Thunder Basin 4th, Kelly Walsh's Micah Colling 6th, and Zach Freise of Buffalo 5th.

Swalstad is one of the finest distance runners around with a 2nd place finish at the State 3A Cross Country meet last season. He is also the defending 3A State champion in the 1600 and 3200 meter runs in track. The boy's field featured 218 runners and Boulder, CO took 1st with 68 points, Niwot, CO 2nd with 81, Natrona 3rd with 143, Kelly Walsh 4th with 171, and Buffalo 5th with 192.

Take a look at our collection of photos from the high school portion of the Wyoming Invitational in our gallery below. Enjoy and look for someone you know.

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