By Susan Thompson | Lake Panorama Times

On Sept. 19, Panorama Schools hosted its 2024 Panorama Invitational cross country meet with a total of 437 runners competing. Races were offered for junior high, junior varsity and varsity for both boys and girls.

The Panorama high school girls finished in fifth place with Van Meter taking the top spot out of 18 teams. The Panorama high school boys finished in 10^th place with Ogden winning the meet and 19 teams competing.

This is the second year a significant portion of the team’s cross country trail has been on Lake Panorama’s south shore.

Greg Thompson is the Panorama Community Schools head cross country coach for both boys and girls. 

“The trail seemed a little smoother and softer than last year. The little bit of rain that fell that morning helped,” he says. “This is probably the toughest course we run on all year. I thought, given the toughness of the course and the weather, we ran very well. Of the seven Panorama kids who ran this course at this meet last year, all were faster.”

The cross country trails begin and end on school property with all bus and spectator parking and bathroom facilities on school property. The junior high trail is 2 miles in length and includes a loop around a meadow area on the south shore. The high school trail is 3.1 miles with one mile of that along the Lake Panorama shoreline. Panorama personnel mow the trails and provide additional maintenance. 

The south shore trail system provides many places for spectators to station themselves to cheer on the runners. Another place spectators can enjoy the event is from their boats along the shoreline. This year’s meet brought a half-dozen boats to the shoreline with occupants cheering, clapping, honking their horns and playing music. 

“The number one thing we like about the south shore trail is the shoreline. I heard from some other coaches the lake views were awesome, and they appreciated the boaters cheering on the runners,” Thompson says. “It was pretty warm and muggy to run a 5K, but the extra support from the boaters helped.”

Representing the Panorama Panthers on the high school boys team, Noah Poldberg continued his string of top-three finishes, placing third in 17:54.50. 

The Panorama girls team had two top-10 finishes. The sophomore duo of Kylie Rochholz and Laicey Lutz led the way with Rochholz taking fourth place in 20:55 and Lutz right behind her in fifth in 21:06.80.

 PICTURED AT TOP: Alyssa Stanley, wearing bib number 694, was one of five Panther junior high girls who competed in the Sept. 19 Panorama Invitational. She is shown completing the meadow loop portion of the junior high trail, heading to the finish line on school grounds.

Blaydn Wearmouth is a freshman runner for the Panorama Panthers. He is shown on the shoreline portion of the cross country trail during the Sept. 19 Panorama Invitational.

Much of the 3.1-mile trail for the high school cross country runners is fairly level. The exception is this steep hill at the end of the 1-mile shoreline portion of the trail. Panorama officials posted a “We Love Hills” sign in an attempt to bring a smile to the faces of competitors and spectators.