MISSOULA — The Polson cross country team posted strong runs from multiple runners last Saturday at the Mountain West Classic in Missoula.

Senior leader Colter Bull led the Pirates with his finishing time of 17:24 in 126th place out of 939 runners. Sophomore Alex Nystrom finished second for the Polson boy’s team with a time of 17:30.

Junior Nick Andrews came back this week at full strength to take the team’s fifth spot. He finished in 18:37 while senior Scott Taylor made his 2009 debut. Taylor’s strong junior varsity run of 19 minutes jumped him onto the varsity team.

The biggest improvement came from senior Jordan Cross, dropping two minutes from his time in Pablo on a “much tougher course,” head coach Matt Seeley said, to finish in 21:05.

“It’s great to have seniors like Jordan and Scott who are ready to push themselves to the limit to run fast at the end of the year,” Seeley said.

For the girls, junior Mesa Starkey was the first Pirate to cross the line in 20:31, taking 74th out of 915 runners. Sophomore Laura Barta made her way to the fourth spot on the team with her time of 22:46. Freshman Whitney Zimmerman “flew through the last mile” to finish below 23:27, Seeley said.

The largest time drops came from juniors Dominique McGowan and Taurie Bowman, who both dropped more than three minutes.

“It is great to see these girls working so hard and improving their times dramatically in their first year with the team,” Seeley said.

On Saturday, both teams will run in the Mansion Invitational in Hamiltion.

Seeley said the junior varisty runners are doing so well that the last competition for the few varsity spots left is getting tough.

“It is hard to say who will step up at the end of the year,” Seeley said. “I am hoping that strong racing by the JV teams will really bring out the best in the varsity runners.”