A dandy debut by a promising freshman and a sensational showing by a very special, seasoned veteran captured all the attention at the annual Flathead Invitational cross country meet on warm, sunny fall Saturday afternoon at Kidsports Complex.

Flathead junior Zach Perrin won his third-straight invitational title with a blistering record time of 15 minutes, 35 seconds.

Perrin broke his own course record by five seconds, which he set last year. Flathead's Elliott Welder had the old mark, 15:50.

Bigfork's Makena Morley turned in a memorable performance in just her second high school race by claiming the girls individual title with a time of 18:02.

Both victors ran away from the field. Both led from start to finish.

Morley's margin of victory was an amazing 52 seconds while Perrin finished 15 seconds ahead of Glacier's Troy Fraley, 15:50.

"I just like to go have fun, run as fast as I can," Morley said of her race strategy.

She didn't have to worry about that this time as she was never tested, or challenged.

"I like it. I like it when I'm by myself, she said of running alone.

"This is a hard course," she said.

"The (weather) conditions played into that (today). It was really hot. I'm happy with my time."

Morley said her legs were tight for part of the race and she felt "a little bit tired. I just tried to keep it out of my mind."

Only two girls managed to break the 19-minute barrier as Missoula Hellgate's Paige Gilchrist was second in 18:54.

"Paige definitely helped me," Morley said.

"Just knowing she was behind me, that pushed me."

The boys had three runners dip below 16 minutes. Hellgate's Adam Peterman was clocked in 15:54, which was good for third place.

Rounding out the top five for the boys were Derrick Williams of Columbia Falls, 16:07, and Drew Gottman of Hellgate, 16:37.

For the girls, Hellgate's Hailey Jacobson finished third, 19:54, Flathead's Paige Bouma was fourth, 20:14, and Great Falls C.M. Russell's Cambria Hassell was fifth, 20:16.

Perrin, unlike Morley, was pushed. He and three other runners were bunched tightly for the first two thirds of the race.

"After the second mile, I decided to make my move," he said.

"A lot of those guys have a really good kick, so I just decided to go for it."

Perrin said the warm weather "was tough, but running in the summer gets you ready for this. It felt good. It felt very smooth.

"Memorable," he said of his victory.

"Awesome to win. I'm happy about that."

Afterwards, Perrin celebrated his victory, and record time, in true sportsmanship fashion. He stayed near the finish line and offered his hand for a congratulatory shake for everyone who finished the race.

There were plenty of touches, and some hugs for good measure.

"It's a tough course," Perrin said.

"Everyone who runs this deserves credit.

"Everyone that runs cross country, we're like one big family," he added.

Hellgate, with four girls in the top seven, easily defended its team title with 23 points. Flathead was second, 110, and Hamilton third, 136.

It was the same scenario in the boys team competition.

The Hellgate boys, with four runners in the top nine spots, knocked off defending champ Flathead. Hellgate finished with a 37-point total to Flathead's 62.

The Braves had three runners in the top seven places: Hunter Schutt finished sixth, 16:49, and Ben Moon was seventh, 16:51.

Flathead Invitational

BoysTeam Totals

1. Missoula Hellgate 37, 2. Flathead 62, 3. Missoula Sentinel 107, 4. Polson 135, 5. Browning 165, 6. Hamilton 166, 7. Glacier 170, 8. Columbia Falls 182, 9. Great Falls CMR 208, 10. Great Falls 250, 11. Ronan 295, 12. Cut Bank 309, 13. Shelby 366, 14. Arlee 419

Top 30

1. Zach Perrin Flathead 15:35

2. Troy Fraley Glacier 15:50

3. Adam Peterman Hellgate 15:54

4. Derrick Williams ColFalls 16:07

5. Drew Gottman Hellgate 16:37

6. Hunter Schutt Flathead 16:49

7. Ben Moon Flathead 16:51

8. Chris Herrick Hellgate 16:57

9. Kit Mayer Loyola 16:58

10. Tazio Scariano Hellgate 17:10

11. Easton Albert Hamilton 17:24

12. Hunter Guthrie Sentinel 17:25

13. Tyler Jorgenson Hellgate 17:30

14. Joel Cartwright CMR 17:31

15. Christopher Everett Hellgate 17:34

16. Jacob Strauss Great Falls 17:39

17. Nick Hamilton Sentinel 17:47

18. Alex Nystrom Polson 17:51

19. Kurt RedCrow Browning 17:56

20. Jon Hamilton Sentinel 17:57

21. Travis Hayes Polson 17:58

22. Brandon Minster Sentinel 17:59

23. Will Jeffries Flathead 18:01

24. Wyatt MadPlume Browning 18:02

25. Anthony Schmalz Hamilton 18:07

26. Jonah Arnold Hellgate 18:09

27. Carter Krantz Flathead 18:11

28. Jimmy Bjorge Polson 18:14

29. Sylas Schutt Flathead 18:15

30. Shay LaVallie CMR 18:22

Girls

Team Scores

1. Missoula Hellgate 23, 2. Flathead 110, 3. Hamilton 138, 4. Missoula Sentinel 146, 5. Browning 151, 6. Great Falls CMR 153, 7. Glacier 167, 8. Polson 174, 9. Loyola Sacred Heart 217, 10. Great Falls 233, 11 Ronan 235, 12. Cut Bank 252

1. Makena Morley Bigfork 18:02

2. Paige Gilchrist Hellgate 18:54

3. Hailey Jacobson Hellgate 19:54

4. Paige Bouma Flathead 20:14

5. Cambria Hassell CMR 20:16

6. Scarlet Kaplan Hellgate 20:18

7. Gilia Patterson Hellgate 20:22

8. Claudia Hewston Polson 20:29

9. Haley Rogers Sentinel 20:49

10. Katelin Smith Augusta 20:50

11. Ellen Ipsen Hellgate 21:01

12. Amanda Mack Great Falls 21:07

13. Alex Williams Sentinel 21:13

14. Addie Melvin Hellgate 21:19

15. Molly Crum Great Falls 21:23

16. Chelsey Olson Bigfork 21:24

17. Jinise Osborne Col. Falls 21:25

18. Haley Hodge Butte 21:32

19. Teri Tritz Hellgate 21:35

20. Bailey Hughes Flathead 21:45

21. Sara Amish Hamilton 21:48

22. Tegan Bauer Polson 21:49

23. Kelley McCafferty Belt 22:00

24. Courtney Juneau Browning 22:01

25. Kendall Alley Butte 22:14

26. Amanda Jaynes Sentinel 22:18

27. Sara Mauseth CMR 22:23

28. Maggie Mitzel Loyola 22:29

29. Meredith Stolte Col. Falls 22:35

30. Jenny Smith Hamilton 22:40