All of the cross country teams in the country are finally off and running. The most notable accomplishment from last week was the Polson girls team, who defended their title and won their third consecutive girl’s combined race at the Highlander Invitational meet in Spokane.

There were 191 runners in the girls race. Sophomore Malia Seeley took first place overall with a time of 16:50 on a 2.5 mile course. Sophomore Ryan Harrop was sixth with a time of 17:36, freshman Molly Sitter was 11th with a time of 17:47, sophomore Quinn Motichka was 19th with a time of 18:06, and senior Tessa Nunlist was 51st with a time of 19:29. Those five time created a team score of 74, which put them on top of the team competition. Coach Matt Seeley said he was impressed with how well the girls started off at a smart pace and then moved up into the top twenty in the last mile of the 2.5 mile course.  

For the boys, sophomore Zach Evertz was the highest finisher with a 24th place finish and a time of 14:41. Senior Thunder Morales was 46th and senior Warren Wood was 52nd.

Highlander Invitational

Team scores:  Polson 74, Mount Spokane 97, Medical Lake 136, AC Davis 162, Chelan 174 (top 5)

Individual girls

192 total competitors

Place, Athlete Name, First 800, mile 1, mile 2, Last 800, Finish

1, Malia Seeley, 3:17, 6:48, 6:48, 3:14,16:50, 6, Ryan Harrop, 3:21, 6:59, 7:14, 3:23, 17:36, 11, Molly Sitter, 3:17, 6:49, 7:24, 3:34, 17:47, 19, Quinn Motichka, 3:19, 7:04, 7:31, 3:31, 18:06, 51, Tessa Nunlist, 3:35, 7:30, 8:04, 3:55, 19:29, 68, Natalee Wheeler, 3:51, 7:59, 8:11, 3:53, 20:03, 78, Josey Motichka, 3:51, 7:59, 8:16, 4:17, 20:27, 128, Sarah Wood, 3:51, 8:18, 9:40, 4:33, 22:31

Place, Athlete Name, First 800, mile 1, mile 2, Last 800, Finish, Place/ number of competitors

Individual Boys

Zach Evertz, 2:45, 5:45, 6:05, 2:51, 14:41, 24/161, Thunder Morales, 2:49, 5:57, 6:26, 3:02, 15:25, 46/116, Warren Wood, 2:45, 5:56, 6:37, 3:08, 15:41, 52/116, Matt Sitter, 2:47, 5:54, 6:38, 3:14, 15:46, 56/121, Tyler Bledsoe, 3:02, 6:15, 6:59, 2:53, 16:07, 66/121, Wyatt Benson, 2:53, 6:08, 7:07, 3:05, 16:20, 69/121, Aubrey Frissell, 3:09, 6:34, 6:58, 3:29, 17:01, 73/150, Quaid Harlan, 3:07, 6:47, 7:19, 3:22, 17:28, 87/116

On Friday, all of the teams in Lake County competed in the Ronan Invitational, although Polson only brought their JV team. The competition had teams from all over Western Montana, and included a junior high race. The top finishers from each school on the boys side were Jackson Duffey of Ronan, Tate Weingart of Mission, Greg Whitesell of Arlee, Makauly Morrison of Polson, and Zane Hafliger of Charlo. Ashley McCready had the fastest time for the Ronan girls, as did Jaden Koston for Charlo, Natalie Yocum for Arlee, Sierra Garcia for Polson, and Shaniya Decker for St. Ignatius.

Friday in Ronan

Boys

Jackson Duffey, Ron 17:16, Tate Weingart, SI 17:22, Nathan Dennis, Ron 17:46, Kiry Detweiler, Ron 18:23, Greg Whitesell, AR 18:39, Zane Hafliger, CH 19:08, Wil Degrandpre, CH 19:17, Andrew Kohler, Ron 19:47, Daniel Kohler, Ron 19:59, Aiden Birdingground, Ron 20:23, Ivory Brien, AR 20:35, Devon Siech, CH 20:40, Makauly Morrison, POL 20:53, Skyler Titsworth, AR 21:07, Wacey McClure, SI 21:11, Jacob Driesen, Ron 21:22, Tyler Joachim, Ron 21:39, Asa Askan, POL 21:58, Wyatt Decker, SI 22:17, Nate Plant, POL 22:33, Shase Wiley, AR 22:37, Brendan Ryan, AR 22:43, Jason Miller, AR 22:46, Conner Koenig, CH 22:47, Michael Kohler, Ron 22:49, Jonah DuCharme, POL 23:12, Toby Hayes, POL 23:39, Terrell Stump, Ron 23:41, Nate Delaney, CH 26:45, Micah Askan, POL 28:09

Girls

Ashley McCready, RON, 21:37, Jaden Koston, CH, 21:41, Penni Wyant, RON, 24:14, Natalie Yocum, AR 24:33, Aislynn Love, CH, 25:08, Tashina Matt, RON, 25:14, Kaitlyn Sassaman, RON, 25:14, Ally Buhr, RON, 25:06, Devi Knutson, CH, 25:27, Skyler Frame, CH, 26:16, Shaniya Decker, SI, 26:42, Sierra Garcia, POL, 27:18, Tory Peterson, SI, 28:07, Corie Frisk, RON, 28:54, Shalona Gray, POL, 29:47, Alice North, AR 30:35, Naomi Plant, AR 31:37, Telesa Truman, CH, 32:14, 

The Arlee cross country team traveled to Kalispell on Saturday. Freshman Greg Whitesell had the best time for the Arlee boys, running the course in 19:03. He finished the race in 36th place. Ivory Brien was a few spots behind him, finishing the race in a time of 21:46. For the girls, Natalie Yocum had the fastest time at 23:08. Becca Whitesell came in behind her with a time of 23:47, and Ali North finished out the group with a 31:52. Individual places were not available for the girls.

Saturday in Kalispell

Boys

Name, Overall Place, Cumulative Place, Time

Greg Whitesell, 36, 36, 19:03.06, Ivory Brien, 42, 78, 21:46.09, Skyler Titsworth, 46, 124, 23:03.90, Brendan Ryan, 49, 173, 23:29.92, Jason Miller, 50, 223, 26:08.59 

Girls

Natalie Yocum, 23:08, Becca Whitesell, 23:47, Ali North, 31:52