Girls take second at divisional cross country
Hungry Horse News | UPDATED 2 months, 1 week AGO
The Columbia Falls girls cross country team huddles up at the divisional meet last week in Hamilton. (River Blazejewski photo)
The Columbia Falls “Herd of Turtles” cross country team took home some shiny hardware Friday in Hamilton.
The gals took second overall, and two runners, Hazel Alexander and River Blazejewski, received All Conference (top 10 finishers) honors. Several other runners received top 15 awards as well.
“A hundred percent of the team put in a very solid effort, from the bottom of JV to the top of varsity,” head coach Jim Peacock said.
The course was not a fast one; however, most runners preferred it over the unusually formatted four loop course at the Daly Mansion. On the day, there were a total of two personal and two season bests among all four Columbia Falls teams.
“The girls were calm and aggressive; they worked through people in those second and third miles. The guys took it out very hot, which led to some painful last miles,” Peacock said.
The Kats, scoring 93 points, were bested only by Polson by 18 points. Hats off to Polson.
Among the girls, there were several standout performances. Hazel Alexander placed 9th overall, with a 20:48. Sneaking into the top 15 with a 14th place finish was none other than Ashley Andrews, with a 21:17. Findley Dezzani was close behind with a 21:34.
Chloe Williams also ran a season best time of 23:04.
The boys took third place with 96 points, behind Corvallis and Browning.
River Blazejewski took 6th overall, with a time of 17:04. Aiyers Powell, receiving top 15 honors, ran a 17:43. Mason Colliander ran a 17:55.
The men’s highlight of the day; however, was not in the varsity race. Keian Moran won the JV boys race by a long shot.
“It was one of the best races I’ve ever seen Keian run–any time someone made a move, he covered it. He led the race and won it,” Peacock said.
Coach Peacock uses a points-based system to determine who will run at the state meet, as an athlete’s whole season can be subjective to sickness or injury.
This eliminates the possibility of, say, a top runner being excluded from the state meet due to an injury. It also gives the top end of JV a solid fighting chance to go to state.
Brayden Swope, after multiple seasons of hard work and disciplined training, qualified for state with a time of 18:48 this past week.
“It’s neat to see him on the bus,” Peacock said with a warm smile.
The Wildcats will compete in Missoula this Saturday at the MHSA State Cross Country Meet. The event will be held at the U of M golf course, same course map as the Mountain West Classic. Race order is as follows: 11 a.m., A boys, noon, A girls.