Harriers gut it out at Mountain West as reports of runners colliding with deer

The Mountain West Classic cross country race was nothing less than a sight to behold in Missoula Saturday. The event drew around 2,200 competitors, plus some 6,000 spectators. With a Griz football game following that evening, Zootown was packed.

Five hundred runners on a starting line is at first an intimidating sight. Bright colors flood your eyes, and movement is everywhere. However, once the official raises the gun, for a brief moment the air goes still. Then pure chaos unfolds. 

“Mountain West is a physical race. I saw punches, elbows, shoving,” head coach Jim Peacock said. Spiked shoes flew off runners, racers were trampled if they suffered the unfortunate fate of falling, and there were several reports of a JV girl getting hit by a deer.

“People look forward to Mountain West–they want to do well, after all it’s where the state meet is being held this season. Most teams set aside a mini “peak” in their growth curve, specifically for this meet. We put in solid training last week, and trained right through it,” Peacock said.

Cross country scoring is unique at meets like this one: since all classes run together, you have to recalculate the scoring to yield only the Class A results. Columbia Falls had an impressive showing.

The girls varsity squad took third place, tying the Polson Pirates 112-112. (In cross country, a tie breaker is determined by the position of the sixth-place runner. Custer County won for class A girls). 

Teammates looking to pack up with one another in the race is like trying to navigate a corn maze. 

“Ashley and Fin took it out hot, so Hazel was trying to find them; meanwhile, Noelle was working hard to find Hazel, but she rose to the occasion. It was an intense race for both Hazel and Noelle,” Peacock noted. 

Ashley Andrews took 6th place for Class A posting a time of 21:20.7. 

Noelle Svennungsen, Findley Dezzani, and Hazel Alexander came in 18th-20th place, Svennungsen with a 50 second PR of 21:30.6, Dezzani with a 21:32.8, and Alexander with a 21:33.5.

The varsity boys ran strong taking second place, besting Corvallis by three points. Hardin won class A varsity boys with 56 points.

River Blazejewski took fifth-place for class A posting a time of 16:34.4. Aiyers Powell followed with a 17:35. Mason Colliander took 24th place with a 17:52.4. Cash Short took 37th with an 18:17.   

Another racer, Eamon Shule, excelled into varsity for the first time this season. 

“Eamon is very competitive, he’s always got his foot on the gas,” Peacock noted. Shule ran a 47 second PR with an 18:45.

The JV boys did well, too, winning class A in that division, which bodes well for the future and illustrates the depth of the program.

The Herd of Turtles will travel to Thompson Falls next Saturday. JV and varsity run combined at this meet.