Harriers compete at the Mountain West Classic in Missoula

It would be an early morning wakeup call for the Herd of Turtles as they made a long road trip to Missoula for the Mountain West Classic Saturday.

“Overall, the kids had quality races in Missoula. The Mountain West Classic is a fun event, but it can be a tricky racing experience. It’s the largest high school race of the season. I counted 86 teams. A good percentage of Montana’s schools were there, and there were teams from Idaho and Washington. There were 461 finishers in the boys varsity race and 421 in the girls. The races are congested, and it’s tricky for runners to gauge where they stand and how their pace is placing them with their competition. That being said, the team did a good job handling the crowd of runners,” said head coach Jim Peacock.

Both teams did well.

 “The boys were led by Connor Jordan again this week. He finished 74th in the race and 12th out of Class A competitors. His finish time of 17.25 is fast for a sophomore in this race. Only one Class A sophomore ran faster. Eamon Schule kept in touch with Jordan much of the race. He finished 30 seconds back in 113th place. Gabe Coburn, Keian Moran, and Brayden Swope all finished within nine seconds of each other. Gabe was 212th, Keian 221st, and Brayden 232nd. This is a good example of how crowded this race is when 20 places were separated by only nine seconds. Gabe’s race was a personal best time, and he is continuing to get better and better after coming off a goodsummer of training. As these boys keep gaining confidence and experience, the team should continue to improve their chances late in the season,” said Peacock.

“The girls had another good week of growth. I was pleased with how hard they raced and their competitive effort. They keep getting a little better every meet and are racing confidently. All the girls ran well, and half our girls ran personal best times on a slower course. They finished 27th out of 55 scoring teams. They were sixth out of 14 Class A teams. Noelle Svennungsen led the girls, finishing 94th overall, making her the 15th Class A runner across the line. As the team’s number two runner, Tessa Pacheco wasn’t too far back, finishing 132nd and 20th out of Class A runners,” added Peacock.

Up next, the Herd will head to Thompson Falls on Friday.

“This is a little smaller meet in our schedule and is a nice contrast to Mountain West’s chaotic atmosphere,” said Peacock.