M-ette XC second at Shelby Invite

The Malta M-ettes ran at the Glasgow Scottie Cross Country Meet at Fort Peck last Saturday, September 29.

The overall winner of the varsity girls race that took place at the Downstream Nature Trail in Fort Peck was Eleni Lovgren of Williston High School, who ran speedily over the course with a time of 19:16. Second place went to Trysta Stingley of Riverton who ran in with a time of 19:26. Third place went to Glasgow's Iris McKean who ran a 20:24.

The M-ettes placed individually as follows: Leslie Young took twentieth with a time of 23:04, Jillian O'Brien took twenty-ninth with a time of 23:45, Nikki Nicholson took thirty-sixth with a time of 24:25, Kaycee Bond took fortieth with a time of 25:13, Danie Rhodes took forty-eighth with a time of 27:27, Mira Heitland took forty-ninth with a time of 28:03, and Taylor Gilkerson took fifty-third with a time of 30:02.

Six teams fielded full teams for scoring out of 16 teams represented there and they are as follows: Williston took first with a total of 37 points, Glasgow was second with 41, Dawson County-Glendive took third with 112 points, Custer County-Mile City took fourth with 116, Sidney took fifth with 156 and Malta took sixth with 173.

The overall winner of the JV portion of the girl's race was Sierra Watterud of Williston High School. The Fairview team was the only team that fielded a full team for scoring in that division and their score was 64 points, for first place.

M-ette JV runner Taylor Eggebrecht took twentieth with a time of 33:02 and Chloe Hunter took twenty-second with a time of 38:21.

The Malta M-ette Cross Country team performed well at the Scottie Invitational on the fast paved trail at the Downstream Nature Trail in Fort Peck and nearly every member improving their time and posting personal bests for the season. "This was such an exciting race to see unfold. The conditions were just right with it being cool out and there was hardly a breeze to be found." Coach Thea Solberg stated. "I kept saying that this was the race that a person could run fast and post your best time. It's flat and paved so you can grip and really get going. I really expected the girls to step up and perform and they did. We've had some tough hilly meets the past couple weeks, so this was a welcome relief, a meet to compete with some good competition but also to help us build some confidence and get us pumped up as we get closer to the end of the season."

Nearly eighty runners stood at the start line, waiting to charge ahead over the little bit of prairie grass and cactus they would run on to get to the paved trail. As the race began, the lead group charged ahead and the leaders setting a fast pace and the others following behind, getting into a bottleneck for awhile over the narrow trail as runners jockeyed for position and began to stretch out.

The group ran around the ponds with the powerhouses in the background. Leslie Young, Jillian O'Brien, Nikki Nicholson, and Kaycee Bond settled into the front half of the pack and kept a good steady pace throughout the race. Leslie and Nikki ran very strong and had great kicks to finish with and posted their second best times this season. Jillian and Kaycee both ran with determination and had great finishes to post their personal best for the season, with Kaycee posting a personal best ever for her cross country career. That finish for her was very exciting.

Danie Rhodes, having worked through a hip injury and feeling good, ran a tremendous race and posted her best time of the season. We were so excited to see her drop nearly two minutes from the previous meet. Mira Heitland was able to keep a good steady pace and she too posted her fastest time this year. Taylor Gilkerson, rounding out the varsity runners, posted one of her fastest times this season, running a good strong race.

Taylor Eggebrecht and Chloe Hunter, who ran the JV portion of the race, ran strong and Chloe with one of her fastest runs this season, despite a couple of injuries, and Taylor posting her personal best for the season.

Overall, this meet helped to build confidence when the mid-season can get you down because of hard courses, injuries and weather changes. It gets us excited to work harder and approach our next meets with improved strength and more confidence. Our next action will be at the Browning Invitational on Saturday, October 6.