M-ettes XC Earn 17th at State

If there could have been a trophy awarded for the weather, today would have gotten it. With clear, azure blue skies, not a wisp of a breeze, and warm 65 -degree temperatures, it was a picture perfect day for running. The green grass and the golden trees were a pleasing contrast of color. Dotting the sky was an occasional colorful Para-glider soaring above the golf course and Mount Sentinel. Spectators were lightly dressed compared to the cold windy state meet of the previous year where all manner of winter wear could be seen. No goosebumps were visible on the one 145 e runners waiting at the start line area for any last minute details before the blast of the starting gun. I couldn’t remember a nicer day.

Spectators were treated to a very viewer friendly course and were able to see the runners several times as they looped around, going up and down the hill as they jockeyed for position, pushing forward and never counting on any runner to stay in their comfortable position for very long. The top runners battled it out over the course, trading places many times.

The eventual overall winner of the Class B girl’s race was Whitney Hanson of Colstrip, who speedily ran over the course with a time of 19:31. Second place honors went to Natalie Lile of Huntley Project who ran just seconds behind with a time of 19:37. And Hayley Burns of Colstrip ran into a third-place finish with a time of 19:42.

The M-ette runners all got off to a good start even though the start of this big race was very congested as the girls sprinted forward from the wide-open area south of the clubhouse and then had to funnel into the brightly flagged running lane. Each one looked good and their mile split times were right about where we had hoped they would be. The infamous three-tiered hill that skirts Mount Sentinel and is in the middle of the race near the two-mile mark proved to be more challenging than when we walked it the day before. Danie Rhodes said she was determined not to walk up like some of the other runners were doing.

“I passed five runners, it was tough!” she said.

Nikki Nicholson, Jillian O’Brien and Mira Heitland all echoed the same statement about how tough it was. Jillian said there wasn’t much recovery time once you got to the top and then a sudden downhill with loose rocks and you found yourself at the two-mile mark. Cruising the last mile was mental and runners had to dig deep for an ounce of strength left to finish strong. Many teams in the area had already tackled this course, having gained experience from participation in the Mountain West Classic cross country meet held in September.

Leslie Young battled to stay in the top half of the runners and finished with a similar time she posted in Helena at the state meet last year. She’s a hard worker and finished this race with a good strong kick. Nikki and Jillian ran together most of the race pushing each other along, and Nikki striding ahead in the last mile with a burst of speed and finished second for the team. She has gained good experience as the year has progressed. Jillian is a hard worker and keeps up with the top group, and she too finished with a burst of speed and recorded a finish time of almost the exact time she had last state meet by one second. Kaycee Bond has been running smart and shot out comfortably, getting settled into a good pace and then taking one runner at a time as she cruised over the course and kicked it into the finish lane passing several runners and ended with a time just a few seconds off last year’s finish. Danie had a great race after having suffered from some injuries, kept a steady pace, passing runners on the hill and pushed it in and passed runners in the finish lane and posted her second fastest time this season. Senior Taylor Gilkerson, running the last race of her cross country career, and having been sidelined most of last season with a season-ending foot injury, ran steadily and strong and pushed it into the finish line and posted a personal best, which was her same exact time from Malta Meet back in September. That was a great way to end her four years of cross country. And rounding out the state runners was exchange student Mira, who ran steady but had a little trouble on the hill, ended her last race in the USA with a good strong kick. She has been a delight to have on the team not having any running experience but was willing to try it and enjoyed the experience and being able to tour around the state to the different meets.

It was a great day for racing; all the girls put out good efforts and finished strong. The state meet is exciting, you never know how things will turn out, and there are surprises and sometimes disappointments. We didn’t accomplish our goal of placing in the top ten, but many memories were made and good experience gained. This was a great bunch of student-athletes, very coachable and willing to work hard. We will sorely miss our four senior runners, who have been fun to have, who work hard and have exemplified great leadership. We are very proud of the efforts of all the girls and their good attitudes and good work ethics they have established this season. We are already looking forward to next year with excitement.

Results of the Malta Mette’s performance in the Class B girls’ race of 145 participants:

1. Leslie Young, 70th, 23:52

2., Nikki Nicholson, 87th, 24:56

3., Jillian O’Brien, 92nd, 25:07

4., Kaycee Bond, 116th, 27:02

5., Danie Rhodes, 121st, 27:45

6., Taylor Gilkerson, 132nd, 29:32

7., Mira Heitland, 137nd, 30:11

Team Score: Mette’s placed 17th with 486 points out of 18 teams fielding full teams for scoring.

1., Manhattan, 1st place, 74 points

2., Colstrip, 2nd, 98

3., Broadwater, 3rd, 130

4., Glasgow, 4th, 157