Cross Country Teams Tackle the Frazer Course

The Malta, Whitewater, and Dodson cross country teams headed to Frazer on Thursday, September 23, for the Frazer Invitational.

The race was held at Clark's Hill, overlooking the Missouri River, just west of Frazer.

The overall winner of the race was Annie Kaul of Plentywood, with a time of 19:53. Second was Iris McKean of Glasgow (20:19), and third went to Mya Green from Scobey (20:43).

Kira Beck was the top M-ette at the finish line, coming in 23rd place with a time of 25:58. Kirsta Meisdalen finished in 26th with a time of 26:16. Megan Morser finished in 40th and Izzie Hallenberg finished in 47th with times of 29:07 and 38:12 respectively.

"Coach Lisa and I were very pleased with their performance," said Coach Solberg. "Frazer is not an easy course with two long hills and one short steep one that leaves you breathless as you get to the top, and the long downhills proved to help the girls lengthen their strides and push with all their strength as they worked their way back to the finish line."

The race began with nearly 50 runners packed into a small starting area," said Coach Thea Solberg. "Kira and Kirsta got a good start but commented that it was hard to get a good position for awhile. They both managed to stay near the top half of the runners and showed strength and perseverance."

Megan Morser was the only M-ette to post a personal best at the meet, cutting almost a half a minute off her time.

"She had a good start, she kept a good steady pace and worked those hills and the downhill portions," said Coach Solberg. "She's a very coachable runner and is gaining confidence as she gets stronger. Izzie improved her time from the Fort Peck meet, which is great on this hilly, tough course. She's been suffering with shin splints and the softer surface was a boon for her."

"The Whitewater Penguins had a tough long week this past week," said Coach Carly Hammond. "I had three girls compete at the Frazer Invitational on Thursday and one attended the Centerville Gulch Trail Run on Saturday, September 25."

At Frazer, Sammie Wisher was the top Penguin to finish, coming in sixth place with a time of 22:30. Kendra Cummings came in 22nd (25:49), and Ava Hanley was the third Penguin across the line in 34th place (28:18).

"What a great course! A lot of hills with recovery in between," said Coach Hammond. "This definitely took some strategizing on the girls' part to run a good race. They all did a great job of attacking the uphill and using the downhill to recover and cut some time."

On Saturday, September 25, Coach Hammond took runner Shelbi LaBrie to Centerville, MT.

"I've never been there, so it was a fun little trip," said Hammond. "I was a little disappointed that Shelbi had missed the course in Frazer, but it turned out that Centerville's course was just as challenging. The first 1.5 miles of it were all uphill.

LaBrie won the meet with a winning time of 24:30. In second place was Kendal Garber (26:02), and in third was Aubrey Johnson (26:48), both from Belt/Centerville.

"I can't say she had fun running it, but she came out on top," said Hammond. "It wasn't the time we were hoping for, but we can see where we need to go from here so that we are ready for the state meet in Missoula."

The Dodson Coyotes had two boys and two girls run at the Frazer Meet.

In the boys' race, Mason LoneBear led the way for the Coyotes, finishing in 35th place with a time of 23:07. He was followed by Jeremiah Henry in 40th place with a time of 23:53.

In the girls' race, Lindsey Fetter led the way for the team finishing in 24th place with a time of 26:04. Imagin Fox finished in 37th place with a time of 28:39.

They also had one participant in the 1.5 mile race for middle school runners. Sonny Cole finished in 52nd place with a time of 15:50.