Phillips County XC Teams At State; Whitewater Takes 5th

The Phillips County cross country teams assembled one last time in Missoula at the University of Montana Golf Course for the 2021 State Cross Country Meet on Saturday, October 23.

For the girl's Class C race, the Whitewater foursome arrived in Missoula on Friday, ready for their walk-throughs at 4 p.m.

"The girls were nervous to see what kind of course we were in for," said Head Coach Carly Hammond. "We had heard all week that there was a giant hill in the course. Once we ran the course and saw what we were up against, the girls were jacked. They were very confident that this was a doable course."

The weather on Saturday was perfect for running. It was 50 degrees with no wind to speak of.

The girl's Class C race was the last race of the day.

"That was actually kind of torture having to watch the other races with anticipation for our own," said Hammond.

With 107 girls at the starting line, the first part of the race was essential to fight for a good position, Hammond went on to say. A couple of the girls got boxed in for the first half-mile of the race, but once the runners started to spread out, they were able to set their pace and looked nice and relaxed.

"The girls planned on attacking and using that hill as an advantage to pass other runners," said Hammond. "There were girls that walked and there were girls that cried getting up that hill."

Before the race started, Shelbi LaBrie was heard saying, "Be excited about the worst parts of the race! I'm excited to get up to the top of that hill!"

"I don't think there was any other runner in that whole race that ran that hill the way Shelbi did," said Hammond. "She was sprinting up that thing, arms going as hard as they could."

With about 300 meters left, LaBrie was neck and neck with a runner from Shelby. She beat her by .04 seconds. Her finish gave her seventh place overall with a time of 21:37. Giving her All-State honors.

Sammie Wisher finished in 17th place with a time of 22:37. Falling just two spots short of All-State honors.

"Her goal was to get into that top 15," said Hammond. "It's heartbreaking to fall just short of that. I'm confident that she is going to put in the work for next year and come back stronger than ever."

Kendra Cummings finished in 44th with a time of 25:09 and Ava Hanley finished in 69th place with a time of 26:54.

"Kendra had an awesome finish," said Coach Hammond. "This season she has mentally become a much stronger runner. I think she did everything she could to run that race perfectly."

Hammond continued, "Ava had a strong finish as well. As a runner, she is more naturally a sprinter, so her kicks at the end have always been a good section of the race for her. I think she finally made her breakthrough for the season, running her best time ever. I'm confident she will carry this race into next year and better herself from there."

Hammond also commented on the crowd saying, "I'm fairly certain we had the largest crowd there out of all of the class C teams. Either that or our parents are the loudest. We are so fortunate to have the support we do and it made the difference on the day of the race for all of those girls. I couldn't be more proud of the girls. It was an exciting end and we have big goals for next year. We plan on continuing to build the program up to make Whitewater a "Cross Country" town.....according to me anyway."

The Dodson Coyotes had two of their young runners in the Class C girl's race.

Lindsey Fetter finished in 74th place with a time of 27:39, and Imagin Fox finished in 91st place with a time of 30:20.

The overall winner for the Class C girl's race was Lindsey Paulson from Belt/Centerville with a time of 19:00. Second place went to Annie Kaul from Plentywood (19:56), and third went to Mya Green from Scobey (19:59).

The team title went to Manhattan Christian with 47 points, followed by Culbertson (59), and Park City in third (66). The Whitewater foursome finished in 5th place with 68 points.

The Class C boy's race had 111 participants in it. Three of which were the young freshmen from Dodson.

Chaske Cliff led the Dodson team finishing in 50th place with a time of 21:34. Teammate Mason Lonebear finished in 58th place and a time of 22:00, and Jeremiah Henry finished in 75th place with a time of 23:35.

With a team point total of 183, the Coyotes finished in 14th place in the meet.

"All three freshman boys really stepped up their game and stayed within sight of each other," said Coach Tianna Bloomer. "I am very proud of the effort they put in. The girls ran their race at their normal pace. All of my runners commented that the hill was difficult, but they enjoyed the course and were blown away by how many people were there. We had quite a few people show up to support them all, so that was really nice. We were able to spread out along the course to keep encouraging them. Overall, I am really pleased with their outcomes."

In the Class B boy's race, the lone Mustang runner, Malin Beck finished in 170th place with a time of 24:31.

"It was very nerve-racking seeing so many runners at the start, but as soon as the gun went off, the nerves went away," said Malin. "I think the hardest part was the hill. I didn't PR, but I did beat my sisters' time, which counts as a win in my book."

"Malin had to fight for a position in a bottleneck that didn't stretch out till nearly the mile mark," said Coach Thea. "He ran strong and steady and fought his way over the challenging course and even tackled the hill that skirts the bottom of Mount Sentinal and pushed into the finish with a great kick."

The Class B boy's race was the largest race of the day, with 178 racers lined up to start.

Brandon Emineth from Red Lodge won the race with a time of 16:38. Isaac Reynolds from Lincoln County got second (16:54), and Jack Jensen of Bigfork was third (16:58).

The high line's Peyton Summer of Wolf Point was 5th (17:09), and Reed Larsen of Glasgow finished in 7th (17:30).

The team title went to Bigfork with 100 points. Second went to Three Forks (118), and Lincoln County was third (150).

The Class B girl's race was the second largest of the day with 154 runners at the start.

The Malta M-ettes were led by Kirsta Meisdalen in 86th place with a time of 25:04. Kira Beck finished close behind her in 89th place (25:10). Megan Morser finished in 142nd place with a time of 31:09 and Izzie Hallenberg finished in 152nd place with a time of 35:09.

"The hill was a challenge, but the Ready-Mix, M-trail, and golf course hills really helped out preparing us for it," Kirsta said through smiles. "The weather was absolutely perfect for a race and it was a great day to make memories with the team."

Kira also commented on the hill, "That was the hardest part of the race. It felt like it sucked the life out of me, but all in all, it was the perfect day for a state meet."

Freshman Megan Morser experienced her first state race but unfortunately wasn't able to practice for a couple of weeks prior due to being in quarantine.

"She ran steady and with a smile on her face the whole race," said Coach Solberg. "She still had that explosive finish that we've grown to love."

"There were a lot more people than I am used to at a meet and it went by faster than I expected," said Morser. "My final sprint was the most fun I have had this season."

"Izzie had a great race, running her second fastest race this season," said Coach Thea. "She ran steadily over the challenging course and even made a comment that the hill wasn't that bad because she just kept going even when other runners were walking."

"I really enjoyed state and even though it wasn't my best time, I was proud that I was able to cut twenty-eight seconds," said Izzie. "It was a pretty tough course and I still managed to cut time."

"It was a great day for racing," said Coach Thea. "And even though they didn't have personal bests, all of our runners put out good efforts and finished strong. This was a great bunch of student-athletes, very coachable and willing to work hard. We are very proud of the efforts they have established this season. We are already looking forward to next year with excitement."