Malta Hosts MAC Invitational

The Malta Cross Country Team hosted the 2022 Malta Athletic Club Invitational with a total of 87 runners present at Marian Hills Golf Course.

The event started with a new ceremony, a Senior Walk, an event that honored three M-ette Seniors, which included Izzie Hallenberg, Kirsta Meisdalen, and Olivia Negus.

The PCN caught up with Hallenberg, who thought of the idea.

"I wanted it to be special for us seniors this year because we always have to share (the night) with football or volleyball," Hallenberg said.

She brought the idea up to Malta Athletic Director Desiree Egger and the event was held. The seniors were walked up to the finish line with their families by their side, similar to Senior Night events in any other MHS sport.

"I liked the walk up," Hallenberg said. "It was kind of cool and I like how we got to walk up to the finish line."

The event featured runners from 13 different schools. Glasgow won the boys meet with a total of 15 points, Fort Benton was second with 61, and Harlem was third with 63. Glasgow also won the girls meet with 22 points. Shelby was second with 54 points, Chinook was third with 65, Frazer was fourth with 102, and Malta was fifth with 114.

Girls

The girls' meet was won by Glasgow's Tanae Baker who posted a time of 19:15.6. Whitewater's Shelbi LaBrie took second place in the race with a time of 20:02.7. Glasgow's Emily See was third with a time of 20:14.3.

Malta was led by Kirsta Meisdalen who was seventeenth with a time of 24:57.6.

"My goal was 24:30, so I was pretty close," Meisdalen said. "I raced in with a girl from Shelby and she didn't see me until 20 meters from the finish line."

The runner that Meisdalen tried to catch was Ellie Munson, and though they finished with an identical time of 24:57.6., Munson finished sixteenth, possibly beating Meisdalen by a hair.

"The sun was a little bit bright because the second mile, we were running towards it but it was nice and cool and there was a nice breeze," Meisdalen said.

M-ette Megan Morser was thirty-fourth with a time of 30:36. Izzie Hallenberg was thirty-seventh with a time of 31:00.9. Kinlie Cummings was forty-first with a time of 35:42.6 and Olivia Negus was forty-third with a time of 39:38.5.

Hallenberg, who has been with Malta all four years, was asked how it felt to run in her last M-ette meet.

"I am feeling pretty good actually," Hallenberg said. "I cut time from last year in Malta. Sophomore year, I ran a 35, last year I ran a 36, and this year I ran a 31 flat."

As far as running conditions, Hallenberg felt that the race was hot and that the hills were "deadly." She also said that she was sad that it was the last home meet for the senior class.

Hallenberg and Meisdalen were asked what it has been like to be an M-ette Cross Country Runner.

"I like working to help people get across the finish line," Hallenberg said. "I am all about the team spirit."

She knew that Morser, her teammate was having a rough time, naturally, she yelled at her in an encouraging fashion.

"Anybody that was next to me, I made sure that they kept going with me," Hallenberg said. "In Shelby, I helped a girl qualify for state. She cut six minutes off of her time. She had shin splints and a rolled ankle. I like the team spirit that cross country has and we are all good to each other. We tell each other 'good job' when we pass each other. We work together and get to the end together."

Meisdalen pointed out that many don't watch the sport of cross country, but she painted a picture of the sportsmanship present in the sport.

"It means a lot because you see all of these other schools with their small teams and yet it's the other teams that cheer them on at the meets," Meisdalen said. "Rivals cheer each other on and it's really cool to watch that and be a part of it as an M-ette. It means a lot to watch that."

Negus, a Michigan native, who transferred from New Mexico, participated in her first and last Malta Invitational. She shared her thoughts on her home meet.

"I feel it went pretty good," Negus said. "I didn't qualify like I wanted to, but I didn't expect to because I was out with a knee injury."

Negus said that she was very happy that she could run the race.

"The hills did kill me a little bit, especially that last one, but other than that, I pushed through and made it to the finish line," Negus said.

Being that the runners typically do not have a lot of family with them at every meet, Negus was asked how it felt to have her mother, father and siblings at the race.

"It gave me a lot of motivation and helped me push through it," Negus said.

This is the first year that Negus has run cross country since sixth grade.

"It's been pretty good," she said. "I have seen a lot of improvement since the beginning of the season. When I first started, I wasn't able to run the first three miles and now I can run the first three miles and a little bit more than that."

Whitewater was well represented in the girls' meet. LaBrie was second with a time of 20:02. Samantha Wisher was sixth with a time of 21:34.1. Ava Hanley was twenty-ninth with a time of 28:58.5. Kendra Cummings also attended the meet, but was pulled due to injury.

Dodson's Jazlyn Flansburg was thirty-ninth with a time of 32:27.

Boys

For the boys, Glasgow took five of the top six spots. The Scotties were led by Reed Larson and Kyler Holinde who took first and second respectively. Larsen posted a time of 17:07.2 and Holinde had a time of 18:11. Shelby's Allen Flores was third with a time of 18:37.8.

Malta was led by sophomore Kash Stiles who had a time 21:51 and finished seventeenth. Freshman Kael Young was twenty-fourth with a time of 21:51.8.

Also competing for the boys was Dodson's Lance Snow, who posted a time of 26:50 and finished thirty-sixth. Snow, a freshman, was asked how he has been enjoying the sport of cross country.

"It's pretty good," Snow said. "It's nice to run around but it's nice to just challenge yourself and get less time each time. You try to PR each meet but it gets harder throughout the year."

His current best if 26:25, a time that he wants to beat in Harlem next week. Before the year ends, Snow wants to get below the 25 minute mark, so he was asked what he will do to improve as the season comes to an end.

"Lots of practice," Snow said. "You have to control your breath and control your pace. That's what keeps you good."