Six Runners Headed to State

The Malta Cross Country teams headed west to Missoula for the final meet of the season, the state cross country championships, which were to be held on Saturday, October 22.

Kirsta Meisdalen led the M-ettes, finishing 92nd with a time of 24:59. Megan Morser was 133rd with a time of 28:20. Izzie Hallenberg was 147th with a time of 33:37.

Kael Young led the Mustangs with a time of 23:14 and Kash Stiles had a time of 25:08.

The state meet was predicted to be a wet one so we prepared as best we could. The sprinkles began through the mountains and as we arrived at the golf course to do the walk through on Friday afternoon, we put on our fun costumes, a tradition that has been going on for years, and grabbed some umbrellas and prepared to walk the wet course. We were unable to walk the entire course because the sprinkles settled into rain and the wind came up making conditions miserable.

The state cross country championships are the finale of a ten week season of hard work. You work towards this meet all season, and it is an exciting and festive time, filled with apprehension and nervousness until the starting gun fires and all the runners in your race explode into a sea of colorful uniforms representing many schools from all over the state of Montana.

Race day was wet and chilly, but we made our way over to the course and set up our campsite and began preparing for the girls' race, which was the first of the class B races. As I gazed around at all the colorful tents that were set up for the different teams represented, I was amazed at all the umbrellas I saw, almost a phenomena here in Montana knowing that we had had no need for one this past summer with the drought we experienced. But today, an umbrella became your friend. After waiting for the race to start, the rain stopped for a bit, the runners were set to start their race. They gave the final instructions, shot the gun and the race began with a sea of runners exploding south to race into history. However, just as the gun went off, then a double shot was sounded and then the line judge ran out and reported that there were some runners who fell at the start line. So they called all the one hundred and fifty some runners back to the start line, some wondering what had happened and others upset because they had had good positioning to start with and then you would have to go back and regroup and hope you could explode the same way without choking up and wondering if something else would happen. But the runners were reset, called to the line and the gun went off again without a hitch and once again the sea of runners began the race zipping around the course that was very spectator friendly, allowing them to be able to see the runners several times as they looped around jockeying for position. With the throng of runners, the congestion went on for the first mile and that is where Kirsta was settling into. She was running strong and steady; having a great split time at the mile mark while weaving around runners. She tackled the infamous hill and then used the downhill to push into the last third of the race. Kirsta used her strong kick at the last quarter mile of the race to lengthen her stride and pick up the pace and ran into the finish, running her fastest state time in her cross country career. Kirsta commented about her race, "The weather was perfect but the mud made the hill really difficult. Overall, it was a good last race."

Megan had a good race, exploding at the start and kept a good steady pace throughout the race. She was able to push herself up the muddy hill and down, then save enough energy for her speedy kick at the end. She ran a much faster time than last year's meet where she came into it having missed the end of the season, but she ran well and finished strong this year which was very exciting. Her comments about the race were "The hill was a lot more challenging than it looks. I had a fun finishing sprint."

Izzie took off with the rest of the group, and began to work the race and ran smooth and steady, looking much stronger than last year. This season was so much better for her without the leg pain that she experienced all last season, so it was great to see her enjoy her last meet of her cross country career. She pushed herself along the course, up the hill and down and then had a nice kick into the finish line area to post a significantly faster time than last year on this same course. "The meet couldn't have gone any better. I'm still not ready for it to end. That hill was scary difficult. For anyone who wants to run cross country, do it! This is coming from a senior. It's worth it. I loved the rain and the cold added to it," she said after the race.

Kinlie ran her first state cross country race. She was nervous but exploded like the rest of the class B girls, and began to run the race with a strong steady pace. She had improved over this last half the season and had a good last meet in Harlem, so she had the confidence, but the large contention of runners was overwhelming. She worked the course and managed to run into the finish with a nice kick and end the season with one of her fastest races this season and post her first state meet time. "It was a good race. I felt like I pushed myself harder than any other race. The weather was great and made the race better. The only bad things were that they had to restart the race and then the hill," She said of her experience.

The class B boys' race was the largest race of the day, and we had two runners ready to run. Kash and Kael exploded quickly with the sound of the starting gun. I was very happy that their race went off without any problems. They began to fight for a position in a bottleneck that stretched out beyond the mile mark. Coach Lisa and I were able to be right at the mile mark to watch the runners come by fast and furious and Kash was right in with middle of the pack and had a great mile time. He was running strong and fighting his way over the challenging course and tackled the hill that skirts the bottom of Mount Sentinel. As he was descending the hill and working towards the last third of the race, he experienced some problems and then working through them, he pushed himself through the last portion of the race and into the finish area with a great kick all the while being challenged by a Rocky Boy runner who appeared to be drafting off of Kash, causing him to want to push harder to get away. We were very happy that he worked through the breathing problems probably due to the elevation and thick humid air, and fight his way to the finish, with elbows being thrown by the runners. He had a fantastic finish and posted a time similar to his finish of last year. Kash commented about the race, "The start of the race was very aggressive, but throughout the race, the pushing began to ease up. The finish was very exciting as well."

Kael had a great race, this being his first state meet. Not really knowing what to expect, he exploded with Kash, and then worked the race, which was difficult due to the large numbers of runners and the congestion that seemed to go on forever. But he settled in slightly back from the mad aggressive group that Kash was in, worked his way over the course, the hill and then had a great kick at the end to speed past a Shepherd runner who started right next to the Malta boys and post a great first state finish time. He commented about his race "Overall, it was a good race despite the bad weather. PS, the hill sucked."

Coach Lisa and I were very proud of the Malta runners and their gallant efforts at this wet state meet. They all worked very hard, put in good strong efforts and they all finished strong. None of them posted their personal best but with the conditions the way they were, I'm not sure that anyone did. The state meet is exciting and you never know what will happen and how things will turn out. There are always surprises and then there are the disappointments. But the thing that stands out to us coaches and the spectators is that no matter who you are, what team you are from and where you finish in the race, everyone gets cheered for and encouraged as you run over the course and cross the finish line. In everyone's eyes, you are a hero. We have had a great group of student athletes to work with this past season; they are easy to coach and willing to work hard. It has been fun to watch them grow into competitive runners. And we are definitely going to miss our senior runners, Izzie, Kirsta and Olivia who have been great leaders over the course of the season. And as one season ends, we set our sights on next year with excitement.