Malta XC Hosts Meet: Dodson's Posey Fourth, Whitewater's LaBrie Fifth

Marian Hills Golf Course was the site for the 2023 Malta Athletic Club Cross Country Invitational last Saturday, October 7.

Havre's Cross Country teams swept the Men's and Women's events.

The Havre Blue Ponies were led by first place finisher Caleb Tomac, a senior, who had a time of 16:28.1. Ashlyn Ford won the women's race with a time of 19:53.3.

The Havre men had a total of 12 points. Harlem was second with 14. Frazer was third with 40, Dodson was fourth with 41, Chinook was fifth with 44, Fort Benton was sixth with 66, and Malta was seventh with 75.

The Havre Girls won their team event with 10 points, Shelby was second with 23, Chinook was third with 26, Fort Benton was fourth with 37 points, and Dodson was fifth with 49.

Malta

Malta M-ette Megan Morser was Malta's top finisher, placing twentieth in the womens' race with a time of 27:09.9. She was asked about her race.

"It hurt really bad, but I finished it and I didn't stop," Morser said.

Morser has been injured throughout the season, but she also talked about a medical condition that makes it hard for her to run.

"I have Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, which makes my joints pop out easily and grind up against each other a lot," Morser said.

She was then asked how she is able to compete with such a painful condition.

"Thinking about other things like the final sprint at the end the race, keeps my mind off of any pain that I might have," Morser said.

Her final kick during the race was one of many moments of excellence that day.

"It was tough, but the weather was nice and the competition was fun.

Sophomore Kael Young with twenty-seventh in the mens' race with a time of 22:09.5. He said that the race wasn't his best, but it wasn't bad.

In so many words, Young was surprised to see the amount of spectators at this year's meet.

"I'm surprised there is not like five people here," Young said. "The cheerleaders actually came which never happens."

When asked how he felt about the crowd and the Malta Cheer Team showing up, he offered a simple response.

"I'm tired," Young said.

Sophomore Michael Mayer was fortieth with a time of 26:.21.3. It was the first Malta Invitational of his career.

"I thought it was alright," he said. "I had a little 'oopsies' coming down on this one part. Other than that it felt pretty good."

He said that he was hurting a little but he pushed through.

"As I was hurting more and more in my legs, I just kept pushing it because I knew that I was one step closer to the finish," Mayer said.

He said that training and warming up will be the key to improving his time next weekend in Harlem.

Junior Kash Stiles ran his first race in a few weeks and was able to finish forty-third with a time of 27:59.2.

"I started off pretty good," Stiles said. "I started off strong. I was right behind Kael for the first mile, and my achilles started acting up."

When approaching the largest hill of the course, he couldn't find his breathing and his time suffered.

Stiles was asked about the crowd at the event.

"It's pretty good," Stiles said. "There is a lot of support, a lot of people showed up to support the runners."

Whitewater

The highest finisher amongst all Phillips County runners was Lady Penguin Shelby LaBrie, a junior who finished fourth with a time of 21:33.9.

"It went pretty good," LaBrie said. "I struggled with my side but it was still a pretty good time for the course, I guess."

She was asked about runners at the top which includes Havre's Ford, Shelby's Aeris Stewart who finished second, third place finisher Neva Low of Chinook (20:29.3), and Havre's Hailey Gingery, who finished fifth with a time of 21:36.1.

"I am just thankful to have good competition because it is fun to run with people that you can compete with and people that can push you."

Senior teammate Ava Hanley finished nineteenth with a time of 26:53.5. She felt that her race was pretty good.

"My average pace in the first two miles was a lot faster than I thought that it would be," Hanley said. "The goal for the last mile was just to stay on that same pace and not fall behind."

Hanley has run at the Malta Invitational all four years, and she said that this year's time was her best. She was asked about the course.

"It is really challenging, but this week we did a lot of hills for our workouts and it was windy," she said. "I think it helped me do a lot better, though no one likes to do hills for practice."

Dodson

The top finisher amongst Phillips County runners in the mens' race was Dodson Coyote sophomore Donavan Posey, who was fifth and ran a time of 18:15.9. He was asked about his race.

"It was good," Posey said. "The only thing that was challenging was that it wasn't really flat. It was more lumpy, but it was really good."

Posey played football last fall for Harlem before he transferred to Dodson.

"I've been running all of my life and I got injured (in football) last year," Posey said. "So, I thought that I would try a new sport and see how it is."

He said that he has been enjoying running, and he loved the sport after his second race.

"It's what I want to do after high school," Posey.

He was asked what was so special about that race, that made him fall in love with cross country.

"Just the competition in general," Posey said. "All of these different schools. All of these different kids that I never saw before. Now it's a pleasure to compete against them."

He was asked what he thought of the Malta meet.

"I loved it," Posey said. "It was very challenging and I will be back next year, for sure."

In the womens' race Baylee Johnson finished seventeenth with a time of 25:55.4.

"It was good but I just need to compete with a strong heart," Johnson said.

Junior Stiffarm finished nineteenth in the mens' race with a time of 21:44.2.

"It was hard," Stiffarm said. "I came into this race knowing that it was going to be hard but I really didn't expect it to be this different with all of these hills. You really have to learn where to go and where to ease off a little bit."

He said that the last mile was the hardest because of the hills.

"When I came around the last stretch, my coaches were there to cheer me on and yell at me. It helped me pull through," Stiffarm said.

Having already qualified for state, Stiffarm was asked how a race like Malta's could benefit runners as the state meet approaches.

"I think it could teach me how to attack these hills," Stiffarm said. "Spend more of my energy going up the hill and just letting the hills take me down."

Sophomore Lance Snow was twenty-sixth in this second Malta Invitational with a time of 22:05.8.

"This year, I did pretty good," Snow said. "I did four minutes better than I did last year. I have been improving every single meet."

He said that he wants to get down to twenty minutes. He was asked what the key has been for with weekly improvement.

"Our coaches give us hard practices, they teach us ways to conserve our energy, and attack different terrain," Snow said. "Like hills, sprint up them and then just let them glide you down."

Freshman Precious Stiffarm was thirty-second in the womens' race with a time of 31:00.1.

Junior Amara "Big Mars" Cochran was thirty-third with a time of 32:10.1.

"It was really hard," Cochran said. "The hills burned really bad. But the end was really nice with a steady incline. It was a good run."

Cochran really wanted to qualify for state in Malta, but was unable to do so. She will have one more chance to do it, in Harlem, the school that she transferred from. The Harlem meet will take place on Friday, October 13, at the Harlem Golf Course.

Cochran was asked what it would take for her to cut time off and reach her goal.

"A good mindset, strong heart, a lot of soul, and good training," Cochran said.

Johnson, who is also a Harlem transfer, already qualified for state, but she expressed that she wants to compete her best and reach her goal of nineteen minutes. She was asked what she would need to do to compete hard at her old high school.

"A strong pace, and having a strong heart," Johnson said.