Malta Runs at Frazer, Mountain West Classic

The Malta Cross Country team traveled nearly 950 miles this past week and not all of it took place over a golf course. The team traveled to Frazer on Thursday, September 26 for the annual meet there, a beautiful area over looking the Missouri River at what is called Clarks Hill, in the middle of farmland and prairie. This meet is known for its figure eight running course where you go up and down the hills, running on dirt roads. It's one of the most spectator friendly courses we compete on, allowing a view of the runners from start to finish. It has been dubbed a tough course with the hills but it is a great course that helps you to see how strong you are at mid season. In the past we have found that someone always runs their best time here despite the fact that it has such a reputation for being hard.

Megan Morser, our lone M-ette runner lined up with the other runners that were packed into a narrow starting line. With final instructions and the sound of the gun, the pack of varsity runners took off into the west wind and worked through the hilly course. Megan had a good start and then worked hard to get up that first hill where the mile mark was and was right on her target as she sped by us. The second mile was a little slower but she was looking pretty strong and working the gradual long hill but once she got to the top, could lengthen her stride and then got momentum going to finish the last mile, which has a nice flat area after you come up that last gradual hill. She began her fast finish early and then kicked it in to post a 22nd place which was the top half of the group and got a time of 25:50 which was a new personal best for her, her fastest race of her cross country career! Commenting about her run she said "I am very excited that I PR'd (personal record)! The hill was intimidating but went by fast. Overall, it felt good and I am happy!" We coaches were happy as well. She has been working hard this week with some tough practices, hot temperatures, and recovering from the crud going around.

Kash Stiles was our lone Mustang runner for this meet. The wind died down from its fierceness of the early afternoon before the varsity boys started their race. Kash took off well with the group after the gun went off and dashed around the course looking strong. He was pretty much on his mark at the mile but the second mile proved to be tough for him, he was off his mark some but kept running and working it out and used his strong leg muscles to propel him up the hills, and then to kick it in to the finish line. He placed 63rd and had a time of 25:23 which was his personal best for this season! We were really happy for his performance. He is still working on qualifying for state but that was by far the best performance of the season and shows that he is getting more endurance and strength, and just at the right time. Kash commented after the race, "It was a challenging meet for sure, but none the less I ran the fastest I have run all year long! Many people were there to cheer us on, all two of us as it was just Megan and I running today!"

Friday we were in the same vehicle but this time we were heading west to Missoula for the big Mountain West Classic races on Saturday September 27. It felt like we barely had time to recover from the excitement of the Frazer meet and here we were heading to the other end of the state for our first ever experience at this big meet. This has been a large meet that invites runners from Washington, Idaho, and Montana to test their skills on the University Golf Course at the University of Montana campus. The weather was beautiful for the trip over and proved to be the same on race day, Saturday September 28.

This is a great meet to experience because of the number of participants and also it is a preview of the state course that takes place in a month. The state cross country meet will be held at this same venue giving all those that participated in the Mountain West Classic a chance to see how they fair at mid season and then prepare them for their state race. There were probably over 1600 runners in six races that included middle school girls and boys, junior varsity girls and boys and varsity girls and boys. Kash Stiles and Kael Young, runners for the Mustang team, lined up at the start line with nearly 500 other runners representing 90 schools for the varsity boy's race. There were many runners of varying caliber and when the gun went off to start the race, they shot out with an explosion of colorful uniforms and would soon make their way round the course, up and down the infamous hill that skirts the bottom of Mount Sentinel, and finally a slight downhill into the finish line. The race was pretty congested at the beginning as runners jockeyed for position but it was hard with so many running. Despite the congestion, Kael was right on target as he came by the mile mark and we knew it would be a challenge the next mile because that is where the hill is. He worked the hill and then we saw him sailing down in good shape, and was off his mark a little by the second mile point and would have to work hard to finish well in the last mile. He had a great kick into the finish where he placed 468th and had a time of 23:12. We were happy with that time because he had worked the course well and was still recovering from the crud from a few days before. He commented that the hill was really though because it is three tiered. You go up one part, levels off to catch your breath and then there's another part and then a break and finally you get up the third one and can then stretch things out for the downhill. "It was a very pretty place to run along with the opportunity to run before state. I had a really enjoyable finish with lots of people and competition."

Kash ran the course well, but was off his mark a little at the mile but continued on steadily and used his strength to get up that hilly area and stretch out his long legs to the second mile mark. He was still off a little and we were hoping he would pick up steam as he worked his way towards the finish. He had a great kick into the finish area and placed 484th and had a time of 26:30, which was a little slower than his best time from Thursday at Frazer. We felt he had a good race and got great experience and will be more mentally ready for the state race in a month. Kash said "It was very rough today. Doing two meets in three days was very hard. It was pretty difficult."

Megan ran the varsity girls race with a large number of girls representing 84 schools. She had a good start after the gun went off and a sea of runners headed out, congested like the boys race, jockeying for position as they wove around the course and up and down the hill. When Megan came by the mile mark, she looked good and was near her target time. She ran the race looking strong and we even saw her pass several runners on the hill, a feat that is hard to do and very impressive. She used her kick at the end to pass several runners and placed 368th and had a time of 27:19, which was her second fastest time this season. We were very happy for her considering she was hurting and that she had just posted her PR at the Frazer meet two days before. She had a great race, she gained good experience and will be more mentally ready for the state meet. "It was a pretty place to run and has a challenging hill. I am okay with my time but I hurt. It was good to run the state course."

Coach Lisa and I were so excited for our runners to be able to participate at this meet. What a great opportunity to run with many runners from all over the northwest and of varying talents. We used this race as a training race to gain much experience. We knew they wouldn't probably run their fastest races after participating at the Frazer meet just a couple days before, but anytime you can compete, you become stronger and wiser. This was probably the largest race they would ever compete in unless they run races post high school. We were very thankful that we were able to make the trek over and experience for the first time this incredible meet. We look forward to the rest of the season and how things unfold for our runners. Our next action will take place at Fort Peck on Saturday October 5th for the Scottie Invitational Meet.