LaBrie first, Posey third at Malta Meet

The Malta Cross Country Team hosted the Malta Athletic Club Invitational last Saturday, October 12, at Marian Hills Golf Course, and despite a cold start with near freezing temps, things warmed up for 77 athletes.

Harlem won the boys' meet with a total of 23 points. Havre was second with 49, and Dodson was third with 54. The girls' meet was won by Havre, who had 18 points. Harlem was second with 5 points.

Girls' Race

Whitewater senior Shelbi LaBrie took first place in the varsity meet and second overall with a time of 19:51.09. She was asked how the run went in her opinion.

"It went pretty good. It was perfect weather and that always helps," LaBrie said. "I like it to be a little cooler. It's also nice to know the ground really well, where you're running to try to have a better strategy on the race. And seeing familiar faces while you're running is always fun too. It was nice to have a little bit of a crowd that knows you and you know them."

She was asked what makes the Malta course so challenging.

"I'd say what makes it a little more challenging is there's a lot of rolling hills, it's not a whole lot of flat," LaBrie said. "You're either going up or downhill for the most part, but I also like it in the fact that it helps break up the course really nice, and so there's good points that you kind of look forward to and stuff, which I like that about this course and none of the hills are super long, but there's enough of them to where they can start adding up."

She said that the last upward climb to the finish line seems like a blur.

"It seems like you're going up a long ways and you're like, oh, I'm almost at the top, then seems like a little bit later, okay, I'm almost to the top, a little bit later, I'm still almost at the top; you never quite get there, but when you do, then it's like, okay, I'm almost done."

Second place went to Chinook junior Neva Lowe, who had a time of 20:05.59. Havre senior Hailey Gingery was third with a time of 20:20.14. Chinook's Alexus Seymour, a senior, was fourth with a time of 21:18.

Chinook Sophomore Ashlyn Ford was first overall with a time of 18:46.39. Ford was running in the junior varsity due to her transfer from Havre. Ford is ranked fourth in the state for girls in all classes.

Malta senior Megan Morser had a time of 27:25.59 and was 20th in the varsity standings. Morser was asked about her final Malta Meet performance.

"I think that it went okay," Morser said. "The temperature felt really good for the meet and I still got my sprint at the end so I'm happy."

The temperature was at or around 42 degrees by the time the girls race started.

"I started with my sweatshirt on to kind of help with that and then shed it the first mile, so after that it was fine," Morser said.

Whispers could be heard that Malta's course is a little tougher than Missoula's.

"It's a pretty tough course with all the hills, and the ground's not quite even in some spots, so it's hard on your ankles, but you can get through it," Morser said.

Morser and teammate Kash Stiles were honored as seniors prior to the race.

"It's really nice to have that recognition as seniors and bonding as a family," Morser said.

Dodson sophomore Kashton Siers was right behind Morser and finished 21st with a time of 27:41.26.

"I usually do better like I have in other races this season," Siers said. "But today my knee just gave out along the last part of the race, so I couldn't finish as hard as I wanted to. It kind of bummed me out."

Siers was asked about her favorite race of the season, and she pointed to the Frazer race held on Thursday, September 26, where she earned her personal best of 26:36.2.

"The hills really burned and I thought I did worse than I did, but I did better than I thought and I just really liked it," Siers said.

She improved her best with a time of 26:23.5 in the Scottie Meet on Friday, October 5.

Dodson's Precious Stiffarm, a sophomore, was 28th with a time of 30:49.17.

"I feel like it went pretty good," Stiffarm said.

She said that going down the hills is her favorite part of the race and running uphill is her least favorite part.

"The ending was pretty good," Stiffarm said.

Though her time wasn't official due to when she ran the course, Whitewater junior Sommer Green had a time of 34:28, cutting time off of her personal record. Green ran the course with LaBrie, Coach Hammond, and Bobbi Knudsen after she sang the National Anthem at the Annual Big Flat Electric Meeting.

LaBrie, last year's Class C Champ was asked what are some ways that she could improve her running.

"Breathing is a big one for me," LaBrie said. "I get sideaches, so I am always working on staying relaxed and breathing, working on my stride and keeping my head up and my arms going good."

She also said that it is important to know the terrain, when to maintain, when to kick.

Boys' Race

Dodson junior Donovan Posey was third overall in the boys' race with a new personal best of 17:42.27.

"I remember this meet, and I did way better today, than I did last year," Posey said. "I woke up with a chip on my shoulder and was like, I am gonna PR today."

Posey said that he worked hard this summer to improve his running and even participated in camps this past summer as far away as Wake Forest, North Carolina, where he went to Camp of Champs in July. Out of 500 runners, Posey finished in the top 20.

"I just worked all summer, I really, really, wanted to make a big change for myself," Posey said. I went from finishing in the top 10 last year to coming in top 3 all year and man, this hard work really is paying off."

He said that the first two weeks were tough, but he has been making the decision to wake up and just go get it.

"It's showing it's paying off for sure," Posey said.

Running isn't a chore or just something Posey uses to get in shape. The sport has become something that he loves.

"It's weird for some people, but running just makes me happy," Posey said. "It just keeps me going, it gets me fired up. None of my family members got a scholarship or finished college and I want to be the first in my family to make a name for ourselves."

Though he hasn't locked in a college decision yet, Posey is considering running cross country for Montana State University Northern in Havre. But first, he will make a few college visits to determine where he wants to go.

Harlem freshman Ethan Walker won the race with a time of 16:25.67. Harlem sophomore Jayvon Bigknife was second with a time of 17:38.66. Havre's Mason Gregoire, a junior, was fourth with a time of 17:51.02, and Harlem's Treyton Mount, a freshman, was fifth with a time of 18:15.33.

Dodson's Greg Guardipee, a sophomore, was tenth with a time of 19:29.75. Fellow Coyote Brayden Jones, a junior, was 14th with a time of 21:10.29. Dodson sophomore Jaxon Jones was 29th with a time of 22:45.53. Tygh Healy, a Dodson eighth-grader was 39th with a time of 25:15.31.

Posey was asked about the school's team that has been placing at meets throughout the year.

"We're trying to make some noise at state for our community and our school," Posey said. "2005 was the last time we got a banner on my school and I want to change that this year."

Malta's Kael Young, a junior, was 26th with a time of 22:28.55, a new best.

"I would have liked my last mile to be better, but we pr'd, so it's okay," Young said.

Young was asked what went so well for him in the first part of the race and what was the key to his success.

"I ran a 6:30 first mile, and that was really good," Young said. "Run fast before you can feel any pain."

Malta senior Kash Stiles was 38th with a time of 25:02.71.

Stiles said that his run was hot and rough, but he felt it went better than last season, when he was fighting to overcome an injury. Sadly, he re-injured himself during this race.

He was asked what he thought of his final Malta Invitational.

"It brings back a lot of memories from years past, and it really almost brings a tear to your eye knowing it is your last one," Stiles said. "But this one was more fun than last year, I could say that confidently and I'm pretty happy that it's about over."

He said that he enjoyed running the race healthy this time around and enjoyed having his family around to support him.

"It just added up to being a real, good day," Stiles said.

With only the Havre invitational and the State Meet left, Stiles was asked how he could improve as the season nears its end.

"Put your head down and work through it really, that's about all I can say," Stiles said. "One foot in front of the other."