Malta XC runs at State Meet

The Malta cross country team headed west on a crispy cool Friday morning to Missoula, MT for the state cross country championships and participated in the Class B races on Saturday the 26th. The state cross country championships are the finale of a ten week season of hard work. This is what you work towards all season, and it is an exciting time, filled with apprehension and nervousness until the starting gun fires and all the runners explode into a sea of colorful uniforms representing many schools from all over the state of Montana.

The weather was perfect for racing on Saturday morning. The sky was clear and the temperature was near the fifty degree mark with a nip in the air that would help to keep the runners cool. The class B girl’s race, which had the largest number of runners, was scheduled to be the first race of the day. This was very nice because last year in Kalispell this group ran the last race of the day. At 11:00 am nearly 190 runners representing 40 class B schools gathered at the starting line and listened for final instructions. With hearts racing wildly and adrenaline ready to burst, the gun went off, and girls exploded forward and ran south and zipped around the course that was very spectator friendly and allowing them to be able to see the runners several times as they looped around jockeying for position. With so many runners, the congestion that some of the runners were in, seemed to go on for over half the race. Coach Lisa and I ran to the one mile mark to check on how Megan Morser was doing in the large group of runners. She had a great start and looked strong and when she came by us, she was right on her mark of 8:07 and then continued on the second mile which is the tough one with the infamous hill skirting Mount Sentinel, a hill that has three tiers and then a steep downhill to push you fast to the second mile timing pad and then onto the third mile which is flat with a slight downhill for probably half a mile. We watched her work the hill and saw her pass another runner which showed her strength and she continued to push herself up to the top and then ran down quickly. Megan was slightly off her target time at the two mile mark. She maintained that speed and managed to kick it in before the three mile mark and have a fast finish across the finish line to post a 162nd place and time of 27:10. This was her third fastest time this year, her fastest state finish and a faster time than she ran on this same course just a month prior when the Malta team participated at the Mountain West Classic race in Missoula. We were very happy with her performance and that she finished her race so strong and had cut time. Megan has come a long way from her start as a freshman, and it has been fun to see her grow and mature as a runner, ending her cross country career on such a positive note. She will be missed. When asked about her thoughts of the race she said, “The hill was really difficult to go up but fun to go down. I did a good time for this course. I am ready for the season to be over but am also sad it is over.”

The class B boy’s race was the largest race of the day, with well over 200 runners representing 40 class B schools. Kash Stiles and Kael Young were among those runners lined up to take off while the class C girl’s race was finishing up. These boys appeared to be mentally prepared and ready to work this last race of the season to the best of their ability. The starter got his gun ready and then there was a click and a quite a few runners lunged forward and they called a false start and while they were getting everyone reset, a person near me expressed frustration “What a waste of adrenalin”. However, not everyone felt that way as Kash told me later that the false start actually helped him because he wasn’t quite ready and then it gave him a few extra seconds to focus and then when the gun went off for the second time, everyone exploded and the race was on. Both Malta boys got off to a good start and had to work through the crowded group and slowly start spreading out. However when they were coming near the mile mark where both Lisa and I were waiting to see how they were tracking with their time, that large number of boys running never seemed to let up. Kael had a time of 6:55 and Kash was at 7:40, both near their target times which was good. That meant that even though there was lots of congestion with the runners, they had not let up their pace. Both boys worked the hill in the second mile, Kael looked as if he was working hard to get past a boy and finally did and then had a very fast downhill to the second mile which put him close to his target time and he maintained that pace for the third mile and pushed it in well before the three mile mark and had a great sprint into the finish to post a 185th place finish and a time of 21:58, his second fastest time this season, his best state finish and a faster time than his performance at Mountain West Classic from a month ago. He worked the race very well and looked so strong. We were very happy with his performance and the way his season ended, getting faster each meet as the season went on. Kael commented about his race: “The course was very difficult, yet still very fun. The hill halfway through was very annoying but the downhill finish made up for the pain.”

We look forward to seeing him come back next year. Kash had a great race, looking the strongest he has looked all season. His second mile was tough, and looked like he struggled up the hill but then once on top, used his strong long legs to push himself down quickly and was actually not far off his two mile target time, and he too maintained that similar pace and cruised into the finish with a good kick and had a 211th place finish and a time of 24:48, his third fastest finish this season, his fastest state finish and almost a 2 minute improvement in his performance on this course from a month ago at the Mountain West Classic race. We were so happy for him and how he completed his senior year of cross country, posting these faster times and improvements. This is just the way you want to end your cross country career. Kash has been one of the hardest workers we’ve had and it has been a pleasure to have worked with him especially after an injury from last season and seeing him work so hard this year to get back to where he had been and to qualify for state. He will be sorely missed. He commented after the race: “This run was full of emotion and every step was difficult. The hill tried to bring everyone to a stop, but the downhill was steep and made up for it. I am very happy that it’s over but cross country will always have a place in my heart.”

“What a fun group of kids!” Coach Lisa said. “They came to state to work hard. Each runner improved their time from this same course when they ran it a month ago at the Mountain West Classic and I am glad that the race was put on the schedule so our runners could come to state familiar with the course. They were ready and competed well. I am so grateful I could watch each runner work and improve not only at their 5k race but as competitors as well.” The state meet is exciting, you never know how things will turn out, and there are surprises and sometimes disappointments. This was a great bunch of student athletes, very coachable and willing to work hard. We are very proud of the efforts they have established this season. We are already looking forward to next year with excitement. And we want to also congratulate all the runners from the county who put in countless hours and effort into running and competing this season and your successful performances at the state meet.