Area runners duel
Ali Bronsdon, Leader Staff
POLSON Â-— It was perhaps a blustery autumn day better suited for flying a kite, but there were no leisurely aerodynes at the fairgrounds on Saturday when Polson hosted the Pirate Duels Cross Country Invite.
Middle school, high school and runners in the open category persevered through unrelenting walls of wind, up steep inclines and over hay bail jumps placed around the three mile course to a finish line along the grand stand bleachers and cheering crowds of spectators.
"With our big championship races looming the next two weekends, it was a great chance to run a fun course and showcase runners of every speed," course designer, Polson head coach Matt Seeley said.
Hamilton dominated in the team standings once again, but local athletes from Polson, Ronan, Arlee and Mission Valley Christian Academy showed heart and competed well against the elements.
In a unique format to high school cross country, Seeley broke away from the traditional varsity and JV boys and girls races, instead seating each team's No. 6 and 7 runners in the first heat, and fourth and fifth in the second heat and No. 1 through 3 in the final heat. The boys took off three minutes after the girls in each race, which made for exciting finishes with boys and girls both wanting to out-sprint the other.
"I know my runners had a lot of fun," Arlee coach Katea Schmidt said. "Because they were split into three races, there were more chances for different individuals to lead the team."
Schmidt's front-man Kyle Felsman was sick, but raced hard in the second heat. Playing with the line-up to better suit the unique format's scoring, Chris Manzanares and Nick Morigeau raced in the final heat, so they had time to better understand the course and where to push themselves, Schmidt said.
"I was also able to give them more tips, which they used to their advantage," she said. "Jesse Pfau went out very hard and worked hard to get us points. It looked like both Niche' Brown and Lanette Joseph had impressive times."
Ronan coach Gale Decker highlighted commendable performances from his boys varsity which finished second to a powerful Hamilton team that should win the Class A boys state championships in Missoula two weeks from now.
"I thought our teams ran well, considering the weather conditions," Decker said. "Times were slower than usual, but I expected that given the wind and cold temperatures."
Colter Bull, Miles Bieber, and Sam Boyle continued their strong seasons by representing Polson in the boys No. 1, 2 and 3 race, and freshman Reed Hovenkotter continued to improve, moving all the way up to fifth on the team this week.
The Polson girls were missing senior leader Mariah Swan, but they still ran very well with Mesa Starkey taking the overall title and Maddie Hewston grabbing 10th place.
"Mesa ran extremely well, beating very strong runners from Bigfork, Hamilton, and Ronan, and setting herself up as a real contender for the division and state titles in her next two races," Seeley said. "Mesa is finding both great fitness and confidence at just the right time of the year."
Results
Boys Team
1st, Hamilton - 121 points
2nd, Ronan - 76
3rd, Polson - 60
4th, Arlee - 58
5th, Eureka - 54
6th, Bigfork - 44
7th, Valley Christian - 34
8th, Thompson Falls - 31
9th, Plains - 25
Girls Team
1st, Hamilton - 106
2nd, Polson - 82
3rd, Ronan - 66
4th, Thompson Falls - 59
5th, Valley Christian - 50
6th, Eureka - 34
7th, Plains - 25
8th, Arlee - 19
9th, Bigfork - 17
Top Ten Boys
1st, Ian Curtiss, Hamilton - 16:55
2nd, Jake Jessop, Hamilton - 16:55
3rd, Dylan Day, Eureka - 17:04
4th, Wyatt Lawrence, Hamilton - 18:00
5th, Justin Dusty Bull, Ronan - 18:02
6th, Bridger Mahlum, Ronan - 18:03
7th, Joe Clark, Hamilton - 18:20
8th, Bubba Gueldenhoar, Hamilton - 18:21
9th, Jared Sine, Plains - 18:24
10th, Daniel Beavers, Ronan - 18:25
Top Ten Girls
1st, Mesa Starkey, Polson - 19:51
2nd, Kayla Carlson, Bigfork - 20:08
3rd, Misha Trotter, Hamilton - 20:48
4th, Danica Loucks, Hamilton - 20:53
5th, Sadie McMillan, Ronan - 21:07
6th, Beca Gunderson, Thompson Falls - 21:14
7th, Lauren Cross, Valley Christian - 21:17
8th, Maureen Palmersheim, Hamilton - 21:20
9th, Frankie Romano, Hamilton - 21:27
10th, Maddie Hewston, Polson - 21:30