Cross Country Roundup: Pirates sweep run
Mission Valley area cross country runners recently wrapped up their fifth week of season competition not only traversing riparian ecosystems and wilderness areas, but also successfully evading any potential obstacles related to a lingering respiratory pandemic.
At Thompson Falls, four of the area teams competed among a field ranging from Class A thru C levels of competition. For the boys, Brant Heiner of Ronan churned a personal best sub-17 to take medalist honors, while fellow Chief teammates Michael Irvine with a sub-18 and Zarec Couture within five seconds of breaching that barrier both turned in seasonal bests to make the top fifteen. This was Heiner's fourth gold medal caliber finish to go along with his season opener which was a mere two seconds behind the leader.
Thomas Nuila of Mission was the top finisher for the Bulldog boys with a personal best sub-18, while fellow teammates Andrew Rush likewise turned in a sub-19 personal best, followed by a season best sub-19 by Zoran LaFrombois. Charlo frosh Hayden Smith finished among the midst of the pack, but managed to turn in a personal best sub-22.
Among the girls, Ronan sophomore Olivia Heiner made the top fifteen with a sub-23 run, while fellow Maiden teammate Brogan Youngren turned in a season best.
Polson was originally slated to compete at Thompson Falls as well, but restructured their plans by attending a wilderness run in Libby. The Polson girls shut out their competitors to reap the top seven slots. Lady Pirate junior Halle Heniger turned in a personal best sub-23, while fellow all-conference accolade accentuated teammate Karli Owens took runnerup honors and Ashtyn Wagner placed third.
Among the Pirate boys, Mason Sloan turned in a sub-18 for first place, Ryan Dupuis ran a sub-19 for second, while Drifter Skillicorn clocked in at a sub-20 for third place.
Many teams among the Class A ranks will have already competed in the Whitefish Invitational at the Whitefish Golf Course on Tuesday, while Mission hosts its reschedule St. Ignatius Invitational that Tuesday as well.
Several area teams along with many others throughout Northwest Montana are slated to compete in the Mission Shadow Duels at the Silver Fox Golf Course in Pablo on Saturday.
2020 Libby S’More Wilderness Run
Flower Creek XC Ski Area, Saturday
Girls
Team Scores: 1, Polson 15; 2, Libby 50.
Individual finishers: 1, Halle Heninger (P) 22:55.67pr; 2, Karli Owens (P) 23:19.43; 3, Ashtyn Wagner (P) 23:50.31; 4, Adison Carlson (P) 23:50.79; 5, Maddilyn Huffine (P) 23:52.9; 6, Katelyn Smith (P) 24:51.02; 7, Isabel Seeley (P) 24:51.3; 8, Aurora Smith (L) 26:05.1; 9, Annika Benner (L) 33:39.01; 10, Raevynn Voss (L) 33:52.9; 11, Savanna Sanderson (L) 35:20.95;12, Katlyn Huff (L) 35:21.68.
Boys
Team scores: 1, Polson (P) 22; 2, Libby (L) 34.
Individual finishers: 1, Mason Sloan (P) 17:51.05; 2, Ryan Dupuis (P) 18:46.07; 3, Drifter Skillicorn (P) 19:31.42; 4, Greyson Thompson (L) 19:36.16; 5, Noah Roberts (P) 19:56.73; 6, Lucky Martin (L) 20:01.86; 7, Evan Jenks (L) 20:10.06; 8, Vance Ward (L) 20:10.72; 9, Dawson Rose (L) 20:10.84; 10, Cody Crace (L) 20:44.09; 11, David Bjorge (P) 21:00.05; 12, Aiden Gfroerer (P) 21:10.49; 13, Sean Stewart (P) 21:50.37.
2020 Thompson Falls Invitational
Rivers Bend GC, Sept. 24
Girls
Team scores: 1, Columbia Falls (CF) 22; 2, Whitefish (Wf) 56; 3, Frenchtown (Fr) 78; 4, Eureka (Eur) 98; 5, Browning Br) 140; 6, Deer Lodge (DL) 148; 5: Ronan (R); Thompson Falls (TF); Seeley-Swan (SS), Bigfork (Bf); Drummond (Dru), Charlo
Top 15 finishers: 1, Lara Erickson (CF) 20:31.74; 2, Hannah Sempf (CF) 20:54.22; 3, Emily Maughan (SS) 21:06.43; 4, Maddie Yakos (Dru) 21:27.25; 5, Sariah Maughan (SS) 21:30.16; 6, Kyla Conley (SS) 21:35.52; 7, Abigail Sherwood (Fr) 21:43.14; 8, Paetra Cooke (Wf) 21:50.44; 9, Alyssa Blankenship (CF) 21:56.08; 10, Gracie Yakos (Dru) 22:16.79; 11, Emma Upton (CF) 22:23.55; 12, Baylor Duke (Fr) 22:24.03; 13, Olivia Heiner (R) 22:24.51; 14, Siri Erickson (CF) 22:28.94; 15, Emma McAllister (CF) 22:44.17.
Boys
Team scores: 1, Eureka (Eur) 60; 2, Columbia Falls (CF) 61; 3, Whitefish (Wf) 67; 4, Ronan (Ron) 92; 5, Mission (MSI) 145; 6, Thompson Falls 163; 7. Bigfork 170; 8, Loyola-Sacred Heart 198; 9, Powell County (DL) 229; 10, Browning 254.
Top 15 finishers: 1, Brant Heiner (Ron) 16:25.08pr; 2, Justin Morgan (TF) 17:15.95; 3, Isaac Reynolds (Eur) 17:31.45; 4, Jacob Henson (Wf) 17:31.49; 5, James Role (CF) 17:32.81; 6, Gavin Bates (Eur) 17:33.69; 7, Chaidh Lochridge (Eur) 17:38.85; 8, Mason Genovese (Wf) 17:41.85; 9, James Petersen (CF) 17:47.52; 10, Seth Umbriaco (CF) 17:48.00; 11, Michael Irvine (Ron) 17:52.35; 12, Thomas Nuila (MSI) 17:52.85; 13, Zarec Couture (Ron) 18:04.54; 14, Deneb Linton (Wf) 18:11.62; 15, Aidan Thompson (DL) 18:18.13.