Cross Country week 7
Author: MT43 News Sports Reporter
Cross Country week 7
Cross Country Correspondent
Bill Roberts Golf Course in Helena was the site of last Thursday’s Capital City 7 of 7 Invitational Cross-Country Meet. Fifty-seven schools from all classes brought more than 1400 runners for the nine distinct races.
The day-long event starts with the Junior Varsity Women’s and Men’s Races, much like a traditional meet. The Varsity teams are then separated into seven separate races #1-#7. As determined by their coaches, the seven Varsity runners are each placed in one of the races, with the #1 competitor as the team’s fastest runner. The girls and boys with the same running position on teams run in the same race.
This format allows for seven individual girls winners and seven individual boys winners; runners who may not be accustomed to winning a race have that opportunity at the 7 of 7. The entire course consists of rolling hills and is certainly challenging, while the weather was cool with a drizzle that came and went all afternoon ending with a rainbow over the course.
Sophomores Wyatt Coker and Keaton Cavasos started the day for the Bulldogs in the Junior Varsity Men’s race. Wyatt (24:10) placed 286th while Keaton (26:46) followed in 309th. The Lady Bulldogs did not have any competitors in the Junior Varsity Race.
Senior Melania Lambot (30:22) finished in 39th for the Ladies while Freshman Luke Tullos (22:47) placed 42nd for the Men in the No. 7 race. Junior Kaden Bruins (20:20) ran his season’s best time in the No. 6 race ending in 32nd, while Freshman Rylan Hoveland (20:23) finished 32nd and Sophomore Gavin Green (21:21) placed 38th in the No. 5 & No. 4 races, respectively.
Up next in the No. 3 race for the Bulldogs were Senior Connor Lamb (19:48) who finished 34th and Junior Abby Wickens (22:48) placed 28th. Senior Aidan Easter (19:56) was 35th in the No. 2 race. The last race of the day saw Junior Nolan Flynn (18:10) place 32nd and Freshman Kyla Meissner (20:56) close in 21st.
The Townsend middle school runners were in action the same afternoon for the ever-challenging, super-rugged Boulder middle school race. Their times are not known by the author, but what is known is that 8th grader, Elaine MacDonald won her second consecutive race of the season! Additionally, Sawyer Pittman placed 7th for the 8th-grade boys, while teammate Trey Coker finished 7th for the 7th-grade boys. The future of XC in Townsend looks bright!
What you can’t see on this tally is the wear and tear that a long season running hundreds of miles starts to take. The Bulldogs have unfortunately passed around a bit of a bug taking Melania and fellow Juniors Grace Kroeger and Kaelyn Sangray out of commission for a week or two. Additionally, Juniors Ross MacDonald and Scarlett McDaniel, as well as Freshman Fiona Nelson have suffered some injuries that may have prematurely ended their seasons.
They are however looking to regroup in time for their only home meet of the season, this Saturday morning at Edgewater Farms. Please come out this homecoming weekend to cheer these Bulldogs, applaud their accomplishments, and celebrate our graduating seniors.
The Rusty Raisland Invitational is also a chance to honor the legacy of Rusty as a volunteer coach for the Broadwater Cross Country teams for 17 years alongside his wife, Teresa.
