Cross Country - Jefferson Opener in Boulder
Author: MT43 News Sports Reporter
Cross Country - Jefferson Opener in Boulder
MT43 News Sports Reporter
The Broadwater cross-country team began their 2024 campaign on Friday, August 30th at the Jefferson Opener in Boulder. The Bulldogs kicked off the season at Coach Dolan’s alma mater alongside six other schools: Helena Capital, Beaverhead County, Anaconda, Ennis, Manhattan, Three Forks and Jefferson.
Every week the runners compete on a 5-kilometer course (3.1 miles), which, in Boulder, is a one-loop trek with plenty of hills and various running surfaces. Competitors start through town uphill along the highway before taking a dirt two-track around the cemetery, and finally reentering town, finishing at Veteran’s Park. A mighty challenge for the first meet of the season!
The Junior Varsity teams took to the course with a combined men’s and women’s race to start the morning. The JV men were a squad of all juniors, a trio of whom are new to running: Patrick Gossard placed 18th with a time of 22:37 followed by Samuel Flesch (24:01) and Alex Johnson (25:53), who finished 24th and 29th. Keaton Cavasos took more than five minutes off last season’s time to finish in 24:12 and place 25th. Sophomore, Shalyn Sentinella, who is new to cross-country after running distance for the Bulldog track team last spring, completed her first 5K race with a time of 27:15 in 12th position. Senior, Grace Kroeger, in her second year of XC, took 15th in 28:24.
The Varsity Ladies were next. Sophomore, Kyla Meissner crossed the line first with a time of 20:42 successfully defending her win on the same course last year. Freshman, Elaine MacDonald was impressive in her first-ever high school race placing 6th with a time of 21:41. Senior, Kaelyn Sangray placed 10th at 22:23, her fastest time ever at the Boulder meet.
The last race of the day was the Men’s Varsity. Senior Nolan Flynn clocked a blistering time of 17:33, placing 2nd to Jefferson’s McKenon Boyd by one one-hundredth of a second, especially impressive considering he lost a shoe with about one hundred meters left in the race. Junior Gavin Green was next for the Bulldogs in 10th position with a time of 18:59, an improvement of 3:04 from 2023. Sophomores Ryland Hoveland (20:39) and Luke Tullos (22:08, 5:51 faster than 2023!) were 21st and 30th.
Coaches Brooke Dolan (15th year) and Louis Ingalls (2nd year) clearly have their squad ready for the season, as every Bulldog that took to the course clocked a state-qualifying time. Looks like it is going to be quite a year!
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Image 1 Caption: Team starts the season in Boulder. Back row: Patrick Gossard, Keaton Cavasos, Alex Johnson, Samuel Flesch, Luke Tullos, Fiona Nelson, Elaine MacDonald, Shalyn Sentinella. Front row: Nolan Flynn, Rylan Hoveland, Gavin Green, Kaelyn Sangray, Kyla Meissner, Grace Kroeger.
MT43 News Sports Reporter Photo
