Cross Country: Rusty Raisland Invitational
Author: MT43 News Sports Reporter
Cross Country: Rusty Raisland Invitational
MT43 News Sports Reporter
Indian Road Campground served as the home base for the start/finish line for the Rusty Raisland Invitational on Thursday, October 17th.
The course meandered along Centerville Road, edged beautifully in fall colors, before heading down Mill Road and up Canton Lane on the way back to the finish. High School hoofers looped the route for their 5K, while the middle schoolers did an out and back to Canton Lane for their 2-mile course.
The flat course on a crisp, windless day made for a very fast pace by the fifteen teams represented with most of your Bulldogs establishing their personal best times (PR) as a result. The Bulldogs all raced at the Varsity level for their hometown meet, which is traditionally their final cross-country race of the season, before heading to the state competition.
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 many years alongside his wife, Teresa, who congratulates each runner at the finish line.
The Lady Bulldogs triumphed as a team with a total of 31 points. Kyla Meissner won the ladies' Varsity Race by tying her PR of 19:19, which she established a couple of weeks ago at the Headwaters Invitational in Three Forks. She was followed closely behind by Elaine MacDonald (20:23 PR) in 4th and Kaelyn Sangray (20:58 PR) in 6th. Arabella McDaniel (23:05 PR) and Shalyn Sentinella (25:20 PR) rounded out the scoring positions in the 19th and 28th, respectively. Logan Barkhurst (28:01) and Grace Kroeger (29:29) came in back-to-back in 32nd and 33rd. Fiona Nelson (31:57 SR) anchored the Lady Bulldogs in 35th. Way to finish the season ladies!
The men’s team finished 2nd with 40 points behind Jefferson. Nolan Flynn was 2nd overall, but established a new school record with a time of 16:20, taking 30 seconds off his previous best! Kaden Bruins (18:09 PR) made the most of his senior meet by finishing in 11th, with Gavin Green (18:27) right behind him in 13th. Rylan Hoveland (19:30 PR) was in 19th and Luke Tullos (20:01 PR) in 22nd. Rounding out the Bulldogs were Samuel Flesch (21:44 PR) in 34th, Keaton Cavasos (21:55 PR) in 36th, and Alex Johnson (25:24 PR) in 41st.
Strong showing Bulldogs!
Eighty-seven middle schoolers representing nine teams completed the day with the boys and girls competing simultaneously. Clayton Rice (12:58) crossed the timing belt first for the Bulldogs in 9th. Everett Kirksey (17:24) was 27th and Jayden Flynn (19:35) was 31st. The girls’ team was led by Kathryn Six (14:55) in 17th, followed by Courtney Webber (16:31) in 28th and Lydia Brakefield (18:09) in 36th. Up next was Madison Vogl (18:43) in 41st, Anna Busscher (19:33) in 43rd, and Erilyn Strait (20:58) in 47th. Great season middle schoolers!
These Bulldog runners all seem to be peaking at the right time to perform well at the MHSA All-class Cross-Country Championships this Saturday, October 26th in Missoula at the University of Montana Golf Course. Many of them have the potential to earn all-state honors and place well as teams.
Good luck Bulldogs!
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PhotoCredit: MT43 News Sports Reporter
Image 1 Caption: Senior Kaden Bruins runs his first sub-19 minute 5K in his last home meet.
MT43 News Sports Reporter Photo
Image 2 Caption: Fellow senior Kaelyn Sangray establishes her fastest time of 20:58 during her last regular season meet as a Bulldog.
MT43 News Sports Reporter Photo
