Leader of the pack: Morley takes first in third-straight race

Varsity sports aren’t exactly a level playing field for freshman athletes, but don’t bother sharing that theory with Bigfork’s Makena Morley.

With just three cross-country races under her belt in her high school career, Morley has shown that she is a force to be reckoned with — even as a freshman.

At Saturday’s Ronan Invitational she beat out 58 other runners to win the girls race in 17:33. Her closest competition, Hellgate’s Paige Gilchrist, crossed the finish line 58 seconds later.

Bigfork junior Chelsea Olson also left her mark at the race. She finished 12th with a time of 20:27, an improvement from her showing last year on the course, according to Bigfork head cross country coach Sue Loeffler.

Junior varsity

Tori Quirk of Bigfork finished 13th with a time of 25:32 among the 48 runners in the junior varsity girls race.

“Tori keeps improving every week,” Loeffler said. “Hailey Nissen got off course or she would have been right with Tori. She ran a great race. They had trouble with the runners getting off course in a few places.”

There were 84 runners who competed in the JV boys race, including Bigfork’s Lane Thole, who finished the course in 20:39, which earned him 35th place.

Middle School

The Bigfork Middle School cross-country team competed in its longest race of the season — two miles? — and several young Vikes and Vals placed well.

Logan Morley not only improved his time last year, but took first place in the boys race with a time of 11:26. Bigfork’s George Gibson shaved 20 seconds off of his time from last year to finish in 13:40 and take 11th place.

In the middle school girls race, Bryn Morley placed first in 12:34.

Up Next

On Saturday, Bigfork’s cross-country runners will compete in the Mountain West Classic in Missoula. The schedule of races is set to begin at 9:30 a.m.