Morley beats more than 300 runners in Missoula

The Mountain West Classic is kind of a

big deal in the realm of cross country in Northwest Montana, which

Bigfork freshman Makena Morley is well aware of.

“Makena has been dreaming about running

in this race ever since she started running back in the sixth

grade,” said Bigfork head cross-country coach Sue Loeffler. “She

was very excited, but ran with confidence and determination. It was

fun to watch.”

With a time of 17:10.4 at the

University of Montana Golf Course on Saturday afternoon, Morley

became the victor of the race she’d been dreaming of beating out a

field of more than 300 other varsity girl runners.

Bigfork’s other varsity girl runner,

junior Chelsea Olson, earned herself a spot in the top 100. She

placed 69th with a time of 20:27.7, which was a minute-and-a-half

faster than she did last year.

“Each week keeps getting better,”

Loeffler said of her team as a whole.

The girls junior varsity race had about

275 competitors in it. Bigfork’s Tori Quirk and Hailey Nissen both

earned personal bests in the race. Quirk finished in 24:15.9, which

is more than a minute faster than she has finished in any other

race. Nissen bested her personal record by more than two minutes

with a time of 24:27.8 on Saturday.

The junior varsity boys race included

438 runners. Bigfork’s Lane Thole earned the best time he ever has

on the Missoula course — 20:06.9. Chance Kittle broke through the

20-minute mark for the first time with this race, finishing in

19:32.4.

“He ran a smart race,” Loeffler

said.

In his first cross-country race ever,

Lavin Bakker earned a time of 20:54.

“I was pleased with his performance,”

Loeffler said.

Tyler Kirby shaved a minute off of his

best time, completing the course in 25:28.

Next up

The Bigfork cross-country runners will

compete next on Saturday in the Hamilton Invitational.