Morley ESPN's Montana runner of the year

Bigfork’s Makena Morley ESPN Gatorade Cross Country Runner of the Year for Montana.

She was nominated by ESPN’s high school sports team two weeks ago and notified that she needed to submit character references, information about her community involvement and her grades.

“It’s not just on her athletic ability,” cross country and track coach Sue Loeffler said.

Winners are chosen based around the three pillars of the program.

Athletic achievement—Morley won the class B state championship this year with a new state record time of 17:44:32. She took third at the Foot Locker West Regional championships and placed ninth in the national championship.

Academic achievement—the Bigfork freshman has a 4.0 grade point average.

Character—she is a youth athletic instructor and has volunteered time for the annual summer fun run.

Morley was notified by e-mail last Thursday. She will now be a participant in the contest for ESPN Gatorade Cross Country National Runner of the Year.

Her award and information can be found on ESPN.com.