Morley wins Foot Locker Invitational in California

Bigfork High School junior Makena Morley won an off-season cross country race Saturday.

Morley won the West Regional of the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships at Mount San Antonio College in Walnut, Calif.

The 5K girls’ race features the top prep runners from 12 western states. The top 10 finishers for boys and girls qualified for the national finals Saturday in San Diego.

Morley posted a time of 18 minutes, 5.7 seconds, the fastest girls’ finish by nearly 20 seconds.

Saturday’s conditions were wet and rainy as runners dealt with a muddy course.

The Bigfork runner took third at this race a year ago and shaved 12 seconds off that time. She was also third the year before, giving her three straight trips to the national meet.

Her best finish at nationals, which takes place at Morley Field in San Diego’s Balboa Park, was as a freshman when she took ninth with a time of 17:40. Morley was 24th at nationals a year ago.

Of the 104 seeded female racers to race this year, Morley was the only Montanan.

Morley’s sophomore brother, Logan, finished 147th with a time of 18:02.9. Flathead High’s Chance Kittle, a former BHS runner, wrapped up the Montana boys with a 158th-place finish.

Makena Morley set multiple records this fall, including the all-class mark at the state cross country meet (16:35.31) and the top time in Montana’s largest race of the year, the Mountain West Classic (16:43.42).