Harriers do well at Polson Duels

The Columbia Falls cross-country team competed in the Pirate Duels in Polson on Sept. 27.

The unique race pits runs in two heats, with the top-ranked boys and girls running just a few minutes apart (the boys start three minutes after the girls). A second heat is held where the lower-ranked runners all run together. The race also features steep hills and hay bales and other obstacles.

Coach Richard Menicke said the Wildkats top runner Samantha Mundel isn’t injured — she just didn’t run this race and took a week off.

The top Wildkat runner was Meredith Stolte, who took 13th with a time of 22:36. She was followed by Miranda Livingston, 14th at 24:23, and Kendra Cahoon, 16th at 25:42.

Top runners for the boys were Winfield West, 14th at 19:27, Glenn Morden, 15th at 19:53, and Hunter Peterson, 16th at 19:54. Menicke said the teams showed progress against some of Polson’s top runners.

The team travels to the Thompson Falls Invitational this Thursday.