Morley named Big Sky Athlete of the Week

Montana freshman Makena Morley was named the Big Sky Conference Athlete of the Week Tuesday by the league office for her performance Saturday at the Montana State Invitational in Bozeman.

Making her collegiate debut, Morley covered the three-mile course in a time of 16:43 to win the women’s race, which included Division I teams from Montana, Montana State, Utah, Utah State and Idaho State, plus athletes from five non-Division I schools, by more than 40 seconds.

Utah State’s Kashley Carter was second across the line in 17:26, and only six of the meet’s 101 other runners finished within a minute of Morley.

“I had kind of a rough track season last spring (because of an iron deficiency), so I haven’t felt like I’ve been able to race when I have a second gear for a while. Probably since last cross country season,” said Morley, who finished third at the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships in San Diego in December.

“I just wanted to go out and see where I was at and run like I know how. Just kind of run by feel, and it felt really good. I was so happy to represent Montana and have such a wonderful, supportive team starting next to me.”

Montana, ranked No. 13 in the NCAA Mountain Region, finished fourth at the race, with underclassmen taking the top four spots. Freshman Emily Pittis (18:15) finished 26th among Division I runners, sophomore Emily Cheroske (18:28.4) was 29th, and freshman Bridget Creel (18:28.8) placed 30th.

The Grizzlies’ next four runners all came through within a four-second window, between 18:38 and 18:41, putting the team’s top eight in the top 36.

“I was super proud of all my teammates. We’ve all been training really hard, so I know they’d do really well,” said Morley, who competed as a prep for Bigfork (Mont.) High.

“When I was at Bigfork, I kind of had a team, but not really, so it was nice to line up with my teammates on Saturday and then be able to cheer them all on as they were coming across the line.”

The Grizzlies will compete next on Saturday, Oct. 3, at the Montana Invitational at the UM Golf Course. The women’s five-kilometer race will start at 10:30 a.m., the men’s eight-kilometer race at 11:15 a.m.

“The first meet of the year is always kind of nerve-racking, because you don’t always know where you’re at,” said Morley. “So our home meet will be really good. I’m excited to race in Missoula.”