Girls cross country wins in Thompson Falls

Hungry Horse News

The Columbia Falls girls cross country team took first at the Thompson Falls Invitational last week, while the boys took second without their top runner.

The girls were led by Cora Hannan, Mya Badger and Marissa Schaeffer who took fourth through sixth, while Chloe Savoy and Ashley Andrews took ninth and 10th.

“Our scoring five girls all finished in the top 10 of the race with 128 finishers (varsity and JV combined in this race too), and they had a 30 second split separating them.  It was great to see the girls flex this kind of performance.  They ran confidently and worked together.  It was certainly a team effort, and when you have a group of girls working together for the team, everyone benefits.  It was a fun display.  Claire Bates and Chloe Williams also ran extremely well again this week for the varsity, and they continue to get better every time they race,” coach Jim Peacock said.

Top runner for the boys was Oliver Kress, who took 15th. Lucas Peterson had a solid race, taking 20th and Griffin LaRoque took 23rd.

Other Columbia Falls placers included Jack Phelps (25th), Cash Short (31st), Mason Colliander (32nd), and Aiyers Powell (33rd).  

“They only had about 45 seconds separating the entire varsity lineup.  It was an impressive show of depth,” Peacock said.

The Cats top runner River Blazejewski was out with an injury.

“This meet is usually a smaller event feeling like a backyard barbecue with some friendly competition for entertainment.  This year, because it’s the host course for the Western B/C race in October, it attracted a bigger field looking to preview the venue,” Peacock noted.

The team travels to Missoula Saturday for the Mountain West Classic, the largest meet of the regular season.