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State XC: Morley Claims Class B Title, Bigfork Girls Take Second

Glacier boys take third in Class AA at first state meet in Kalispell; Whitefish girls earn second in Class A

By Dillon Tabish
Bigfork's Bryn Morley smiles with her teammates before the start of the race. The state cross country championships at Rebecca Farm in Kalispell on Oct. 22, 2016. Greg Lindstrom | Flathead Beacon

The Morley reign continues.

Bryn Morley accomplished a triumphant defense of her Class B cross country championship only five months after a stress fracture in her leg sidelined her from running for nearly two months.

The speedy junior, with only two previous races under her belt this fall and the words “Just Run” scrawled on the backs of her legs, cruised to victory in 17:53.38 at the state cross country meet on Saturday at Rebecca Farm in Kalispell.

The individual victory gave Morley her second consecutive Class B title and marked the sixth year in a row that a Morley earned gold. Morley’s older sister, Makena, won four titles from 2011-2014.

Morley’s teammate, Anya Young, finished second in 18:56 and the top two individual places propelled the Bigfork girls to a second-place finish as a team. Alicia Kalenak placed 11th, 19:57.95, Haile Norred was 31st, 21:08, and Xiaoxiao Strong was 38th, 21:36.63. The Valkyries tallied 83 points. Manhattan won the team trophy with 67 points. Colstrip was third, 164.

Lincoln County tallied 164 points as well led by seventh-place Tyann Totten, 19:48. Teammate Mckay Guckenberg was ninth, 19:49. Libby’s Lauren Thorstenson finished 13th, 20:02.

Saturday marked the first time the state cross country meet was held in Kalispell.

»»» Click here to view results from the state meet.

Bozeman's Chase Equall pushes toward the finish line. Greg Lindstrom | Flathead Beacon
Bozeman’s Chase Equall wins the Class AA state title. Greg Lindstrom | Flathead Beacon

Bozeman’s Equall Breaks AA Boys State Record

Chase Equall of Bozeman set a new Class AA state record, surpassing a 23-year-old mark.

The senior runner clocked 14:40.74, breaking the record of 14:41.0 set by Jorn Grimsley of Billings Skyview in 1993. Equall ran 4:52 in his last mile and Bozeman had four runners in the top six and claimed the program’s ninth Class AA state championship in a row. The Hawks tallied 30 points. Billings Senior placed second with 97.

Glacier, with three runners in the top 16, placed third as a team with 101 points. Elijah Boyd placed 13th, 15:52.17, Tevyn Stetson was 14th, 15:52.91, and Brock Adkins was 16th, 16:00.87. Simon Hill placed 26th, 16:18.27, and Joseph Vanden Bos was 32nd, 16:24.53. Aren Alexander-Battee was 35th, 16:26.53, and Ben Schwaller was 72nd, 17:17.66.

Flathead’s Ben Perrin placed 12th, 15:46.61, and the Braves finished sixth with 188 points. Teammates Jaden Anderson was 31st, 16:24.31, Alex Murphy was 39th, 16:32.80, Kyle Calles was 52nd, 16:49.80, and Griffin Fischer was 54th, 16:52.03. Reed Miller was 67th, 17:11.63. Derek MacFarlane was 79th, 17:29.40.

Glacier's Annie Hill and Billings Senior's Tiahna Vladic compete in the Class AA race. Greg Lindstrom | Flathead Beacon
Glacier’s Annie Hill and Billings Senior’s Tiahna Vladic compete in the Class AA race. Greg Lindstrom | Flathead Beacon

Billings Sophomore Vladic Takes Class AA Title

Tiahna Vladic, a speedy sophomore from Billings Senior, captured the Class AA state championship, running 16:40.74. Vladic jumped out ahead with two-time state champ Annie Hill of Glacier and the pair finished their first mile in 5:06. They were step for step until the final quarter mile, when Vladic kicked into gear while Hill stalled down the stretch. Hill placed seventh, 17:36.65.

The Bozeman girls, with five runners in the top 15, tallied 47 points and won their ninth state title in a row. Billings Senior was second with 62 and Missoula Hellgate was third, 88.

Glacier placed fourth as a team with 146.

Flathead’s Kaitlin Wride placed 13th individually, 18:05.31, and the Bravettes took 10th as a team. Sadie Wilson finished 45th, 19:53.19, and Hailey Allen was 46th, 19:57.18. Mara Lorch was 72nd, 21:23.50, Rebecca Wride was 73rd, 21:25.06, and Meaghan Fisher was 80th, 21:45.79.

Glacier’s Addie Labrum placed 27th, 19:09.03. Bailey Smith was 33rd, 19:23.45. Kinzie Peterson was 38th, 19:38.14. Avril Baines was 41st, 19:43.11. Makenna Kauffman was 57th, 20:37.83, and Yazmin Benkstein was 64th, 20:55.25.

Whitefish's Ella Greenberg competes in the Class A race. The state cross country championships at Rebecca Farm in Kalispell on Oct. 22, 2016. Greg Lindstrom | Flathead Beacon
Whitefish’s Ella Greenberg competes in the Class A race. Greg Lindstrom | Flathead Beacon

Whitefish Girls Finish Second

With two runners in the top 15, the Whitefish girls brought home a second-place team trophy.

Ella Greenberg placed 12th, 19:28.90, Braya Hobson was 13th, 19:29.07, and Whitefish tallied 97 points to place just six points behind state champion Hardin.

Josephine Vardell placed 22th for Whitefish, Jessica Henson was 23rd, 20:12.58, and Katie Arterburn was 27th, 20:27.71. Jessica McCoy took 35th, 20:41.31, and Adia Saurey placed 118th, 25:11.14.

Kimberly Peacock of Columbia Falls placed second as an individual, 18:30.96, and led the Wildkats to a fourth-place team finish with 138 points. Teammates Genevieve Delorme placed 17th, 19:53.27, Raina Crowell was 32nd, 20:35.75, and Kara Mohr was 43rd, 21:05.06. Haylie Peacock took 44th, 21:05.07, Megann Hanson was 51st, 21:21.50, and Raychel Hoerner was 90th, 22:36.49.

Beatrix Frissell of Polson placed third, 18:49.24, and the Lady Pirates placed fifth as a team. Molly Sitter was 14th, 19:28.59, and Naima Crowl was 21st, 20:02.69. Gwen Seeley placed 56th, 21:30.87, Malia Seeley was 61st, 21:39.81, and Quinn Motichka was 63rd, 21:46.37. Addy Day placed 96th, 23:06.94.

In the Class A boys race, Columbia Falls’ Sage Wanner placed 10th, 16:14.50.

Frenchtown won the team title with 66 points and Corvallis placed second with 72. Fergus was third with 102.

For Columbia Falls, Gabe Knudsen placed 19th, 16:31.44, Winfield West was 43rd, 17:17.16, and Joe Lamb was 53rd, 17:41.80. Beau Umbriaco placed 64th, 17:59.26, and Dillon Wanner was 69th, 18:05.15. Bryce Bennett placed 110th, 19:44.96.

For Whitefish, Ethan Potthoff placed 30th, 16:58.84, Sage Cornelius was 40th, 17:15.02, and Josh Weller was 62nd, 17:53.46. Bridger Gaertner was 70th, 18:05.61, Josiah Holien was 71st, 18:06.90, and Chris Sheehan was 72nd, 18:06.95. Eric Holdhusen was 83rd, 18:23.53.

In the Class B boys race, Libby’s Colin Maloney placed 10th, 16:51.42.