Three standout high school runners from the Flathead Valley qualified for this weekend’s Foot Locker Cross Country National Championships in San Diego.
Glacier senior Troy Fraley finished second at the West Regional in Walnut, Calif., on Dec. 1. Fraley finished the 5-kilometer race in 15:37, nine seconds behind winner Benjamin Saarel of Salt Lake City.
Flathead senior Zach Perrin placed eighth with a time of 15:47. Missoula’s Adam Peterman finished 23rd with a time of 16:11. Andrew Gardner of Spokane placed fifth, 15:42.
In the girls 5K race, Bigfork sophomore Makena Morley finished third with a time of 18:17. Marissa Williams, a sophomore from Los Angeles, won in 17:46. Julia Maxwell of Ross, Calif., was second, 18:15. Missoula’s Paige Gilchrist finished fourth, 18:19.
The top 10 runners from each regional race qualified for the national meet at, which begins with the girls race at 9:15 a.m. (PST) followed by the boys at 10 a.m. Foot Locker is televising the races live online here.
In the 2-mile combined race for elementary and middle school boys and girls, Bigfork’s Bryn Morley placed 23rd in a time of 10:54.
Kalispell’s Sylas Schutt ran 16:53 and placed 15th in the boy’s All-West freshman/sophomore division. Logan Harmon of Kalispell finished 116th, 18:45.
Bigfork’s Logan Morley was 41st out of freshmen and sophomores and placed 285th overall, 18:02.