M-ette XC: Malta placed ninth at state meet; Stiles 14th individually

One hundred and forty runners formed the Class B girl’s race at the Cross Country Championships held at Bill Robert’s Golf Course in Helena on Saturday, October 25. It was also one of the most talked about races because of the infamous Morley sisters of Bigfork who have been placing very well in meets this year finishing well ahead of most of their competitors.

It was no surprise when older sister Makena Morley, who is a nationally ranked runner, cruised ahead of younger sister Bryn and broke the all class record she set at the state meet in Missoula last year, finishing with a very impressive time of 16:33, surpassing her own record by two seconds and becoming a four time state champion.

Bryn Morley ran to a second place finish with an equally impressive time of 16:59. They exploded with the rest of the runners at the start and broke away very quickly and ran most of the race together.

Two minutes later, tiny Tamia Two Moons of Lame Deer ran to a third place finish with a time of 18:59, besting her state finish of last year by ten seconds.

Josie Braaten of Glasgow finished in eighth place with a time of 19:52, happy to have finished well in her last meet of her cross country career after a misfortune during the state race last year and having to drop out. Teammate Amanda Wolff finished in thirteenth place with a time of 20:24, a fine finish for the senior runner.

Sophia Stiles, running with tough competition throughout the race sprinted the last yards of the race with Kim Parsell of Shelby and Grace McDonnel of Broadwater, and pulled out a fourteenth place finish with a time of 20:30, posting one of her fastest races this season.

“That was one of the best finishes of the whole race. Those three girls were running full bore down the hill into the finish and Sophia knew she had to ramp it up in order to get into the winners circle and get a medal. We were all nervous as we watched this finish unfold. Sophie picked up her pace and sprinted in at top speed and finished like a champion. The top fifteen are All-State runners and it is an honor that few can achieve.”

Conditions were ideal for the state championship races, with temperatures in the 50’s, skies overcast, and barely a breeze to be felt. Freshmen Joanie Sjostrom and TaChante’ Cole took advantage of the ideal conditions and set out over the course not really knowing what to expect. They too exploded quickly at the start and found a comfortable pace and kept on pushing their way through the masses of runners.

Joanie ran with determination and used her strength to finish second for the team with one of her best times of the season with 22:54.

TaChante’ Cole ran an incredible race, dropping over two and a half minutes from the previous week in Harlem and posting a personal best of 23:08, coming in third for the team.

Eva Harms used her strength and pushed herself steadily over the course which is a mixture of flat areas, golf course grass, gravel roads and rolling hills and used her long stride to sprint in at the finish and came in fourth for the team and also posted a personal best for the season with a time of 23:33. “It is really great when you run the last race of the season and post your fastest time. It doesn’t get any better than that.”

Marley Manoukian ran to a fifth place finish for the team, having some trouble during the race and finished with a time of 23:53.

“The air was thick from the early morning fog that had blanketed the valley, making breathing hard. It’s difficult to run when you can’t get your breath. Marley’s powerful strength and determination got her to the finish line.”

Jenise Amestoy and Jada Nicholson ran most of the race together, pushing themselves over the hilly course with Jenise pulling ahead and finishing sixth for the team with a time of 25:30 and Jada finishing seventh with a time of 25:52, both dropping time from the Harlem meet of the week before.

“They both looked better than the previous meet. This was a challenging course, with some of the hills being quite steep. But they made their way over the course and finished strong.”

The state meet is always exciting; you never know how it’s going to unfold. There is jubilation, surprises, and disappointments.

I was really happy with the outcome of how the team did as a whole and it is extremely exciting to watch these young athletes perform and feel all that adrenaline in the air. It is really very inspiring. Finishing ninth place and being able to be one of the top ten teams at state is a great way to end the season.

The Malta Mettes placed as follows:

Sophia Stiles 14th 20:30

Joanie Sjostrom 56th 22:54

TaChante’Cole 62nd 23:08

Eva Harms 79th 23:33

Marley Manoukian 88th 23:53

Jenise Amestoy 109th 25:30

Jada Nicholson 116th 25:52

The top four teams, with the top three receiving trophies:

Manhattan 91 points

Red Lodge 131

Big Fork 134

Glasgow 182

Malta Mettes placed 9th as a team, with 299 points.