M-ettes take 17th at State Cross Country Meet

The Malta Mette's found them at the Rebecca Farm of Kalispell, an equestrian facility that hosts one of the largest equestrian event competitions in the United States. But Saturday's event would be the state cross country championships, and it would be run on a soggy wet course from days of rain. Shortly before the Class B girl's race would begin, the skies began to clear and the sun came out to warm the air and the umbrellas began to disappear. The Class B girl's race would be the first race of eight, had 167 girls lined up in nervous anticipation at the start line. With the sound of the gun, they exploded to the west and ran the two loop course very quickly over the soggy but well groomed course.

We were very excited at the outcome of the race. While we didn't place very high up as a team, the team ran with determination and several posted their fastest times this season. Freshman Jillian O'Brien led the Malta group, placing in the top half of the Class B girls and posted one of her fastest times of the season. She looked really strong and has gained much experience for her first ever state race. Senior Mariah Salveson and Junior TaChante'Cole ran close together for some of the race, and then exploded the last eighth of a mile to sprint into the finish and Mariah finishing with one second ahead of TaChante for one of the many exciting finishes during this race. Mariah participated in her first and last state race and posted one of her fastest times of the season. "She has such a great kick at the end of a race!" She will be greatly missed. TaChante had a bit of bad luck and had suffered a bad case of the stomach flu the previous day and just wasn't up to her full potential. But we were so proud of her for actually deciding to compete and the tremendous effort she put into it. Sophomore Taylor Gilkerson was so excited before the race, and with a smile on her face she said "I'm going to PR today." And that she did. She exploded at the start and quickly found her pace and kept it steady and then at the last corner, picked up the pace and challenged Santina Bishop of Lodge Grass and narrowly edged Santina out by 6/100's of a second with a time of 25:31:18 and Santina with 25:31:24, posting her fastest time of the season, dropping nearly two minutes off of her previous best time and leaving everyone's heart racing with excitement. Freshman Kaycee Bond was our fifth runner to come in and was filling in for Monicha Williamson who was unable to run. Kaycee took on the responsibility very quickly, got herself mentally prepared, and ran so smooth and steady, and posted her fastest time of the season and dropped nearly two minutes from her previous best time. We were so proud of her for taking on this responsibility at the last minute and that she showed true cross country spirit. Junior Reese Sjostrom showed spirit and with determination, ran her first ever state race strong and steady and posted her fastest time of the season. She'd been struggling most of the season with an ankle injury that required physical therapy, and so we were very happy with the great effort she put forth. Sophomore Taylor Eggebrecht ran a steady race posting one of her faster times despite the fact that the thick humid air affected her and she experienced some breathing issues.

Assistant coach Fallon Handley and I thought it was a great experience here in Kalispell at the state meet. With only one of our seven runners ever having run at this level, we were proud of what they accomplished and that they now have gained such valuable experience and can have ended the season on such a positive note. Hopefully this will inspire them to keep on working hard throughout the year and into the next season. We will miss our senior runners Mariah Salveson, Jada Nicholson and Sarah Ware who have been running with us for the past several years. You have inspired the younger runners to work hard and we wish you the best of luck as you go forth from Malta High School.

Results of the Malta M-ette Cross Country team:

1. Jillian O'Brien, 70th place, 22:45

2. Mariah Salveson, 102, 24:07

3. TaChante'Cole, 103, 24:08

4. Taylor Gilkerson, 126, 25:31:18

5. Kaycee Bond, 136, 26:10

6. Reese Sjostrom, 146, 26:43

7. Taylor Eggebrecht, 154, 28:33

The Mette's placed 17th with a score of 537 points out of 21 teams fielding full teams for scoring. A total of 31 teams represented Class B girls cross country, with 167 runners completing the race. The top 3 teams garnering a trophy were:

1. Manhattan, 67 points

2. Big Fork, 83

3. Colestrip, 164