M-ettes run in Shelby, Poplar

The Malta M-ettes Cross Country team participated in the Shelby Invitational on Monday, September 16 and the Poplar Invitational on Saturday, September 21.

The overall winner of the girls' varsity race in Shelby was L’Tia Lawrence of Harlem who cruised the course with a time of 20:25. Teammate Taya Trottier, also of Harlem, posted the second-place finish of 21:54. Third place honors went to Brook Holland of Sunburst who ran in with a time of 22:16.

As for the Malta Mettes, Leslie Young took seventh with a time of 24:15. Jillian O’Brien was eighteenth with a time of 28:07. Kaycee Bond took twenty-fourth with a time of 29:41. Izzie Hallenberg was twenty-eighth with a time of 30:44. Kirsta Meisdalen was thirty-second with a time of 32:09 and Danie Rhodes was thirty-fourth with a time of 33:00.

Thirteen schools participated with only three fielding full teams for scoring. The M-ettes were the top-scoring team with a total of 109 points. Cut Bank was second with 119 and Rocky Boy was third with 138.

Other teams that participated were Harlem, Sunburst, Belt/Centerville, Fairfield, Box Elder, Great Falls Central, Dodson, Hays Lodgepole, Highwood and Shelby.

“The Shelby Cross Country Meet is a fun meet to attend because it is the kickoff for their annual homecoming festivities,” Coach Thea Solberg said. “Coach Fallon and I were pleased with the outcome of the race. We placed first as a team so it goes to show you that your position is important and it is a team effort.”

Coach’s breakdown: At the sound of the gun, Young found herself with the front pack of runners and maintained a good position throughout the race. The last half mile she was in a good position to challenge the seventh-place runner and quickly used some energy she saved to pass that runner and with a good strong kick, managed a seventh-place finish, dropping time from the hard competitive Lewistown meet of the previous week.

O’Brien ran a nice race and was able to keep a steady position and placed in the top half and dropped some time from the previous meet. Kaycee Bond said the heat was a factor for her, with temperatures near the eighty-degree mark, but she managed to keep a steady pace and finish in the middle of the pack.

Hallenberg was determined to have a good race knowing that she had relatives from the Shelby/Cut Bank area in attendance to watch her run her third meet of the season. She ran nice and steady and managed to knock off over half a minute of her previous meet time posting her personal best for the season.

Meisdalen, suffering from the bad cold that is going around and not being able to breathe really well, managed to run a nice steady pace and finish the race. Danie Rhodes ran a nice race and showed her competitive nature, despite the heat and a sore foot, and finished with a very strong kick at the end, knocking off some time from the previous meet and is looking much better.

Malta took fourth place as a team at the Poplar meet with a total of 138 points. Williston won the meet with a total of 37 points. Glasgow took second with a total of 61, and Scobey was third with 133 points. Fifteen teams participated, with five fielding full teams for scoring.

Individually Young took fifteenth with a time of 22:39. O’Brien took twentieth with a time of 23:55. Bond was twenty-eighth with a time of 24:57. Meisdalen was thirty-seventh with a time of 26:54. Hallenberg took thirty-eighth with a time of 26:59. Rhodes was forty-fifth with a time of 28:15.