Malta Has a Total of Five Runners

The Malta Cross Country team welcomes a total of five runners in 2023.

For the first time in history, the Mustangs outnumber the M-ettes. There are four boys including returning runners Kash Stiles, Kael Young, and Malin Beck (who ran for Malta in 2020). The team welcomes Michael Mayer. The team's lone M-ette is Megan Morser who ran for Malta for the last two seasons.

Malta ran in their third meet of the season last Saturday, September 9, at the Havre Invitational.

Stiles had the fastest time amongst all Malta runners. He was 32nd in the boys' meet with a time of 21.44. Young was 37th with a time of 22:13 and Mayer was 55th with a time of 25:30.

In the girls' meet, Morser took 42nd with a time of 27:32.

Beck is out with an injury he sustained earlier in the season.

The following is Malta Head Coach Thea Solberg's write up on the Havre Invitational.

The boy's race was the first race of the day and was very competitive with an explosive start by Havre runner Caleb Tomac who took off and ran far ahead of the other runners, setting a fast pace for the group.

The Malta boys started off well and were settling into the race through the prairie area of the first mile and were right on target at the mile mark and kept their positions until the end when they had great kicks, passing runners to finish out the race. Kash looked strong as he ran by and his finish time was his fastest over the past two seasons setting a new personal record. "This was a very fast race. It was nice and flat. It was very competitive." Kael came in second for the team and had a great finish. Each week he looks a bit stronger and has been working hard in practice and because of the hard work, he too had a personal record "This is a very nice course, overall it was an enjoyable race."

Michael came in third and had a good first half of the race but said he was suffering in the prairie area with some side stitches and came in a little off his mark, but considering how much time he cut off last meet, he was very close and looked good overall. He commented that it was a very fast race. Despite his abdominal pain, he pushed through and finished the race. He has been working hard at practices and we are proud of his efforts to improve.

Overall winner of the girl's varsity 3.1 mile race at the Prairie Farms Golf Course north of Havre was Tanae Baker of Glasgow who ran the race in 19:08. Her teammate Emily See was the third place runner and Shelbi LaBrie of Whitewater placed fourth. The runners were treated to cooler conditions than the previous meet in Poplar, and that was a boon to the runners who exploded as the gun went off to signal the start of the race. Megan, our lone M-ette runner was on the outside edge of the group and said she liked the way she started. She pushed her way over the two loop emerald green course and had a great kick at the end. She was off her mark a bit but considering how much time she knocked off last week, was still on target with great improvement. "It was faster than I thought and fun." She stated after the race.

Coach Lisa and I are proud of all of our runner's efforts and hard work. You have to be pretty gutsy to be a cross country runner. It is so much fun to watch them progress through the season and improve. Cross country is such a great sport, not only do you learn a life skill, but no matter where you place at the finish of your race, you get cheered for and encouraged all along the way, a positive atmosphere where all the runners are heroes and the spectators are inspired.

2023 Malta XC Schedule

DAY DATE EVENT TIME SITE

Friday Aug. 11 First Day of Practice TBA Malta HS

Friday Aug. 25 Wolf Point Invitational (HS/MS) 10:00 AM Wolf Point

Saturday Sept. 2 Poplar Invitational (HS/MS) 10:00 AM Poplar

Saturday Sept. 9 Havre Invitational TBA Havre

Monday Sept. 18 Shelby Invitational TBA Shelby

Thursday Sept. 21 Frazer Invitational (HS/MS) TBA Frazer

Saturday Sept. 30 Glasgow Invitational (HS/MS) 10:00 AM Fort Peck

Saturday Oct. 7 Malta Invitational 10:00 AM Malta

Friday Oct. 13 Harlem Invitational (HS/MS) 10:00 AM Harlem

Saturday Oct. 21 State B Cross Country Meet TBA Kalispell