Seeley-Swan High School Blackhawks Cross Country Team competed in the Missoula City meet, Oct. 14 for their last race of the regular season. While the course was flatter than recent courses, Head Coach Zelda Haines thought the heat was a challenge for this race.
Senior Stephanie Robbins led the Lady Blackhawks finishing the race in 21:09 in 17th place of 100 varsity girls. All of the racers who beat her were from Missoula schools with the exception of her competitor Lily Lang from Darby, Mont. Lang came in 11th, 30 seconds ahead of Robbins. Lang will be one of Robbin’s main competitors at the state meet.
Junior Cera Strumpfer finished in 28th place with a time of 22:24. Strumpfer started out with a strong first mile in less than 7 minutes but was not able to maintain her pace for miles two and three running 7:47 and 7:39 splits.
Sophomore Elizabeth Done ran the race in 24:22 placing her 44th overall. “Elizabeth ran a really strong race,” said Coach Haines. “She ran a good first mile [7:34]. If she could have kept the pace in the high seven minutes she would have been able to have a good PR [personal record].”
Freshman Logan Robinson led the Blackhawks in the boys’ varsity race with 87 runners. Robinson took 31st with a time of 19:14.
“Logan had a very strong race,” said Coach Haines. “I was really pleased with him.”
Freshman Lane Mackie-Wendel finished in 75th place with a time of 23:36. Mackie-Wendell started out with a flat 7-minute first mile and finished his splits at 8:15 and 8:20.
Eighth-grader Avery Smith and sixth-grader Chase Haines were able to race in the Middle School two-mile race. Smith finished third out of 104 runners with a time of 11:58. He ran his first mile in 5:51 and second mile in 6:04 getting beat by two eighth-graders from Missoula Middle Schools.
“I’m so excited to have Avery on the team next year,” said Coach Haines. “He’s excited about running and gives our high school kids a run for their money.”
Chase Haines ran even splits for his two miles, 8:04 and 8:24 finishing in 16:28. He placed 70th of 104.
“I was very pleased with both Avery and Chase. They came out, competed and tried to get a PR [personal record].”
Haines shared the story of a runner from Hellgate who took nearly 45 minutes to complete the race. “Everyone was cheering for him to come in,” said Haines. “Everyone roots for each other. The camaraderie is so different in cross country than any other sport. Everyone appreciates what the others are doing because they have gone through it.”
Everyone on the team qualified for the state meet in Great Falls, Oct. 24. Until then, Coach Haines said the team will be working on even splits for their miles. This will be their last meet for the season.
Girls Varsity: Stephanie Robbins: 17th overall, 21:09, 6:35 first mile; Cera Strumpfer: 28th overall, 22:24, 6:57 first mile; Elizabeth Done: 44th overall, 24:22, 7:34 first mile
Boys Varsity: Logan Robinson: 31st overall, 19:14, 6:10 first mile; Lane Mackie-Wendel: 75th overall, 23:36, 7:00 first mile
Boys Middle School: Avery Smith: 3rd overall, 11:58, 5:51 first mile; Chase Haines: 70th overall, 16:28, 8:04 first mile
Reader Comments(0)