MISSOULA - The Seeley-Swan High School Cross Country team took to the University of Montana Golf Course for the annual Mountain West Classic, Sept. 28. Due to the Blackhawks homecoming activities in Seeley, the five high school racers all ran with the junior varsity so they could make it back for the activities. Sam Ayers was the only middle schooler that raced.
While the temperature was in the 40s and it was windy, most of the Blackhawks said the weather wasn’t too bad once they were running. As always, climbing the hill right before the two-mile was the biggest challenge. Head Coach Zelda Haines said that senior Jayla Kauffman’s goal was to run the entire hill this year and she succeeded.
The junior varsity boys field included 560 runners. Senior Levi Reinitz came the closest to his personal record finishing in 23:29.1, just two seconds short of his fastest race. He finished in 433rd. Sophomore Chase Haines finished in 316th place with a time of 21:39.61.
The junior varsity girls field was slightly smaller with only 451 runners. Sophomore Hannah Ayers led the ladies finishing in 23:14.88 in 64th place. Coach Haines said she could have posted a faster time but her spikes caught going down the big hill causing her to trip and fall.
Even though Kauffman was able to run to the top of the hill she battled with a side cramp during the race. She finished in 21:14.66 in 411th place.
Freshman Beth Homen missed her personal record from Thompson Falls by only three seconds. She finished in 44:13.82, 448th place.
Coach Haines was very pleased with Sam Ayer’s time. He finished 97th out of 352 racers in the boys middle school race posting a time of 8:52.76.
While Coach Haines wasn’t as happy with the times as she has been in the past at Mountain West, she looks forward to working on pacing with the team this next week. Their next race is in Arlee on Oct. 10.
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