Hawk runners fare well in Eureka race

 

September 8, 2022

Sarah Naegeli

Faith Palmer, a junior at Thompson Falls High School, won first place in the Abayance Bay triangular meet in Eureka last week.

The Blue Hawk cross country team traveled north to Eureka for competition ahead of Labor Day weekend. Thompson Falls competed in the Abayance Bay Triangular last Thursday with Libby and Eureka.

Junior Faith Palmer and senior Mollie Nichols dominated the varsity girls, with Palmer finishing first in 23 minutes, 54 seconds, and Nichols taking second in 25:29. Junior Cael Thilmony led the varsity Hawk boys, finishing in second place in 19:36.

Thompson Falls freshman Blake Schusterman ran a personal best on Thursday, finishing the course in 25:20. Though the Thompson Falls runners enjoyed a beautiful course along the river, Coach Sarah Naegeli said on Thursday the smoke moved in, making for rough conditions on top of the heat and wind. "This makes Blake's PR even more impressive," Coach Naegeli said. "All I can say is this race will make us mentally stronger. Overall we competed very well given the conditions. Our runners attacked the hills and pushed themselves. We're proud of them."

JT Taylor (24:23), Alek Sweeden (25:38) and Wesley Powers (25:53) also competed for the Hawk varsity boys, as well as JV runners James O'Dowd (23:36) and Jakob Molina (29:52). In the JV girls race, Kellyn Carr finished in 33:09 and Taylor Aitchison in 51:33.

The junior high cross country team also competed in Eureka last Thursday. Weston Block led the Thompson Falls boys, finishing the 1.55-mile race in 11:28, followed by Wyatt Franklin (12:23) and Nathan Baxter (12:27). For the junior high girls, eighth grader Aubrey Baxter won the race in 11 minutes flat. Also competing were Lexi Franck (12:09), Kylee Huff (13:59), Addie Traver (17:44) and Brooke Flemmer (19:10). The junior high team is coached by Holly Franck. Jeneese Baxter and Haley Morgan are volunteer coaches for the Blue Hawks this year.

The Blue Hawks will hit the road again this Friday for the Flathead Invitational.

The Plains cross country team competed in the Missoula Coaches Invitational last Friday at Big Sky Park. For the girls, junior Peyton Wasson finished in 29 minutes, 24 seconds and classmate Kassidy O'Keefe in 33:02.5. Freshman Kalem Ercanbrack competed for the Horsemen boys, finishing in 24:28.1.

The Plains cross country team this week will travel to Bozeman for a meet on Saturday before competing in the Mission Invitational next Tuesday, along with Thompson Falls.

 

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