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The Thompson Falls Blue Hawk runners had the home advantage last week, hosting 16 schools at River's Bend Golf Course for the Thompson Falls Invitational.

River's Bend is known to be a favorite among the coaches and runners due to its soft and gentle racing surface, Thompson Falls coach Sarah Naegeli said. More than 500 runners competed, including both high school and junior high.

Blue Hawk Blake Shusterman led the boys, crossing the finish line in 21 minutes, 32 seconds. Tuff Ryder was close behind with a time of 22:45. Sean Nowlan had a time of 24:23, and Jakob Molina rounded out the boys team with a time of 26:07.

The Plains Horsemen and Trotters also ran in this invite with John Owen Jermyn leading with an excellent time of 18:17 and Joe Martin behind him with a time of 20:06. Trotter runner Kalem Ercanbrack had a stunning time of 20:17 while Drew Carey came in hot with a time of 21:41.

Trotter Marina Tulloch came in third place overall for the girls in 20:42, Annika Ercanbrack close behind her with 22:48. Savannah Costner earned a time of 23:15, with Ashley Ferlan hot on her back with 23:37. Peyton Wasson rounded out the girls team with a time of 25:00.

Faith Palmer had a great time of 21:17 for the Thompson girls, Aubrey Baxter was on her tail with a time of 22:32. Peighton Kenney had a steady time of 24:23, with Jaden Bewick getting a personal best of 29:47.

The junior high Hawks had a great day at River's Bend as well, Coach Holly Franck said. The girls took third out of 14 teams. Franck said that Audrey Fairbank beat last year's time by 19 seconds, finishing this year in 13:56. Libby Franck ran with a great time of 14:36, Shea Haas had an impressive 15:02, Lexi Franck ran 15:06 and Gabby Taylor's time was 16:31. "I am proud of how great these ladies are doing this year," Franck expressed.

The junior high boys finished fourth overall and Franck said they are a strong team. Weston Block finished in 13:24, more than a minute faster than his time last year at the home meet. Chase Giegling ran the course in 13:36 and Evan Lofthus was over two minutes faster this year at 13:51. Remington Ryan (14;07), Nathan Baxter (14:31), Wyatt Franklin (14:56), Jonathan Toyias (14:58), Mason Bartlett (15:10), Noah Scharfe (15:53), Kaleb Susic (16:31) and Lane Thilmony (18:56) also competed for the young Hawk team. Franck said the boys finished 10th at the Mountain West. "Weston Block was a real leader not only with his time, but for the boys team all day," she noted. The junior high girls placed seventh overall in Missoula.

On Saturday the teams traveled to Missoula to run the Mountain West invite. Coach Sarah Naegeli had several athletes run in the JV races at the Mountain West for a couple of reasons. She said it's cooler earlier in the day and starting with over 400 runners can be very intimidating even to seasoned runners.

"Even with that, they were blocked in and had to work their way out and around other runners. All very useful skills for competing! Last year Cael (Thilmony) was tripped, fell and somersaulted at the start of a race on the UM course. This year, while he was crowded in for a bit, he knew how to work himself through the other runners to move up during the first 800 meters," Naegeli said after the meet.

Thompson's Cael Thilmony (18:22) led for the varsity boys with Blake Shusterman earning himself a seasonal best time of 21:38. Tuff Ryder led for the JV boys with a time of 23:57, Sean Nowlan behind him in 24:04. Jakob Molina finished in 24:34.

Aubrey Baxter led the Thompson girls varsity team with a time of 21:27 with Faith Palmer close behind with a great time of 21:40. Peighton Kenney had a seasonal best with 24:20. For the JV girls, Addie Traver got an impressive time of 28:53, while Jaden Bewick rounded out the girls with a time of 30:34.

Skye Hill

Hawk Kylee Huff pushes toward the finish line in Thompson Falls.

Plains ran the JV races in Missoula, with John Owen Jermyn leading the boys with a magnificent time of 18:53, Joe Martin coming in close behind with 19:34, Kalem Ercanbrack seconds behind Martin with a time of 20:33, Drew Carey running in at 20:49, and finishing off for the boys, Asher Seymour with a time of 23:11.

For the girls Marina Tulloch again had an impressive finish, earning fifth place with a time of 21:21. Annika Ercanbrack came in behind her in 23:07, Savannah Costner steadily got 23:42, while Ashley Ferlan finished in 24:29 and Peyton Wasson in 25:32 for the Trotters.

The Blue Hawks were set to compete Tuesday at the Arlee Hatchery run, while Plains will travel to Hamilton Thursday for the Daly Mansion invitational. Thompson Falls is also gearing up to help with the annual elementary school fun run on Thursday.