Polson runners dominate in Dillon
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DILLON – The Polson Pirate cross country teams traveled all the way to Dillon last weekend, with Polson bringing home top team and individual results to make the trip worthwhile in the end. Three Polson girls finished with a 1-2-3 sweep at the top, as Claudia Hewston led the way with a time of 19:51.
“Claudia surged away from the competition in the first mile and then held a very fast pace the rest of the way,” head coach Matt Seeley said. “This was a great confidence booster for Claudia in her quest for conference and state titles at the next two meets.”
Following closely was Aja Starkey, who was able to return to compete after battling an injury for the entire season. Starkey ran the course in 20:26 to capture second. Tegan Bauer took third place with a completion time of 21:03.
“Aja started conservatively and then ran really well in the last half of the race,” Seeley said. “It was great to see Aja competing again after a challenging year.”
“Tegan battled with some Dillon runners and dug deep to push ahead for third place.”
Alisha Jore passed five runners after being in 15th place at the two-mile mark to finish 10th with a time of 23:38. Amanda Stobie took 15th with a time of 24:19 to finish out the scoring for the Lady Pirates.
“Our girls’ team really seems to be coming together at just the right time,” Seeley said. “So it will be fun to see how they do in the next couple weeks.”
On the boys’ side, Alex Nystrom led the Pirates for part of the first mile and finished strong, taking third in 17:58.
Teammate Jimmy Bjorge ran a gutsy race, as he started fast, lost some ground, but battled back to finish fourth behind Nystrom in 18:11.
Jared Rubel and Tel Motichka finished close together, as Rubel was 10th with a time of 18:54, while Motichka finished the course in 19:04 to take 11th.
“The boys are running well, but they have big goals for the last two meets,” Seeley said. “They will have to step it up to the next level to be successful.”
The Pirates will host the Northwest A Conference Cross Country Championships on the Polson golf course (old nine) on Saturday, Oct. 15. The boys race at noon, and the girls race at 12:30.
SUMMARY
BOYS
Team scores: Dillon 43, Polson 52, Belgrade 64, Hamilton 86, Corvallis 144, Whitehall 154.
Top 15 individuals 1, Colter Hegdal, Bel, 17:35.1; 2, Morgan Larson, Dil, 17:44.6; 3, Alex Nystrom, Pol, 17:58.4; 4, Jimmy Bjorge, Pol, 18:11; 5, Sage Schoonen, Dil, 18:12; 6, Connor Magee, Bu. Cen, 18:13; 7, Paul Fuller, Bel, 18:20; 8, Chance Keck, Dil, 18:47; 9, Christian Vosler, Bel, 18:51; 10, Jared Rubel, Pol, 18:54; 11, Tel Motichka, Pol, 19:04; 12, Gabe Cleverly, Dil, 19:14; 13, Garrett Stearman, Whitehall, 19:22; 14, Collin Johns, Ham, 19:26; 15, Sam Parker, Ham, 19:34.
GIRLS
Team scores: Polson 31, Dillon 38, Corvallis 96.
Top 15 individuals 1, Claudia Hewston, Pol, 19:51; 2, Aja Starkey, Pol, 20:46; 3, Tegan Bauer, Pol, 21:03; 4, Katie Hawkins, Dil, 21:24; 5, Abbi Morgan, Dil, 21:35; 6, Sadie Reddick, Bel, 21:50; 7, Ellen Hollifield, Dil, 22:35; 8, Jamie Kopf, Whitehall, 22:44; 9, Janet Moore, Dil, 23:16; 10, Alisha Jore, Pol, 23:38; 11, Chelsi Clarke, Cor, 23:41; 12, Darby Gullaher, Cascade, 23:51; 13, Hannah Telling, Dil, 23:54; 14, Becca White, Harrison, 24:04; 15, Amanda Stobie, Pol, 24:19.
