Scotties runners place third at State

It wasn't what they were running for, but both the boys' and girls' cross country teams came home with trophies this weekend.

Both teams finished third at the State Cross Country Meet, the only team in state this year to have top three teams on both the boy's and girls' sides.

The boys ran first on Saturday, getting off to a fast start in the field of 20 teams in Class B.

Kyle Loewen led the pack for the Scotties, as he had all year, and stayed with the front pack of runners for most of the race. The lead runner, Manhattan's Mike Asay, set a pace that no one in the race could keep up with, finishing nearly half a minute in front of the next closest competitor. Asay won the race with a time of 15:23. Jager Warner, of Broadwater, finished second at 15:52.

Loewen finished in fifth for the second straight season, finishing the race in 16:23, just a few seconds off his pace from last season when he finished in 16:12. For the effort he was named to the All-State team for the second time, earning a medal at the end of the race.

Derek Hopkins finished next for the Scotties and 21st overall, turning in one of his best times of the season with a time of 17:10. Austin Green, Jonathan Braaten and Braden Hallock rounded out the scoring group finishing in 29th, 35th and 36th places respectively.

Bailey Burleson and Luke Zeiger finished in 47th and 60th places overall. Zeiger, who normally keeps pace with the top runners ,was fighting an illness the week of the race and after keeping up with the lead pack for the first mile, began to fade near the end of the race.

Manhattan won first overall for the boys', finishing with 88 points. Loyola Sacred Heart edged out Glasgow for second scoring 115 points to the Scotties' 122.

The girls' team was trying to defend its crown but was caught off guard by a Colstrip team that dominated the field.

The girls still managed to keep up with the lead pack, with both Jami Johnson and Emily Braaten finishing with All-State honors.

Johnson finished ninth overall, running in a dead heat with two other runners at the finish line. Johnson finished with a time of 19:36.79, just 0.56 seconds from the seventh place finisher, Red Lodge's Katie Atherly. 

Braaten wasn't too far behind, finishing at 20:24, good for 14th place overall. The top 15 runners in the State Meet are awarded All-State medals.

After keeping up with the leaders for the early part of the race, Gwynn Simeniuk, Rose Reyling and Alyssa Sanders all finished in a tight pack at the finish line. Simeniuk turned in a time of 21:24 in 31st place, Reyling finished at 21:29 in 33rd place and Sanders finished in 21:49 in 40th place.

Lillian Alvernaz and Sienna Dailey rounded out the group for the Scotties, finishing in 72nd and 74th places.

In the end, the teams were racing for second place as Colstrip ran away with the top spot scoring 53 points. Red Lodge barely edged out the Scotties for second, finishing with 101 points to Glasgow's 106.

While both teams were upset with their finishes after the race, they both came home with trophies and have a bright future ahead of them.

Returning next year are another group of strong runners for the Scotties and they should be in the running for more hardware at the end of the season.