Baker Wins Girls Cross Country Championship

Scottie cross country head coach Tim Phillips was expecting a tight race for the girls team championship at the State meet this weekend and he got it. Manhattan came out on top with a score of 93 but Glasgow came in at a close second with 103 team points. Huntley Project claimed third with 137 points.

Phillips said, "For the girls, when we had our first meeting, I said I'd be disappointed if we didn't get first at state. And I am. We gave it a great shot, but just couldn't outrun Manhattan. But we are very grateful that we got the second place trophy. It shows the work the team put in, and the grit that they have. And it leaves us with a goal for next year." All seven members of the girls team finished in the top 75.

Tanae Baker, as expected, led the field and brought home the first individual championship to Glasgow in 20 years. The Scottie junior ran a 19:03.06 to claim the title, finishing nearly a minute ahead of her nearest competitor and besting 171 other runners.

"I fell really good. It took some grit," she said Monday. "but I was told to go run the race I needed to win and I felt that if I wanted to win, I had to do what I had to do."

"Individually, Tanae ran away from the field early and finished with the second fastest 5k time in Class B history (19:03), second only to the great Bryn Morley. That, of course, is a Scottie record too! And she'll be back!" Phillips commented. Baker, along with Haleigh Huntsman, earned All-State honors and joined five other title-holding Scotties.

"I thought there were many others. When I found that out, I felt pretty special," Baker said of joining the five. "I thought people would be looking and people would be striving to be better runners themselves."

Jayme Larson was the last Scottie runner to claim a championship, doing so in 2002 and 2003. Baker will return next year with the same goal in mind, "I'm thinking a little bit about next season. There were lots of young runners who placed in the top 15. If I want to win again, I'll have to train real hard because it's in Missoula."

"Haleigh blew it up today, and had THE race of her young running career: a 25-second p.r. (20:47) to get 11th and All State as well!" enthused Phillips of one of his freshman runners.

Emily See was third on the Scottie girls team, running a 21:04.19 for 18th place overall. "Emily, who has battled tendinitis all season, sprained her ankle after the first mile, and she was in SO much pain my heart just broke for her. She still managed to gut out a 21:04 and 18th place - very disappointing for her. But no one knows how much work she has put in on the bike this season, and if that hadn't happened, I'd bet on her for second any other day," Phillips explained. "It was one of the grittiest performances I've seen in 40+ years of being around the sport. And when she gets healed, she WILL bounce back faster than ever!"

Kheyeah Bilger and Kimber Dulaney finished in 35th and 38th, respectively, for the girls.

"Kheyerah (35th) has become such a consistent runner for us: she ran 22:32, 99 seconds faster than state last year and within 24 seconds of her personal best. She is the poster girl for just running in the summer and moving to the next level. It's been amazing to watch her progress since June!" Phillips said in a Facebook post. "Kimber ran just 1 second slower than state last year, and a season-best by 1 second (22:40), and finished in 38th. Another overcomer, her training was cut short by the hamstring injury before the season even started - another gutty performance."

Jensina Tweten and Caylen Jankowski rounded out the team. "Jensina has just been giving it her all the entire year: she finished 66th in 23:45, only 32 seconds off her best. I LOVED the way she attacked the hill when she went by us!" the Scottie coach raved.

He continued, "Caylen got tripped and messed up her knee a little, but still managed to finish 74th in 24:01. She's been battling some calf and cold issues, so I thought it was a good day for her to finish, though we know she'll be MUCH faster next year!"

Glasgow will lose See to graduation but looks to return a seasoned team to competition next year.

"For the boys, we knew going in that we wouldn't be near the top. But we wanted to be the top team from the northeast, and Top Ten. And, the boys made that happen, despite some being sick with colds like the girls," Phillips said. Glasgow scored 364 points for their team placing with Harlem finishing 11th with 366, Poplar 13th with 384 and Wolf Point 21st with 541 points.

"For us, Kyler Holinde led the way in 20th [in a field of 210 runners]. His 17:48 was within the range he's been running. He was sitting right where he needed to be on the first lap, but lost some ground on lap two. He was still only about 40 seconds off his p.r.," Phillips said.

Kyler Whitman returned to competition from an injury and did not disappoint, setting a personal record at the season finale. "Kyler Whitman was our second runner in 67th (19:08). He's been out with some glute/hamstring issues but that didn't stop him from setting an 11 second personal best! He also ran 66 seconds faster than at state last year."

Adam Mickelson placed 73rd and Ted See took 92nd place. "Adam Mickelson has really been solid all year, and ran with 5 seconds of his p.r. (19:21) to get 73rd," Phillips noted. "Ted has been really sick the past week, so he was drained a bit from the start. But he gutted out a 19:48, which was only 1 second slower for him than his state time last year, and finished 92nd."

James Seekins closed out his high school career with a 112th showing. Phillips said of his lone senior on the boys team, "James had some stomach issues again, and ran a 20:16 to finish 112th. But he sure gave it his all, especially up the hill by me!"

Rowen Kloker and Owen Thompson claimed 119th and 124th, respectively. "Rowen was only about 32 seconds off his p.r. and had a very good race for a freshman: 119th in 20:27. He's had a great freshman season!" the coach said. "And Owen Thompson tied his personal best at 20:34.8 and finished 124. He's cut over 2 minutes off last year's times, so it's been an excellent year for him too! Only three of the seven boys ran at state last year, so I was super proud of how they competed."

The boys team also loses only one runner – Seekins – to graduation. They will also return a team now armed with experience at the state meet. Phillips said, "The boys don't have a trophy to show for their efforts, but I know how much they've worked, and how they've come together as a team."

Phillips concluded, "It's been an honor to coach all these kids, including those who didn't make it onto the state team. It's a long arduous process to become a better runner or better team, and I'm honored to have been part of this along with Andrew [McKean] and Jami [Hughes]. Thank you for your support!"