Thompson Falls' Morgan second at state cross country

By SCOTT SHINDLEDECKER

Valley Press

Thompson Falls senior Justin Morgan placed second at the Montana Class B cross country championships Friday afternoon at Rebecca Farm in Kalispell.

Morgan led winner Zander Ackerman, of Wolf Point, by more than three seconds after the first mile and he held a slim advantage in the final few hundred feet.

But Ackerman had a bit better finishing kick to claim the title by less than one second with a time of 17:16.85.

All runners dealt with snowy conditions and cold temperatures brought on by a front which dropped a record 7.3 inches on the area.

Morgan’s teammates finished well back in the pack.

Junior Brooks McAfee was 47th in 19:49.86 while freshman Cael Thilmony was 61st in 20:25.84.

Freshman Nathan Cottingham was 104th in 22:06.55 and junior Andy Koonce was right behind in 105th in 22:06.63.

Teammates Ben Croft and Briar Palmer also ran together. Croft was 131st and Palmer was 132nd with less than one-half second separating them.

As a team, the Blue Hawks were ninth. State champ Eureka was first with three in the top 10 and four in the top 17.

For the Lady Blue Hawks, freshman Hattie Neesvig was 32nd in 23:37.90. Sophomore Ellie Baxter was 42nd in 24:05.50.

Freshman Faith Palmer was 69th in 25:33.94 and Senior Megan Baxter was 70th in 25:34.72. Junior Roni Hanks was 97th in 27:26.02. Their team finish was ninth.

Broadwater won the team title with four runners in the top 12. Manhattan senior Hallie Hemenway won the race 20:10.99.