Harriers enter stretch run of COVID-19 season

Put the Hawk harriers in a race with a few hay bale obstacles, a staggered start, and running on fumes after a busy homecoming week, and guess what you will get? A whole lot of personal and seasonal bests.

Last Saturday, Thompson Falls cross county coach Sarah Naegeli observed a fine performance from her team at the Mission Shadow Duals held at Pablo, Montana's Silver Fox Golf Course.

"First off, the sweet PR (personal record) that Justin had, and the race that Josey ran for a season best; both races were amazing," emphasized Naegeli. "Second, how well the team did, especially when they are not in their typical race order, hay bales are thrown over the course and we still had several run a PR two races in a row," said Naegeli. "Third, after smoke, readjusting to running outside, and homecoming, both teams (junior varsity and varsity) looked strong and ready to keep improving."

Proving he has magic in his shoes, senior Justin Morgan bettered himself once again by earning another personal best with a time of 16:52 and earning third place overall. Following behind Morgan was an impressive finish by junior Brooks McAfee finishing in 30th place with a time of 19:04. Freshman Cael Thilmony crossed in 20:27 (46th place), Nathan Cottingham had a personal best of 21:44 and placed 62nd, Noxon runner Andy Koonce finished in 22:34 giving him a 64th place finish, Ben Croft found his stride and had a personal best of 23:22 and 66th place finish, and Briar Palmer finished in 24:50 (71st place). Collectively, the varsity team placed eighth.

Being the only Class B runner in a Class A dominated top 10 was Josey Neesvig. Despite coming off a spell of illness, forcing her to miss the previous two races, she took sixth place with a season best time of 21:10. Following behind her was younger sister, Hattie Neesvig. Overall, the freshman placed 17th with her personal best time of 22:59. Crossing in line was Faith Palmer with a time of 25:40 and placing 35th; Megan Baxter completed the course in 26:07 (37th place); and Roni Hanks rounded out a fine performance in 27:39 (42nd place). All female Hawks ran varsity and took fifth place as a team.

Two boys ran for the Hawk junior varsity team. Junior Will Hyatt ran a personal best in Pablo with a second-place finish in 19:53. JJ Fields, a sophomore, crossed the finish line in 25:13 earning him a 49th place finish.

The season is winding down as the state competition is scheduled for October 23 in Kalispell. As current times would have it, taking one day at a time is crucial. "We're looking forward to a different race format in Eureka," Naegeli said of the relay race this Thursday, a team favorite. "Then divisionals next week!" Naegeli said enthusiastically.