Justin Morgan wins Governor's Cup 5K

Justin Morgan has the killer instinct in distance running and has proven that fact several times over the past calendar year.

He seems to have a little, okay maybe a lot, of that extra stuff required that it takes to kill the competition, be that on the composite track, out in the hills on trails or in the asphalt-paved urban environment of road racing.

Taking to the streets of Helena for the men's open 5K portion of the annual Montana Governor's Cup Marathon Saturday, Morgan absolutely killed it – the course and the competition – winning the 3.10685596 mile race in 16:33.69.

Magwyer Palmer of Great Falls finished a distant second to the Thompson Falls flash by just over 25 seconds, which represents quite a gap between first and second place in a 5K road race. Three-hundred twenty-nine male runners competed in the Governor's Cup open 5K this year. Just over 500 women participated in the women's open 5K.

Now a freshly crowned Governor's Cup champ, Morgan said the race was held on the streets of downtown Helena, running past the state capitol and ending up in the old part of town in Last Chance Gulch. "It was mostly through town," he said, "and the weather was perfect for running, 50-something degrees and sunny."

The Governor's Cup 5K championship caps an outstanding year for the just-graduated Thompson Falls Blue Hawk, as Morgan enjoyed an incredible cross country season (finishing second in the State B meet by only the slimmest of margins), a great basketball season (a deadeye outside shooter, he was a big part of the Blue Hawks' memorable run to fourth place in the State B tournament last winter) and an historic track and field campaign (he broke Thompson Falls' long-standing school record in the 3200 meters while winning the Western B title in Missoula in 9:49.61 in late May, and went on to win second in the event at the State B, and fourth in the 1600).

His cross country coach in the fall and his distance coach in track and field in the spring, Sarah Naegeli has seen a lot of great running from her star pupil over the years, and fully expects to see more. Morgan has committed to attending Montana Tech in Butte to run cross country and track and field, while centering his studies on electrical engineering. He has earned a full academic/athletic scholarship from the prestigious Montana NAIA college.

"One of the most impressive things about him breaking the (3200 meter) record was that he basically ran that entire race by himself," she said of the Western B final in

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Missoula. "His strength in the 3200 is definitely in the second half of the race – it's fun to watch him pick up on the second mile and just increase the speed."

The mother of four outstanding Thompson Falls distance runners in the recent past (Derek, Jacob, Mariah and Logan), Naegeli said none of her three sons, who were all standouts at TFHS in their own right, ever broke the 10-minute mark in the 3200 while competing for the Hawks. The record Morgan shattered belonged to Shane Donaldson, another previous star pupil of the Naegeli distance running community. Donaldson reportedly did not take offense at his record being broken by Morgan.

"He broke Shane's record and, to quote Shane: 'That's great, records were made to be broken.' Pretty cool," Naegeli said. "And I'm serious when I say I look forward to Morgan competing at college.

"I think we have just had a glimpse into his potential this year, and I'm excited to see how much he'll improve in the future."

Seemingly soft-spoken, Morgan was simply glad to be able to compete this past year after missing the entire track and field season in 2020 due to COVID-19. "That was sort of a bummer missing my junior season like that," he said. "I had ever been to a state track meet before this year so I had to make the most of my opportunity."

Naegeli said that Morgan may have become the first Thompson Falls distance runner to ever place in both long distance runs in a state meet, but that the records would need to be checked to verify that claim. The fourth place finish in the 1600 at the State B, after he had won second in the 3200, in Laurel was entertaining and perplexing at the same time to his coach.

"It was a fun – and nerve-wracking – race to watch," she said, "but it was great to see him do it in the end."