Glasgow XC Aiming High At State

Helena, here they come. The talented Glasgow XC runners, girls and boys alike, are aiming high for Saturday's MHSA 51st State Cross Country Championships.

They have some momentum after last week's double team victory at the Plentywood invite. They're confident, not cocky. Eager, yet nervous.

"Everyone will have to bring it," for the girls to win a fifth straight state title, GHS star Josie Braaten told The Courier on Tuesday. "It's definitely the toughest one."

Girls No. 1 runner Braaten and No. 2 Amanda Wolff expect that the Manhattan and Red Lodge teams will be most formidable.

On the boys side, Walker Allen said the Scotties "could go second or third. If we run normally, we should have a good chance." He said the boys must pace themselves, not speed early and fade late.

Glasgow's top boy runners, Gabe Hallock and Allen, see Shelby, Manhattan, Red Lodge and maybe Harlem as toughest.

With that the outlook, here are the lineups that will represent Glasgow XC before the biggest crowd of the season on the fully flagged, 3-mile route at Bill Roberts Golf Course.

Girls team: Braaten, Wolff, Brinlie Nielsen, Alex Simensen Kerry Hoffman, Mary Fewer, Faith Sallee and Julia Kolstad. Either Sallee or Kolsad are expected to be the alternate, according to the girls.

Boys team: Hallock, Allen, Braden Meland, Chase Hughes, Kasey Seyfert, Logan Gunderson, Ethan Jamba and alternate Tanner Overby.

The girls race starts at 1:10 p.m., the boys race at 2:20. The five fastest times count as the team score, but a team's sixth and seventh place finishers can do damage with good runs to push down opponents in the standings.

At Plentywood, the boys' top five runners finished within 1:31 of each other – their best grouping of the season. They hope to follow suit at State. Hallock was fifth overall individually and the fastest Scottie in 17:57.

For the girls, Braaten placed first at Plentywood in 19:32 and Wolf third in 21:17.

The Scotties considered Plentywood a good pre-state tuneup, hard and hilly. This week, their practices are scaled back a bit. Before heading to Helen on Friday, they'll have a team dinner at the school and the team's annual scavenger hunt run on Thursday.

Wolff wants that state championship feeling again.

"It's overwhelming, not a bad overwhelming, knowing that all your hard work paid off," she said.

Plentywood Invitational Results

Girls Team Standings

1 Glasgow 28, Wolf Point NS, Dodson/Whitewater NS, Circle NS, Plentywood NS, Culbertson/Bainville NS, Brockton NS, Harlem NS

Glasgow Girls Times

1 Josie Braaten 19:32, 3 Amanda Wolff 21:17, 6 Brinlie Nielsen 22:37, 8 Alex Simensen 23:32, 10 Faith Sallee 23:41, 11 Kerry Hoffman 23:50, 12 Mary Fewer 24:02, 14 Julia Kolstad 24:13, 17 Morgan Guttenberg 27:44

Boys Team Standings

1 Glasgow 52, 2 Culbertson/Bainville 60, 3 Harlem 60, 4 Brockton 66, Dodson/Whitewater NS, Wolf Point NS, Plentywood NS

Glasgow Boys Times

5 Gabe Hallock 17:57, 8 Walker Allen 18:39, 12 Braden Meland 19:18, 13 Chase Hughes 19:23, 14 Kasey Seyfert 19:28, 19 Logan Gunderson 20:48, 24 Tanner Overby 22:31, 31 Tony Kaiser 25:32, 34 Jacob Stevens 30:00.