Glasgow Middle School runners finish season in Harlem

While Glasgow Middle School cross country runners failed to take team titles at their final meet of the season last Friday in Harlem, many Scotties ran the best times of their season and prep careers.

Both the boys and girls squads finished behind talented Havre and Harlem teams, but Scotties collected plenty of hardware at the Harlem Invitational, a 1.53-mile race held on the flat and fast Harlem Golf Course.

Glasgow's middle school girls were paced by 6th grader Alexa Ball, who finished in third place overall with a time of 10:08, just five seconds off her PR, or personal record. Eighth-grader Haleigh Huntsman, Glasgow's leader all season, moved up to the longer high school distance for the Harlem meet.

Other Scottie medalists included 8th grader Jensina Tweten, who set an all-time PR of 10:56 en route to a 4th place finish; 6th grader Harper Wesen (9th in 11:36); and 6th grader Ryder Bilger (10th in 11:40), whose time represented a 15-second PR.

Havre's girls won the meet with 21 points. Glasgow tallied 34 team points behind other standout performances. Sixth-grader Amiya Ryan ran a 28-second PR to finish in 11th place with a time of 11:54; 8th grader Rebekah Bailey finished 17th with a time of 12:32; 6th grader Amani Probert took 20th place with a 12:39; and 7th grader Willow Sugg completed the pack with an identical time of 12:39 and 21st place. Eighth-grader Aspen Probert took 27th with a season-best time of 13:40, and 7th grader Romie Zumbuhl took 31st with a time of 15:12.

Glasgow's boys finished with 45 points, behind talented squads from Havre and Harlem. As they've been all season, the Scotties were paced by 7th grader Garrett Thompson, who took 7th place in 9:21, just a single second off his PR. He was followed by 7th grader Jack Milam, 8th in a 4-second PR of 9:47, and 8th grader Rowen Kloker, who finished 9th and set a new PR of 9:53 in his final middle school race.

The Scotties put three more runners in the top 20: 7th grader Ian Anderson (11th in 10:09), 6th grader Holt Huntsman (16th in 10:29), and 6th grader Nik Kulczyk (18th in 10:36). Seventh-grader Aaron Mikelson set a new PR of 12:58 on his way to a 34th place finish, followed by 6th grader Daniel Bailey (35th in 13:00), 6th grader Jett Johnson with a 57-second PR (39th in 14:37), and 6th grader Jacob Bishop, who shaved 50 seconds off his time to finish in 40th place in 14:45.

"Harlem was a great way to finish, with lots of kids establishing new PRs," says Coach Andrew McKean. "We have been focused on continual improvement this year, both as individuals and as a team, so I'm pleased to see so many kids exceed what they thought they could do. It was also a great send-off for 8th graders who have been with the program, and with me as their coach, for the last three years. They include Aspen Probert, Rowen Kloker, Haleigh Huntsman, Jensina Tweten, and Rebekah Bailey. I think you can expect to see that same worth ethic and desire for improvement next year as high schoolers."

McKean singled out Haleigh Huntsman for praise, calling her a "trailblazer."

"When the MHSA (Montana High School Association) allowed 8th graders to move up to varsity sports, we weren't sure how that would be implemented or how it might affect our middle school squad," says McKean. "But Haleigh has been running at such a high level all year that we determined she was ready. She proved up on that in Harlem, finishing in 8th place in the high school race and 4th on the talented Scottie squad. She's the first Scottie middle-schooler to run at the high school level, at least in my tenure as a coach, and I think that experience is going to make her formidable next year."