Broadus XC runner Mercy Brost runs alongside a picturesque pond at the Broadus Cross Country Meet, held last week at Rolling Hills Golf Course, just west of Broadus.
Seabeck Pizza proprietor Doug Wilbert and Head Chef Jen Rosencranz were on hand at the Broadus Cross Country Meet to cheer on their co-worker, Rachel Rasmussen. Rasmussen placed third in the Girls Varsity event.
The Lady Hawk Cross Country team competed in two runs last week, at the home meet Tuesday, and at Circle against other Class C competitors on Friday. The aptly named Rolling Hills Golf Course proved to be a tough competition for runners due to the number and length of the hills. The runners looped up and down over some of the steeper portions of the course familiar to golfers, beginning on hole 1, looping around hole 2 and back up around the far end of the course. Varsity runners would run the loop twice, finishing on hole 9.
The Lady Hawks' Rachel Rasmussen finished the run with a personal best of 22:36.82, also setting the record for fastest time ran by a Lady Hawk in any meet, and winning third in the meet. Rasmussen led through much of the race, but a strong finish by Malea Egan, who had stayed back comfortably running in the third position through much of the race brought a first for Egan, with a 22:29.18. Gracie Bradley of Colstrip, who stayed very close to the lead through much of the race, would finish second, with a 22:33.09.
Broadus runner Mercy Brost finished in 30:28.62, for 11th place. Brost set her personal best at the Broadus meet, taking around a minute and a half off her previous best time.
Colstrip runners fared well in Broadus, winning all but one of the races. Other Colstrip winners included Sienna Gardner in the girls 1.5 mile junior high race, who bested 13 other competitors, winning with a 10:50.37. Brookley Ewing of Colstrip won the Girls JV, running in 26.27.17. Seth Stevenson won the boys varsity with an 18.50.37, beating 10 other competitors, and Jason Sopher winning the boys junior high race with a 10:04.38 in the 1.5 mile run.
Tito Forero-Medrano of Melstone won the boys JV, with a 24.07.82.
On Friday at Circle, the Lady Hawks had an amazing day of racing, against runners from Circle, Nashua, and Melstone. Rebecca Rasmussen returned to compete at Circle; she had been sick for the Broadus meet. All three Broadus runners would set records on the course, with Rachel Rasmussen beating the course record she had previously set last year at Circle, and winning first place with a 22:53. Rebecca Rasmussen would also beat Rachel's previous record, quite the feat for a runner in her first year of competition. Rebecca cut 3.5 minutes off her previous PR to finish in third place with a 24:38. Mercy Brost would again cut a huge chunk of time from her PR, finishing in 27:59, and winning a 6th place medal.
"I'm so incredibly proud of how they raced in Circle," Broadus XC Coach Ashley Emmons commented on their performances. "Usually you don't see this much improvement mid-way through the season in personal times, and it's great to see their progress."
The next test for the Lady Hawks will come this Saturday at Lockwood, where a new "7 on 7" format will be introduced. The concept is that runners from all classes, AA through C, will be grouped by their times, with multiple races held throughout the day by time group. With the potential for close finishes as similarly gifted athletes cross the line at nearly the same time, races are expected to be more exciting than ever. Over 30 teams are expected to compete, so the competition is expected to be fierce.
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