Carlson places 1st in Class A; 9th overall in Missoula

| October 2, 2008 11:00 PM

By JORDAN DAWSON / Bigfork Eagle

Junior Kayla Carlson placed ninth out of 268 runners and took first among class A girls with a time of 18:37 at the Mountain West Classic on Saturday at the University of Montana Golf Course.

"It was a little scary to be running with all those girls," Carlson said. "It went really well though. I was happy I didn't get boxed in at the beginning. Big races are nice because the time goes by faster and it's good to see how you do against the class AA girls. It makes you run faster too. Overall it was a really fun meet."

Carlson finished in the exact same place as she did last year overall and in her conference.

"Last year I peaked at this meet, so I'm hoping I peak at state instead of Missoula this year," Carlson said.

Carlson said she is still a little nervous about her remaining meets because the next girl to finish wasn't too far behind her.

"I thought I could've ran a little faster, but I was happy with my time," Carlson said.

Carlson was the only runner to compete on the varsity level from Bigfork. Bridger Mahlum, who usually runs in the boys' varsity race was sick and did not compete.

Evan Jordt, who ran this course for the first time, placed 56 out of 302 junior varsity runners. Spencer Jenko had a personal best of 19:45 and placed 131 out of 302 runners. Chris Driver beat his previous time by a minute, running the course in 24:07.

"Our runners did fantastic," said head cross country coach Sue Loeffler. "People don't realize how big this meet is unless you see it yourself. Our kids keep getting better every week. (Jessica) Johnson and myself are so very proud of their performances and their hard work to prepare for each competition."

Sixth grader Mackenna Morley placed eighth out of 116 runners, who are typically seventh and eighth graders, with a time of 8:28 on the middle school course. Chelsey Olson's time of 9:31 earned her 32. Mielle Hubbard was 55 with 10:01. Mac Paine ran the course in 9:48 and was 94th out of 123 runners in what was only his second meet.