Bigfork boys, girls cross-country runners ready to make their mark

Bigfork’s cross-country team doesn’t have the numbers that head coach Sue Loeffler had hoped for, but it makes up for that lack of quantity with quality.

The girls team has four members, led by junior Chelsea Olson. Olson is the only returning member from last year’s varsity program — among the boys and girls. Emily Moxley, who was part of the team last year, will not return this year because she has opted to be home-schooled this year and is therefore ineligible to participate in Montana High School Association sanctioned activities.

“When I started the summer I had recruited five of each (boys and girls), but then a couple of the boys decided to not come out, and then Emily home-schooled,” Loeffler said. “So when the summer started, I had a team. We don’t graduate anyone this year though, and with our middle school kids coming up, hopefully we can have a team next year.”

As a sophomore, Olson finished 17th at state last year, which left her two places out of earning All-state honors.

“She’s doing real well,” Loeffler said of Olson. “She’s a little tired because she’s still working, but once we get her off her feet from working she won’t be so tired. She’s just sluggish sometimes because she’s tired, so she’ll only be doing better.”

Olson will be joined at the front of the pack by freshman Makena Morley, who was a consistent standout in middle school and a repeat winner of community fun-runs.

“She’s been ready for awhile,” said Loeffler of Morley running at the high school level. “She’s so excited to run with the high school kids and compete against them. It will be fun to see how she does in her first high school meet.”

Another newcomer to the girls cross-country team is Tori Quirk, a junior, who is trying the sport for the first time. Loeffler encouraged Quirk to join the team since she already had a passion for running.

The fourth member of the girls team is freshman Hailey Nissen.

Junior Lane Thole leads the boys team with two years of experience, though he was competing in the junior varsity races.

“He has really taken a step up, and I’m really impressed with how he is doing,” Loeffler said. “He is really focused and working really hard.”

Thole is joined by two other Bigfork boys to make up the team of three this season, including junior Tyler Kirby who is new to the sport.

“I’m really happy with how he is doing, especially because he has never done another sport other than basketball,” Loeffler said.

The boys team’s third member is freshman Chance Kittle.

Season ahead

Loeffler will again be assisted by Jessica Johnson this season. The Vikes and Vals begin their season Friday when they travel to Cut Bank.

With good weather and good participation, Loeffler said her runners are ready.

“I’m real excited with where their focus has been,” Loeffler said. “They haven’t been goofing around. I think we’ve had two really good weeks of practice and we have a few days before our first meet still to work a little more. Everyone is just really excited about getting out there and competing and seeing where they’re at.”

One of Loeffler’s biggest goals for her team is that they keep that focus throughout the season on a consistent basis. In fact, she is reinforcing that idea with a quote she is continually sharing with the team.

“‘Champions come from guys who are great every day and not just once a week.’ I’m kind of using that quote to motivate them and remind them that if they don’t practice hard they won’t perform well at a meet,” Loeffler said. “You can’t just give a good performance once a week.”