Northern wins Battle of the Border Blizzard

Most of the time a winter storm like the one that drilled Havre this weekend would keep folks indoors.

On top of that, who would ever run in a blizzard without proper winter gear? That has to be insane, right? Not for the Montana State University-Northern cross-country teams, which had quite the fun, but unofficial, race last Saturday morning at the Prairie Farms Golf Course, which was supposed to be the annual Battle of the Border between Northern and Western Wyoming.

The experience for the Northern harriers was nothing short of a competitive, yet enjoyable race. Northern head coach Chad Spangler loved to see his teams out in the winter weather having a great race.

"It's something I'll never forget that's for sure," said Spangler. "There must be what, six inches of snow out there or so?"

The snow definitely piled up on the course, something that discouraged most teams from traveling to the event, but the event was still on.

The Battle of the Border only had two collegiate teams come and compete, along with some unattached racers. Besides MSU-N, the other team was Western Wyoming.

The meet kicked off with the women's teams running a 5K meter, two-lap race. As the snow kept pelting down on the racers, they trudged and pushed through. The 12 harriers for the women's race all finished in under 30 minutes.

The Skylight's Allie Tigert put on a good run with a 22:02 and a first-place finish. Ashley McCready-Romero placed third in the race with a 22:13 and Kaylee Nystrom placed fifth with a 22:45. Grace Schwenk finished with a time of 24:23.

Western Wyoming's harriers on the women's team also put on a good performance. The runners placed second, fourth, sixth, seventh and ninth in the race. All of Northern Wyoming's times fell under 26 minutes and all placed in the top 10.

Spangler was also proud of his teams for persevering through the tough weather.

"What I'm happy about is that we got through it and it was hard," Spangler said. "This is the perfect time of the season to do something like that because everything else is gonna seem really easy going forward."

The Northern men's team competed in an 8K, three-lap race that was very close. There were 13 harriers that took off from the start line and ran their hearts out, often seen with a look of amusement with the conditions they were racing in.

Northern's Amos Taiswa claimed the top spot in the men's 8K with a 29:35 and Dan Kirwa followed right behind, just a few seconds shy of the first-place spot. Field Soosloff followed in third with a 29:38. Fifth place was claimed by Liam Baez-Terry along with a time of 30:26.

Western Wyoming's Kenyion Townsend finished with a 30:15, placing fourth and Brayden Kovick finished seventh with a 31:07. Jayden Yates finished the race in eighth and had a 31:07.

Many other racers followed soon after, then came a harrier who took full advantage of the winter weather.

Beau Hyatt, an unattached harrier at the meet, was having a great time at the event. The whole race he was taking in the cold atmosphere and making the most of it. As he approached the finish line for the 8K, someone Hyatt knew told him he should slide into the finish through the snow.

Hyatt did exactly that, lunging forward and gliding through the white earth and ending his race with a time of 32:24. The cheer from the small crowd that attended was very happy to see Hyatt make a stunning finish. Hyatt was just fine after the run, enjoying the company of the fellow harriers.

With the race being unofficial, winning or losing does not affect any of the parties who participated, but the experience they all shared at the race was great. As the teams gathered in the building, all the runners had a smile on their face and were sharing little stories from their races.

The Lights and Skylight's cross country teams will have a break next week to rest up and get ready for a meet in Lewiston, Idaho, the following week.

Battle of the Border

MENS

Individuals:

Amos Taiswa, MSUN, 29:35; Dan Kirwa, MSUN, 29:35; Field Soosloff, MSUN, 29:38; Kenyion Townsend, CWC, 30:15; Liam Baez-Terry, MSUN, 30:26; Luke Karnauskas, MSUN, 30:41; Brayden Kovick, CWC, 30:55; Jayden Yates, CWC, 31:07; Jared White, CWC, 32:10; Beau Hyatt, unattached, 32:24; Eddie Harmon, MSUN, 32:59; Kai Krumwiede, MSUN, 33:04; Gabe Strader, MSUN, 33:30

WOMENS

Individuals:

Allie Tigert, MSUN, 22:02; Trysta Stingley, CWC, 22:07; Ashley McCready-Romero, MSUN, 22:13; Paige Flock, CWC, 22:21; Kaylee Nystrom, MSUN, 22:45; Kathryn Sauerwein, CWC, 23:32; Hailee Hunter, CWC, 23:53; Grace Schwenk, MSUN, 24:23; Unknown, CWC, 24:30; Kaitlin Nystrom, MSUN, 25:22; Raini Jonson, MSUN, 25:37; Courtney Schatz, Cota, 27:21