Northern cross country races at home

After several months competing on the road, Montana State University-Northern cross country finally got the chance to run in Havre with the MSU-Northern Dual Friday. Unfortunately, the MSU-N womens' team was not able to run because the two other schools dropped out due to COVID-19 issues.

That left the MSU-N men's team to compete as it raced against University of Providence and Yellowstone Christian College. Even though there was not much competition to be compared to, MSU-N head coach Chad Spangler believes his team ran well.

"With the wind and everything, the times are a little bit slow but they're not bad. I think the guys ran well," Spangler said. "Overall, we were just running for times and given that we've raced four weeks in a row, I think they looked pretty good."

The meet was held at Prairie Farms Golf Course. The Lights had been competing for the past two months on the road, so getting to run at home was a welcome treat for the Lights.

"We don't have to stress ourselves with the travel," Spangler said. "I think everyone was happy to be home."

MSU-N's Field Soosloff took first in the meet with a time of 26:51. Despite the windy weather and dealing with a sinus infection, Soosloff was satisfied with his effort in his first and only home meet this fall.

"It felt like a good effort," Soosloff said. "The wind was really hard but it's nice running on our home course. I love this course."

In the small meet, many other Lights placed high. Michael Irvine took second with a time of 28:12. Brady Albus took fourth with a time of 28:41 and Jaden Koon took fifth with a finish of 30:16. August SpottedWolf finished seventh with a time of 31:20 and Eddie Harmon took eighth with a time of 31:23.

The Lights will now get a couple weeks of rest before their next meet. They are going to need it as they will next compete in the Frontier Conference Championships next month. Spangler hopes that the Lights used their meet Friday to get themselves ready for the big race.

"It's just time to fine tune things," Spangler said. "Hopefully, they just keep the momentum going."

The MSU-N cross country teams will next compete in the Frontier Conference Championships Nov. 5 in Dillon.

MSU-Northern Dual

Field Soosloff, 1st, 26:51; Michael Irvine, 2nd, 28:12; Brady Albus, 4th, 28:41; Jaden Koon, 5th, 30:16; August SpottedWolf, 7th, 31:20; Eddie Harmon, 8th, 31:23.