It was an exciting meet cheering on and celebrating the accomplishments of the Dragon Cross Country team as they competed in the Preston Invitational XC meet.  The day proved to be the perfect storm of conditions, course and competitors to bring out the very best of the MHS team.  Of the 23 Malad runners, 21 set new personal or season records.  The timing of such a breakthrough couldn’t have been any better for the Malad team as the meet marked the end of the regular season.

The women’s race was the first of the high school races to be run on Wednesday, October 15 at the Preston Golf and Country Club.  The race featured 172 high school women’s runners from 15 schools.  Malad’s Aezlyn Summers broke out to the head of the pack, keeping up with the leaders as they rounded the course.  Coming in third place,  Summers ran her fastest ever time of a 5K course at 19:45.1.  Ellie Angell followed less than a minute later in fifth place, also setting a new personal record at 20:27.1.

As the racers began pouring in across the finish line, the Malad team was surprised to see their runners ahead of schedule, each of them setting a new personal or season record.  Kaycee Venable set a new best for the season at 20:56.4, Kallee Talbot not far behind at 21:27.1 for her new PR.  Jenna Talbot and Somerli Nalder crossed the finish line together at 23:24.7 for new bests as well.  Freshman Katie Palmer Pr-ed at 23:51.3 with Bella Burbidge finishing with a new season record at 24:58.4.

The men’s race followed with the 225 racers group together in the 15 teams across the starting line.  Once again, Malad runners found their way to compete at the head of the race, freshman Jace Nalder leading the way.  Nalder crossed the finish line in third place with a time of 16:39.0.  Senior Levi Angell trailed in sixth place with a new PR of 16:47.2.  With a need for speed, the MHS team came to the finish with 12 additional personal records to finish out the race.

Braun Nalder 17:06.3 PR

Carter Smith 17:28.9 PR

Dawson Beutler 17:48.1 PR

Joseph Angell 18:02.7 PR

Jaxon Blaisdell 18:12.6 PR

Trigger Jones 18:39.4 PR

Caden Jeppson 18:59.9 PR

Brecken Price 19:02.6 PR

Kayson Neal 19:07.0 PR

Evan Colton 19:59.7 PR

Hyrum Hanks 21:58.0 PR

Austin Jeppson 23:38.4 PR

The strong results led both the men’s and women’s teams to place well at the meet, the MHS men’s team taking third and the women’s team earning fourth.  Head Coach Tia Talbot shared, “These kids poured everything they had into this race.  Marsh Valley had a similar course last week but there was something different for our team in Preston.  It was awesome.”

She continued, “These personal accomplishments are coming at just the right time, giving these kids the confidence they need going into the District and State meets.”

The senior XC runners, Levi Angell, Caden Jeppson, Cameron Allen, and Bostyn Burbidge, were recognized at the Friday night football game.

The Dragon XC team will next compete in Soda Springs on Wednesday, October 22 for the 5th District honors as well as a qualifying place in the upcoming State competition.