Husky cross country off to a strong start at Billings invite

In a field of 30 schools and 124 runners, the Burlington Huskies performed well at the Billings Invitational on Friday.
“I feel like our hard work during the summer months really paid off in our first meets of the season,” said Coach Ryan Olson. “It’s always exciting to see what kind of results we can get after so many months without competition from other schools. We were really pleased with how things turned out.
Paul McNiven, Connor Hoyt and Howard McNiven were the top three varsity boys for the Huskies. They ran within 22 seconds of each other, all of them under 18 minutes. “It’s so nice to have three talented kids that really push each other every night at practice and at meets,” said Olso. “Colt Haslam, also running varsity, beat his time from last year’s Billings meet by two full minutes. James McNiven also ran under 20 minutes, which is already pushing his personal best. I was also pleased with newcomer Ben Mendenhall, running 22:23. He will continue to improve as he figures out his pacing strategies. He always brings so much fun, positive energy to the team.”
Adelle Olson led the girls team, finishing at 29.19, and first-year runner Raygen Andrew drew praise from her coach, who said, “These distances are all new to her and she ran with a great attitude.”
Saturday, the middle schoolers went to Cody for their opening meet where Kellen Winters took first place among all runners, finishing the 1.5 mile course in 9:08. “He ran so hard from the start that I think he made the pace biker nervous that he would pass her during the race,” said Olson. “Hyrum McNiven and Jaxon Buck also finished in the top 20, in a race with 75 kids from some really big schools.”
Kelli McNiven “has worked hard all summer and it showed with her secnd-place finish overall in the girls’ race. Her sister Natalie was our second fastest girl. I also loved seeing our new Riverside girl runner, Piper Frame. She ran her first race, finished hard and with a smile on her face,” ended Olson.
This week the middle schoolers will compete in Lovell Thursday with races starting at 4 p.m. The high schoolers will compete in Ethete on Friday, with the first race beginning at 2 p.m.

BILLINGS INVITATIONAL RESULTS
BOYS VARSITY — 12, Paul McNiven, 17:34.88; 15, Connor Hoyt, 17:38.95; 20, Howard McNiven, 17:56.14; 118, Colt Haslam, 23:56.21.
BOYS JV — 8, James McNiven, 19:45.12; 57, Ben Mendenhall, 22:23.47; 72, Nick Olmstead, 22:53.10; 119, Greg McNiven, 25:41.99; 148, Brian O’Barr, 30:38.79; 163, Jackson Olson, 37:06.26.
GIRLS JV — 50, Adelle Olson, 29:19.37; 112, Raygen Andrew, 37:06.94.
MIDDLE SCHOOL CODY RESULTS
BOYS — 1, Kellen Winters, 9:08.18; 12, Hyrum McNiven, 11:15.90; 19, Jaxon Buck, 11:42.56; 35, Spencer Hamilton, 13:05.13. 39, Ariel Cordova, 13:32.54.
GIRLS — 2, Kelli McNiven, 11:05.42, 22, Natalie McNiven, 13:37.49; 41, Piper Frame, 15:48.30.