MISSOULA — The boys and girls varsity races at the prestigious Mountain West Cross Country Classic couldn't have gone much differently Saturday at the University of Montana Golf Course.
The boys race saw Bozeman senior Miles Halvorsen chase down reigning champion Owen Thiel of Kalispell Glacier and pull away for the win, while the girls race was dominated from start to finish by Billings Central freshman Addison Kegel.
WATCH THE VIDEO:
Thiel jumped out to a 13-second lead after the first mile of the boys race but faded in the back half. Halvorsen was steady throughout and ultimately separated to win with a time of 15 minutes, 17.2 seconds, a 4:56 pace.
Fellow Hawk Taylor Neil placed second in 15:30.6, following by Billings Central's Grey Piseno in third at 15:38.7.
Thiel ended up 13th with a time of 15:56.8, as 16 runners broke the 16-minute mark.
Bozeman finished second in the team standings with 111 points, just one point back of champion Mead of Spokane, Wash.
Kegel, meanwhile, set out on a blistering 5:21 pace in the first mile of the girls race and never looked back. She crossed the finish line in 17:33.0, a 5:40 pace, to finish more than 30 seconds ahead of second-place Lauren Bissen of Glacier.
Bissen crossed in 18:07.6, a 15-second improvement on her winning time from the 2024 race.
Kegel was one of three freshmen to finish in the top four Saturday. Bozeman's Phoebe Maixner was third in 18:33.0, and Glacier's Ada Thiel was fourth in 18:43.9.
Maixner's third-palace finish helped the Bozeman girls to the team title, as the Hawks also got strong finishes from Kylee Neil (ninth overall, 19.09.8) and Tula Higman (11th overall, 19:17.5) to finish with 67 points. Gallatin was second with 163 points, followed by Helena in third with 220.
The 2025 Mountain West Cross Country Classic featured a record turnout of more than 3,500 runners across all races (including varsity, junior varsity and middle school) from 90-plus schools in attendance.
