KALISPELL — Last year, Kalispell Glacier cross country had two top-three runners in Class AA on their respective boys and girls teams.
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On the boys side is senior runner Owen Thiel, who is coming into this season with an even bigger end goal in mind after a successful track season last spring.
“I was really bummed with my third-place finish” at the state cross country meet, Thiel said. “I was really confident going into that meet, so with my state title in the 2-mile this year, I’m feeling confident again. But I’ve learned from last year not to be too confident, so that is another huge goal of mine to get that state title.”
A large piece of Thiel’s confidence came from his performance in one of the largest cross country races in Montana, the Mountain West Classic, where he took first.
It was also at this race that his fellow teammate, Lauren Bissen, won the girls race, catapulting her to the top of the list of runners to watch in Class AA.
“I was able to race that way, and I had never done something like that before,” Bissen said. “I was really grateful for that experience because it gave me a lot of confidence."
After placing third in her race at state, Bissen is also ready to take the next steps toward being crowned a champion.
“I do plan to be in the top competitive field,” Bissen said. “I want to be the best I can possibly be, and I hope to do that by pushing others, as well as taking their strength and using it.”
For both runners, this season is not just about their individual performances, but they also hope to lift trophies with the rest of their team.
“Probably my biggest goal is trying to get our team on the podium at state this year,” Thiel said. “We’ve got some really great guys, sophomores and juniors that are lower half of varsity, but they carry the team and they put in the work.”
“We’d really like to podium this year, and I know that I can help my team do that through positivity and support through just being there,” Bissen said. “I know that there are a lot of girls that are nipping at the bit this year, and they want that, too.”
Glacier will race next at the Flathead Invite Saturday, Sept. 5.
