Wolves open season in Boulder

The Three Forks High School Cross Country team opened the 2024 season with two top 20 finishers at last week's Jefferson Invite in Boulder.

Freshman Teegan Gifford finished 13th in the varsity girls' race at 22:36, and senior Grace Kluin finished 20th at 23:57.

Following the race, Wolves Head Coach Tara Forsberg said it felt great for the student-athletes to be able to start the season.

"The kids make the first meet bigger and harder in their heads, and they are worried about their fitness and getting fast. So, to get them out there and get some confidence in them is good," Forsberg said.

Also competing in the varsity girls' race were Dawson Petersen who finished at 26:57, Pailey Lampers who had a time of 28:23, and Devynn Judd who finished at 29:19.

"We had a lot of course PRs for our girls' but we're trying to get them to tighten up the pack. They were pretty spread out today, but now they can see in their heads where they need to be," Forsberg said.

Despite having only two boys compete at the Jefferson Invite, Forsberg was pleased with the performance of Brady Olson, who finished at 21:11, and Jacoby Berg, who had a time of 21:29.

"They did good, and they looked strong. Jacoby has obviously been working in the offseason and is doing really well, and Brady did good for not having run cross country since junior high," she said.

In the junior varsity girls' race, Eva O'Brien had a time of 31:19, Aubrey Lema finished at 32:40, and Isabella Meehan had a time of 33:05.

Wolves' standout seniors Cass Violett for the boys and Bella Jones for the girls did not compete in Boulder but will be back when the team next competes on September 14 in Bozeman.

With a week off in between meets, Forsberg is looking forward to the time in practice.

"They are so much fun to work with, and they are really a coachable team. They have really high hopes as I do for them," she said.