Flathead's Perrin earns All-America honor

SAN DIEGO — In a field of the 40 top high school runners in the nation, Flathead senior Zach Perrin ran with the best of them, finishing 10th at the 34th annual Foot Locker Cross Country Championships National Finals on Saturday morning, earning All-America honors with a time of 15 minutes, 32 seconds.

“There was a lot of energy out there, I had a super good time.” Perrin said. “It was a good way to finish out the season ... (I’m) so super privileged to be part of this and to be able to run with a Foot Locker West jersey on and represent the West and represent Montana.”

Perrin bested his 5K time from last week’s regional final by 15 seconds, finishing third among Western runners, one of six from the region to make the All-America team. Even with the great finish, Perrin felt he could have ran better.

“I felt like I had some left in the tank, surprisingly,” Perrin said. “I think I could’ve got seventh at least. I think I could have been with those guys. No regrets.”

Perrin, the Class AA state champion, ran with the lead pack for most of the race, finishing 33 seconds behind champion Ed Cheserek of Newark, N.J. Cheserek won the race for the second straight season, finishing in 14:59. Sean McGorty of Fairfax, Va., finished second (15:05) and Jake Leingang of Bismarck, N.D., was third (15:07).

It’s the second best finish for a Montana runner, only behind Flathead’s Seth Watkins’ ninth place finish in 2000. Watkins ran a time of 15:16.

“He didn’t quite make it,” Flathead cross country coach Paul Jorgensen said.

“I was very happy with the way he ran. In a big meet like this, we’re looking at the best runners in the country.”

Glacier senior Troy Fraley finished 18th Saturday with a time of 15:42, missing the All-America team by just a few seconds after getting passed in the final 800 meters.

“I kinda had an off day, but I left everything I had out there,” Fraley said.

“I just didn’t have it today I guess.”

Fraley said the turnover from running the regionals last week was tough to overcome. The other three regionals ran a week earlier, giving them a two week break before the finals.

“First mile was pretty hectic, jockeying for position and stuff,” Fraley said. “It was a good race and I was really close to having a really, really good race. Just a couple seconds off. It’s a fine line.”

Bigfork sophomore Makena Morley had an off day herself, finishing 24th in a time of 18:12. The Class B state champion said she just didn’t feel right in the race, staying near the front for the first mile before fading back. She finished ninth in last year’s race.

“I just had a bad day,” Morley said.

Even with the less than perfect finish, Morley said she had fun competing against the best runners in the nation.

“It’s super fun,” Morley said.

“They all go out and not any of them are slow, everyone’s really fast. You just kinda stay up there with them.”

Anna Rohrer of Mishawaka, Ind., ran away with the girls title, finishing in 17:25, four seconds ahead of everyone else.

Missoula Hellgate’s Paige Gilchrist finished 29th in 18:23.

The four competitors from Western Montana was a record for the event. Flathead sent two runners in 2000, Watkins and David Vidal.

“That’s pretty amazing that happened,” Jorgensen said.

“I’ve been coming down here a long time. To bring four this year was pretty cool.”

While there was a Western Montana flair to the event, the weather was nothing close. Hovering around 60 degrees with a slight overcast and low wind, conditions were near perfect for the race and the kids hit the beach after the event was done.