Morley to run for Griz

Bigfork senior Makena Morley entered the season ranked in the top 10 nationally and had her pick of colleges in the recruiting process.

On Thursday, she chose to stay close to home.

Morley verbally committed to run cross country and track and field for the University of Montana over offers from Utah and Northern Arizona, as well as far-reaching programs like Stanford and Yale, according to The Missoulian.

Morley, a three-time Gatorade cross country athlete of the year, holds the all-class cross country record in Montana, set last year in Missoula with a time of 16 minutes, 35.31 seconds. The mark was 15 seconds better than the previous best time, set by Flathead’s Zoe Nelson in 2002.

The Bigfork star can officially sign a National Letter of Intent on Nov. 12, a little more than two weeks after the state cross country meet, where Morley is a favorite to win her fourth state title. Only three other girls in state history have completed the career sweep, Nelson the last one from 2001-04.

Morley has lost just twice in her prep cross country career, finishing second in her two competitions this season. She has also won state track titles in the 800-, 1,600- and 3,200-meter runs twice.

Morley has been All-American two times and finished eighth last season in the Foot Locker National Cross Country championships in San Diego.

National track and field ranking website DyeStat.com, which keeps records for track and cross country athletes across the country, ranked Morley as the ninth-best cross country athlete in the nation entering the season.

Morley will finish her Bigfork cross country career at the all-class state meet on Oct. 25 at Bill Roberts Golf Course in Helena.