Bigfork’s Morley Wins Montana Gatorade Award

By Dillon Tabish, 1-17-12

	Caption: Makena Morley. - Lido Vizzutti/Flathead Beacon

Makena Morley continues to break new ground in her freshman year.

Morley was named the Gatorade Cross Country Girls Runner of the Year for Montana recently, becoming the first girls runner from Bigfork High School to earn the honor.

Morley won the Class B state title this past fall in record time, clocking 17:44.32.

Here’s what the Gatorade news release had to say about our local standout:

Ranked No. 22 on the ESPNHS DyeStat Cross Country Top 25 series, Morley placed third at the Foot Locker West Regional championships in 18:07 in addition to finishing ninth at the national Foot Locker Cross Country Championships in 17:39.1, capturing Second Team All-American honors. She also won the Flathead Invitational, Mountain West Classic and Capital City 7 on 7 this past fall.

Morley has maintained a 4.00 GPA in the classroom. In addition to volunteering as part of multiple community-service initiatives as part of a leadership class, she has donated her time to her team’s annual summer fun run and as a youth athletic instructor.

“She has a great work ethic, mental and physical toughness, and an unbelievable mindset for each race,” said Bigfork High head coach Susan Loeffler. “She runs to win every race, so she knows she has competed the best she can when the race is over, and she’s confident in her ability.”

The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states that sanction high school football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, baseball, softball, and boys and girls track & field, and awards one National Player of the Year in each sport. The selection process is administered by ESPN HS and the Gatorade high school sports leadership team, which work with top sport-specific experts and a media advisory board of accomplished, veteran prep sports journalists to determine the state winners in each sport.

Morley joins Gatorade Montana Girls Cross Country Runners of the Year Caroline Hardin (2010-11, Bozeman High School), and Heidi Turner (2009-10, 2008-09 & 2007-08, Bozeman), as athletes who have won the cross country award since its inception in 2007.

The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the racecourse, distinguishes Morley as Montana’s best high school girls cross country runner. Now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year award to be announced in January, Morley joins an elite alumni association of past state award winners in 12 sports, including Ryan Hall (1999-00, 2000-01, Big Bear HS, Calif.), Derek Jeter (1991-92, Kalamazoo HS, Mich.), Candace Parker (2001-02, Naperville Central HS, Ill.), Abby Wambach (1997-98, Our Lady of Mercy, N.Y.) and Mark Sanchez (2004-05, Mission Viejo HS, Calif.).

Other Montana Gatorade honorees that have been named for the fall season are listed below:

Football -- Caleb Kidder, Capital High School: The 6-foot-5, 245-pound senior guard and defensive end led the Bruins to a 12-1 record and the Class AA state championship this past season. Kidder amassed 97 tackles, 13 sacks, 11 tackles for a loss and six forced fumbles for the Capital defense. A three-time All-State selection, Kidder also recorded 45 pancake blocks on offense. Kidder has verbally committed to play football on an athletic scholarship at the University of Montana beginning in the fall of 2012.

Volleyball -- Kyndal Williams, Helena High School: The 5-foot-8 senior setter led the Bengals to a 29-4 record and their second straight Class AA state title this past season. Williams recorded 1,037 assists, 253 digs, 99 kills, 72 service aces and 45 blocks while posting a kill percentage of .398. A three-time First Team All-State selection, she distributed 145 assists in three state tournament matches, including 51 in a five-set win over Billings in the state final. [End of article]