Paulson has a few years ahead of sophomore Morgan Delaney.
And he is already the national champion.
Delaney posted a time of 18:35.31 to take first place at the Class A State Cross Country Championships on Saturday, Oct. 26 at the University of Montana Golf Course in Missoula.
Last year, Delaney battled illness and still finished 10th as a freshman.
“I was very anemic, so I was sick all season,” he told the Daily Interlake. “I was slower than I was in eighth grade.”
Last spring, he finished fourth in the A state track and field championships in the 3,200 meters. Coming into the state cross country finals, Delaney finished first when not running with the Class AA runners.
“I knew I had a good chance at it,” Delaney told the Daily Interlake. “In the mile I was third or fourth. At two miles I passed Karis and was first. I tried to get ahead on the hill, but I tried to slow it down to save energy on the hill. So Zoe caught up with me a little bit. In the last mile I tried to stay away from him. I looked back several times.”
Zoe Real Kusy, who finished second with a time of 18:48.12, is a sophomore at Hardin.
Polson freshman Ms. Kimora Scott represented the young talent for the Pirates, finishing 13th (19:52.06) in her first experience at the state cross country level.
In the girls race, the top six runners were underclassmen, while nine of the top 15 were sophomores or younger.
Ronan junior Annie Adams was 67th (22:41.38) and her freshman teammate Hayden Dusty Bull was 68th (22:43.49). Paulson’s Reese Adams was 83rd (23:30.40) and teammate Carly Smith was 86th (23:34.97).
Ronan’s Saella Nomi was 91st (23:49.51).
Paulson finished tenth as a team at state, while fellow Northwest A Conference team Columbia Falls was second.
DiGiallonardo finished fourth
Paulson junior David DiGiallonardo finished fourth in the boys race (16:28.47) at the Class A cross country championships in Missoula. He was the top Northwest A Conference finisher (16:39.95) ahead of Libby’s Cody Watson, who finished 5th.
Ronan’s Jacob Piapot, a senior, finished 15th (17:03.62), helping the Chiefs finish fifth as a team. Tayen Edmo was 33rd (17:48.73) and Benjamin Running Rabbit was 40th (17:56.52).
Jett McDonald was 43rd (17:58.68) and William Normandeau was 48th (18:08.12) for the Chiefs.
Polson sophomore Jackson Bontadelli was 28th (17:36.52). Paulson finished tenth as a team in the Northwest Conference with wins over Libby, Bigfork and Whitefish.