Ronan boys, Polson girls excel at state cross country
Cross country teams finished up their season this past weekend at the all-class state meet in Great Falls. Many local kids competed very well.
CLASS C
In the Class C race, the young runners from Lake County stepped up at the state meet. On the boys side, freshman Willis DeGrandpre of Charlo was the fastest runner from Lake County. He finished in 34th place with a time of 18:24. The top finisher for Arlee was also a freshman. Greg Whitesell came in a few spots back from DeGrandpre in 37th place with a time of 18:41. The next runner for Charlo was Devon Siech, followed by Conner Koenig. Arlee’s Isaac Desjarlais, who played a football game the night before, came in with a time of 20:00.
In the girls race, freshman Jaden Coston of Charlo was the fastest runner for Lake County with a time of 20:47, which put her in 14th place. Another freshman, Natalie Yocum of Arlee, was the second fastest Lake County runner with a time of 22:14, which put her in 26th. Her teammate, Shawntaya Nelson, was right on her heels for a 27th place finish. In second for Charlo was another freshman, Allie Delaney, who came in 39th overall.
BOYS
Team:
1. Richey-Lambert, 24, 2. Manhattan Christian, 39, 15. Charlo 160, 18. Arlee, 187
Individual:
1. Evan Duggan, Darby, 16:09
34. Willis DeGrandpre, Charlo, 18:24
37. Greg Whitesell, Arlee, 18:41
54. Devon Siech, Charlo, 19:25.37
72. Connor Koenig, Charlo, 19:58
74. Isaac Desjarlais, Arlee, 20:00.83
76. Skyler Titsworth, Arlee, 20:06
83. Sequoia Wiley, Arlee, 20:23
84. Ivory Brien, Arlee, 20:23
88. Colt Brazill, Arlee, 20:31
91. Chase Wiley, Arlee, 20:49
118. Zach Mathias, TER, 22:10
125. Nate Delaney, Charlo, 23:19
135. Issaiah Mathias, TER, 25:14
GIRLS
Team: 1. Winnett-Melstone, 20, 7. Arlee, 84, 10. Charlo, 133
Individual:
1. Bailee Parker, West Yellowstone, 17:46
14. Jaden Coston, Charlo, 20:47
26. Natalie Yocum, Arlee, 22:14
27. Shawntaya Nelson, Arlee, 22:14
31. Becca Whitesell, Arlee, 22:45
39. Allie Delaney, Charlo, 24:01
69. Nicole Perry, Arlee, 28:22
70. Ali North, Arlee, 28:45
71. Malachi Deroche, Arlee, 28:50
78. Naomi Plant, Arlee, 29:52
80. Telesa Truman, Charlo, 30:06
CLASS B
In the Class B races, Mission and Ronan were looking to improve upon their times from last year. For the boys, junior Jackson Duffey of Ronan was expected to do well, as was Mission’s Tate Weingart. Duffey was the top finisher for the county, placing 20th with a time of 17:00. Weingart was the next highest placer for the county with a time of 17:28, which earned him a 32nd place finish.
The Ronan boys, who were coming off a divisional title last week, competed well, with five runners placing in the top 65. That was enough to earn them a sixth place finish as a team. Daniel Koehler was the second fastest for the Chiefs, followed by Nathan Dennis, Hunter Peterson, and Andrew Koehler.
The girls race was once again dominated by a Morley from Bigfork. For this county, Ronan’s Penni Weyant was the fastest finisher with a time of 22:24 and a 66th place finish. Following her was teammate Tashyna Matt, who finished in 23:44. The fastest Mission athlete was Shaniya Decker, who finished in 25:21.
BOYS
Team:
1. Manhattan, 33, 6. Ronan, 205, 21. St. Ignatius, 635
Individual:
1. Logan Morley, Bigfork, 15:36
20. Jackson Duffey, Ronan, 17:00.93
32. Tate Weingart, Mission, 17:28.80
35. Daniel Koehler, Ronan, 17:32.71
39. Nathan Dennis, Ronan, 17:42.44
47. Hunter Peterson, Ronan, 17:52.77
64. Andrew Koehler, Ronan, 18:20.96
112. Aden Birdinground, Ronan, 19:32
116. Michael Koehler, Ronan,19:47
138. Wacey McClure, Mission, 20:27
142. Korbyn Pierce, Mission, 20:36.13
143. Warren Castor, Mission, 20:37.12
180. Wyatt Decker, Mission, 23:50.78
GIRLS
Team:
1. Bigfork, 63, 2. Manhattan, 88, 3. Lincoln County 161
Individual:
1. Bryn Morley, Bigfork, 17:26
66. Penni Weyant, Ronan, 22:24
100. Tashyna Matt, Ronan, 23:44
119. Korrie Frisk, Ronan, 24:30
126. Kaitlyn Sassaman, Ronan, 24:49
139. Shaniya Decker, Mission, 25:21
148. Tori Peterson, Mission, 27:00
CLASS A
In the Class A race, the Polson girls were looking to break into the top three, while the boys looked to make up points without their fastest runner, Zach Evertz, who was not able to compete due to an injury. For the girls, Ryan Harrop moved up one spot from her state finish last year to take sixth place. Coach Matt Seeley said it was her best run of the year. Behind Harrop was Malia Seeley, who finished the race in tenth, 15 places higher than she finished last year. Just missing the top 15 was freshman Molly Sitter, who finished 16th. The girls team just missed receiving a trophy, finishing four points behind Hardin. Quinn Motichka was the fourth place finisher for the Pirates and was 51st overall. Following her were teammates Tessa Nunlist, Natalie Wheeler, and Sarah Wood. Harrop and Seeley both earned All-State by finishing in the top 15.
The boys were led by freshman Quin Stewart, whose time of 17:14 was the fastest among Class A freshman. He placed in 45th. Finishing second for the Pirates was Matt Sitter, who ran the race in 18:05 for a 76th place finish. Coby Debruin was next, followed by Thunder Morales, Warren Wood, Tyler Bledsoe, and Wyatt Benson.
BOYS (134)
Team:
1. Corvallis, 70, 2. Fergus, 104, 15. Polson, 375
Individual:
1. Cameron Miekle, Hamilton, 15:26
45. Quin Stewart, Polson, 17:14.13
76. Matt Sitter, Polson,18:05.82
79. Coby Debruin, Polson, 18:07.95
82. Thunder Morales, Polson, 18:12.58
93. Warren Wood, Polson, 18:34.10
111. Tyler Bledsoe, Polson, 19:27.62
117. Wyatt Benson, Polson, 19:40.75
GIRLS (128)
Team: 1. Corvallis, 103, 4. Polson, 156,
Individual:
1. Jaycie Schmalz, Hamilton, 18:26
6. Ryan Harrop, Polson, 19:36
10. Malia Seeley, Polson, 19:55
16. Molly Sitter, Polson, 20:02
51. Quinn Motichka, Polson, 21:27
73. Tessa Nunlist, Polson, 22:20
95. Natalie Wheeler, Polson, 23:17
99. Sarah Wood, Polson, 23:27