Mission Valley runners brave elements at state cross country meet
Polson Pirate cross country runner Mason Sloan took home a pair of postseason accolades this season. Sloan placed fourth at the Western A Divisional for all-conference honors, then followed that up with a ninth place finish at the State A meet in Great Falls for all-state honors. Both times were clocked among the sub-17s. Sloan placed 10th last season at the State A meet. (Photo courtesy of Jenni Brown)
Polson Lady Pirate cross country all-conference runners Halle Heninger (left) and Karli Owens pose with the Western A Divisional Hamilton Golf Course venue in the background. Heninger placed 12th, while Owens wrapped up the last accolade with a 15th place finish. (Photo courtesy of Jenni Brown)
Charlo cross country runners Aryal Love, coach Amy Delaney and Guinevere Contreras pose at the 2019 State C segment of the all classification state cross country meet at Eagle Falls Golf Course in Great Falls. (Photo courtesy of Steve Love)
Weather tends to be a frequent subject we all have cause to grouse about at one time or another.
At Great Falls this past weekend for the all-classification cross-country state meet, weather would once again rear its head to play an influential role in the last event that closes out the season.
The day preceding the race was atypical for October with balmy temperatures around the mid-60s. But stiff 30+ mph winds provided an ominous foretelling that changes were brewing. By the time of the morning of the race, the mercury in thermometers had plummeted to below freezing, while inches of white snow recarpeted the course that had been lush and green the day before.
The significance of a four classification state event precluded rescheduling to another time. The sheer size of the meet couldn’t be moved indoors on such short notice. Consequently, as entertainers are wont to say, “the show must go on.”
In spite of these unanticipated challenges, the Mission Valley minted a pair of all-staters among a half dozen top 25 finishers.
Among Class A girls, Ronan Maiden Analeta Yellowbird ran a personal best (PR) sub-20 for a fifth place finish. A quartet of Polson Lady Pirates who placed among the top 50 included Karli Owens, Halle Heninger, Gwen Seeley and Ashtyn Wagner. Owens, Heninger and Wagner turned in PR times, while Seeley clocked a season best.
Among Class A boys, Polson Pirate Mason Sloan would repeat for all-state honors with a sub-17 ninth place finish. Stratifying among the top 50 from Ronan with sub-18s were Brant Heiner, James Normandeau, Michael Irvine and Zarec Couture.
The Ronan boys team placed sixth, while both Polson teams made the top ten.
Among Class B boys, Mission Bulldogs Isaiah Nasewytewa and Zoran LaFrombois placed among the top 50 with sub-19 times. The Mission boys team placed tenth.
Class C runners from the area had a trio place among the top 50. The Charlo pair of Guinevere Contreras and Aryal Love made the list among the girls, while Two Eagle River’s Anthony Charlo placed among Class C boys.
Some runners would excel despite the wintery adversity. Others saw times plummet. Unless one happens to be a Snow Leopard or Snowshoe Hare with extra large paws that keep one from slipping, sliding or sinking in snow, some runners were bound to be adversely affected by the less than optimal conditions that ran as much as 800% higher than the historic average for this time of year.
Two who did not fare as well under such adverse running conditions were James Normandeau of Ronan and Karolyna Buck of Mission.
Normandeau placed second at the Western A Divisional after leading much of that race. His average time over the course of eight previous meets clocks in at about 16.42. The snowy conditions of the state meet course adversely affected his performance level by almost three quarters of a minute. More conducive running conditions would likely have placed him among the top ten had he been able to clock a comparable time.
Buck was Western B divisional champion under seasonal conditions in Thompson Falls. At the state meet in Great Falls a week later, she watched her time slip away with each slide of her footing as she clocked a time almost two minutes behind her previous meet finish.
Below the results will be a comparison of the two postseason meet times among top Mission Valley performers.
2019 State Cross-Country Meet
Eagle Falls Golf Course
Great Falls, Montana
Saturday, October 26
State A
Girls
Team scores
1, Hardin (Har) 71; 2, Corvallis (Cor) 87; 3, Whitefish (Wf) 119; 4, Laurel (Lau) 128; 5, Columbia Falls (CF) 152; 6, Hamilton (Ham) 162; 7, Dillon (Dil) 205; 8, Frenchtown 214; 9, Polson 232; 10, Lewistown 293; 11, Livingston (Liv) 306; 12, Havre 310; 13, Ronan (Ron) 324; 14, Miles City 361; 15, Browning 370; 16, Glendive 515; 17, Sidney 543; <5: Billings Central, Butte Central, Libby, Stevensville.
Top 15 individuals
1, Brynnli Poulsen (Ham) 18:16.22; 2, Madalen Shipman (Dil) 19:41.84; 3, Kelle Mosher (Dil) 19:47.58; 4, Carly Cook (Lau) 19:54.23; 5, Analeta YellowBird (Ron) 19:54.92; 6, Josephine Vardell (Wf) 20:03.32; 7, Olivia Buoy (Cor) 20:04. 21; 8, Ellianna Wester (Liv) 20:08.23; 9, Andria Mourich (Lau) 20:08.88; 10, Libby Nedens (Har), 20:13.50; 11, Lauren Taylor (Lau) 20:14.10; 12, Lara Erickson (CF) 20:14.29; 13, Khylah Two Leggins (Har) 20:18. 83; 14, Marion Hugs (Har) 20:22.50; 15, Rose Day (Cor) 20:24.33;
POLSON – 31, Karli Owens 21:11.69pr; 33, Halle Heninger 21:12.90pr; 49, Gwen Seeley 22:04.80sr; 50, Ashtyn Wagner 22:05.44pr; 69, River Shoemake 22:51.15sr; 86, Nina Barfoot 23:32.44sr; 107, Julia Reiners 24:34.26.
RONAN – 5, Analeta YellowBird 19:54.92pr; 64, Olivia Heiner 22:29.18pr; 71, Brogen Youngren 23:01.52pr; 89, Kaona Trahan 23:37.40; 95, Kinsley Barney 23:59.15pr; 100, LaNissa Mahkuk 24:04.41; 116, Kieauna DeRoche 25:41.64.
Boys
Team Scores
1, Columbia Falls (CF) 65; 2, Hardin (Har) 87; 3, Lewistown (Lew) 97; 4, Hamilton (Ham) 125; 5, Corvallis (Cor) 162; 6, Ronan, 192; 7, Livingston (Liv) 204; 8, Whitefish, 231; 9, Laurel, 261; 10, Polson (Pol) 311; 11, Havre, 334; 12, Frenchtown (Fr) 345; 13, Browning, 348; 14, Dillon (Dil) 364; 15, Miles City 394; 16, Billings Central (BiC) 400; 17, Glendive, 427; 18, Libby, 451; 19, Stevensville, 542; 20, Sidney, 606; <5: Butte Central, East Helena, Lockwood.
Top 15 individuals
1, Sam Fulbright (Lew) 16:10.43; 2, Colter Kirkland (Ham) 16:17.42; 3, Tyler Schmautz, Frenchtown (Fr) 16:18.27; 4, Aiden Jarvis (CF) 16:29.35; 5, Quaiden Whiteman (Har) 16:39.92; 6, Dylan Wichman (BiC) 16:47.61; 7, James Role (CF) 16:49.87; 8, Trae Hugs (Har) 16:51.54; 9, Mason Sloan (Pol) 16:52.08; 10, Thomas Hicks (Liv) 16:57.12; 11, James Petersen (CF) 16:57.79; 12, Will Flowers, Corvallis (Cor) 16:58.75; 13, Jalen Robinson (Lew) 16:59.61; 14, Ben Steadman (Dil) 17:01.67; 15, Brinson Wyche (Cor) 17:02.45;
RONAN – 17, Brant Heiner 17:05.57; 23, James Normandeau 17:17.00; 27, Michael Irvine 17:25.37; 33, Zarec Couture 17:35.46pr; 92, Wendall Charlo 19:04.90sr; 107, Christian Silgen 19:50.94; 126, Xavier Nolen 21:00.44.
POLSON – 9, Mason Sloan 16:52.08; 63, Isaac Stene 18:16.86pr; 70, Kellen Norman 18:29.94; 84, Kasen Heninger 18:56.32; 85, Ryan Dupuis 18:57.25; 91, Drifter Skillicorn 19:03.84pr; 106, Andrew Reed 19:50.14.
State B
Girls
Team scores
1, Townsend (Town) 65; 2, Manhattan (Manh) 79; 3, Red Lodge (RL) 187; 4, Lodge Grass 227; 5, Huntley Project (HP) 239; 6, Glasgow (Glas) 276; 7, Shepherd 278; 8, Bigfork 289; 9, Eureka 306; 10, Colstrip (Cols) 312; 11, Thompson Falls 333; 12, St. Labre (StL) 344; 13, Big Timber (BTim) 375; 14, Roundup 413; 15, Wolf Point 471; 16, Deer Lodge 559; 17, Malta 578; 18, Joliet 606; 19, Great Falls Central 639; 20, Jefferson 667; 21, Arlee 690; <5: Anaconda, Columbus (Colu), Cutbank, Harlem (Harl), Loyola, Poplar, Rocky Boy, Shelby, Mission St. Ignatius, Three Forks, Whitehall, Fairfield.
Top 15 individuals
1, Hayley Burns (Cols) 19:29.50; 2, Emma Stolte (Town) 19:44.52; 3, L’Tia Lawrence (Harl) 19:47.04; 4, Kelsey Plymale (Colu) 19:49.98; 5, Natalie Lile (HP) 19:51.96; 6, Natalie Wood (BTim) 19:53.89; 7, Jodi Cameron (Manh) 20:01.45; 8, Hallie Hemenway (Manh) 20:01.63; 9, Destynee Two Moons (StL) 20:18.19; 10, Brayli Reimer (RL) 20:34.79; 11, McKenna Shuck (RL) 20:46.62; 12, Bailey Taves (Town) 20:46.77; 13, Justene Santi (Town) 20:47.88; 14, Sarah Christensen (Town) 20:50.75; 15, Iris McKean (Glas) 20:57.51;
ARLEE – 96, Princess Bolen 24:38.69; 102, Cheyenne Pablo 24:56.76; 161, Elaina Wall 30:55.88; 162, Natallyia Martin 30:58.56; 169, Melaia Matt 32:42.98; 173, Aubrey Ishler 35:02.88.
MISSION ST. IGNATIUS – 59, Karolyna Buck 23:24.44; 93, Madyson Currie 24:27.95; 103, Emmy Flatlip 24:57.11.
Boys
Team scores
1, Eureka (Eur) 73; 2, Manhattan (Manh) 96; 3, St. Labre (StL) 165; 4, Glasgow (Glas) 180; 5, Lodge Grass 183; 6, Townsend (Town) 198; 7, Red Lodge 211; 8, Huntley Project (HP) 305; 9, Harlem (Harl) 306; 10, Mission St. Ignatius 313; 11, Cutbank 330; 12, Three Forks 339; 13, Bigfork 356; 14, Wolf Point (WP), 415; 15, Shepherd 422; 16, Anaconda 485; 17, Big Timber 485; 18, Thompson Falls (TF) 525; 19, Columbus 541; 20, Deer Lodge 568; 21, Colstrip 577; 22, Loyola-Sacred Heart 583; 23, Joliet 622; 24, Great Falls Central 655; 25, Arlee 664; 26, Rocky Boy 757; <5: Jefferson, Lame Deer, Poplar, Roundup, Shelby, Whitehall, Fairfield.
Top 15 individuals
1, Brad Cichosz (Harl) 17:08.70; 2, Wilson Overby (Glas) 17:12.24; 3, Isaac Reynolds (Eur) 17:21.03; 4, Wyatt Barney (Manh) 17:30.74; 5, Zander Ackerman (WP) 17:35.96; 6, Kevin Graves (HP) 17: 39.58; 7, Chaidh Lochridge (Eur) 17:21.03; 8, Carl Zabrocki (Glas) 17:54, 52; 9, Tegan MedicineBull (StL) 17:55.97; 10, Aiden Thompson (DL) 17:56.54; 11, Michael Tenney (Manh) 17:57.65; 12, Gerrit Punt (StL) 17:57.93; 13, Justin Morgan (TF) 18:03.83; 14, Alex Lowe (Eur) 18:06.42; 15, Ty Henry Steele (Town) 18:08.01;
ARLEE – 85, Micah Johnson 20:21.81; 112, Sage Nicolai 21:08.78; 134, Denny Sween 22:06.80; 160, R.J. Knoll 23:03.62; 172, Devin Cordier 23:53.97; 178, Billy Fisher 24:21.76.
MISSION ST. IGNATIUS – 18, Isaiah Nasewytewa 18:24.71; 33, Zoran LaFrombois 18:46.79; 53, Andrew Rush 19:38.36; 100, Aidyn Rosenbaum 20:43.41; 109, Roman Gonzalez 21:07.05; 149, Leo Peirce 22:38.26; 179, Erich Morigeau 24:31.14.
State C
Girls
Team scores
1, Seeley-Swan 15; 2, West Yellowstone 21; 3, Centerville 40; 4, Manhattan Christian 69; 5, Ennis 76; 6, Plentywood 89; 7, Culbertson 95; 8, Cascade 109; 9, Scobey 110; 10, Darby 117; 11, Plenty Coups 121; 12, Circle 145; 13, Powder River Co. 174; 14, Fairview 178; 15, Dodson 202; 16, Box Elder 210; 17, Brockton 251; Two Eagle River 270; <3: Charlo, Frazier, Fromberg, Hays-Lodgepole, Lima, Sunburst, Richey-Lambert, Sheridan, Terry, Winnett-Grass Range, Heart Butte, Melstone, Highwood, Drummond, Whitewater.
Top individuals
1, Averi Parker, West Yellowstone, 20:11.16; 2, Annie Kaul, Plentywood, 20:23.29; 3, Julia Everest, West Yellowstone, 20:24.69; 4, Sariah Maughan, Seeley-Swan, 21:18.46; 5, Emily Maughan, Seeley-Swan, 21:19.51; 6, Kyla Conley, Seely-Swan, 21:21.5; 7, Ava Bellach, Manhattan Christian, 21:21.55; 8, Lindsey Paulson, Belt-Centerville, 21:33.52; 9, Hannah Ayers, Seeley-Swan, 21:33.83; 10, Gracie Lang, Darby, 21:36.11; 11, Maida Knapton, Ennis, 21:47.31; 12, Brooke Holland, Sunburst, 21:52.02; 13, Kayla Kombol, Melstone, 21:54.5; 14, Shelby Paulson, Belt-Centerville, 22:08.43; 15, Maddie Yakos, Drummond, 22:12.07;
CHARLO – 27, Guinevere Contreras 23:49.40; 33, Aryal Love 24:26.63.
TWO EAGLE RIVER – 84, Lahtai Finley 30:31.95; 91, Taylor Pierre 31:06.58; 95, Viviana After Buffalo-Adams 34:29.83.
Boys
Team scores
1, Manhattan Christian (ManhC) 8; 2, Richey-Lambert (R-L) 31; 3, Twin Bridges (TB) 64; 4, Heart Butte 78; 5, Plenty Coups 78; 6, West Yellowstone 94; 7, Scobey 95; 8, Centerville 107; 9, Melstone 109; 10, Culbertson 120; 11, Darby 155; 12, Ennis 161; 13, Hays Lodge Pole 165; 14, Fairview 172; 15, Two Eagle River 176; 16, Terry 203; <3: Box Elder, Cascade, Dodson, Frazier, Fromberg, Hot Springs, Lima, Sunburst, Plentywood, Roberts, Seeley-Swan, Sheridan, Winnett-Grass Range, Hobson-Moore-Judith Gap, Drummond..
Top Individuals
1, Ben Morris (ManhC) 16:52.99; 2, Samuel Smith (R-L) 16:54.12; 3, Riley Schott (ManhC) 17:01.77; 4, Matt Kenney (ManhC) 17:31.11; 5, Devan Walhof (ManhC) 17:45.76; 6, Sam Leep (ManhC) 17:49.76; 7, Asa Jassen, Belt-Centerville, 18:34.54; 8, Morgan Hendrickson (TB) 18:36.72; 9, Cullen Visser (ManhC) 18:43.79; 10, Luke Dvorak, Sheridan, 18:44.08; 11, Tristan Kipp, Heart Butte, 18:50.39; 12, Eli Swets (ManhC) 18:51.9; 13, Cason Ullmer, Culbertson, 18:55.42; 14, Matthew Ellerton (R-L) 18:55.68; 15, Nicholas Ellerton (R-L) 18:58.29.
TWO EAGLE RIVER – 24, Anthony Charlo 19:38.56; 69, Cailin Burke 23:06.37; 83, Cael Burke 25:07.27; 90, Shade Tanner 26:50.23; 93, Makeelin Glass 30:06.68.
State AA
1, Simon Hill, Glacier, 15:50.69;
15, Tori Noland-Gillespie, Flathead, 19:16.8;
unabridged results can be viewed online at < competitivetiming.com >, < athletic.net >, or < mhsa.org >.
Comparison of select postseason XC times
Western girls
Karolyna Buck, Mission (div: 1st, 21:37.33; st: 59th, 23:24.44);
Analeta YellowBird, Ronan (div: 9th, 21:12.74; st: 5th, 19:54.92);
Halle Heninger, Polson (div: 12th, 21:19.19; st: 33rd, 21:12.90);
Karli Owens, Polson (div: 15th, 21:30.15; st: 31st, 21:11.69);
Western boys
Mason Sloan, Polson (div: 4th, 16:57.85; st: 9th, 16:52.08);
James Normandeau, Ronan (div: 2nd, 16:45.71; st: 23rd, 17:17.00);
Brant Heiner, Ronan (div: 7th, 17:13.44; st: 17th, 17:05.57);
Michael Irvine, Ronan (div: 8th, 17:16.35pr; st: 27th, 17:25.37);
Zoran LaFrombois, Mission (div: 7th, 17:59.89pr; st: 33rd, 18:46.79);
Isaiah Nasewytewa, Mission (div: 8th, 18:06.96; st: 18th, 18:24.71);
div (divisional) dry optimal conditions; st (state) cold, snowy course conditions