Ronan sweeps eponymous x-country invitational

The Daily Inter Lake

PABLO - Ronan's runners tuned-up for next weekend's Mountain West Classic in Missoula with a strong effort at the Ronan Invitational on Thursday.

Ronan took both team titles at the Silver Fox Golf Course and had an individual winner in Michael Fisher.

Fisher posted a winning time of 16:04. His margin of victory was 29 seconds.

"Michael Fisher just had a great run," said Ronan coach Gale Decker.

"He's knocking at the door (to break 16 minutes). He hasn't quite done that yet."

The Ronan boys, 42 points, finished well ahead of second-place finishers Polson and Thompson Falls, both with 88 points.

The Chiefs had two more runners place in the top 10 - Andrew Graham was third, 16:59; and Buddy Cheff ninth, 17:21.

The Ronan girls, 25 points, easily claimed top honors with Polson, 51, second.

Kara DeWalt of Darby was the lone runner to crack 19 minutes, posting a winning time of 18:51.

Terinee McCready of Ronan was second, 19:23, and teammates Kaneesha Benson fourth, 20:26, Sadie McMillan fifth, 20:32 and Briana Malmquist sixth, 21:06.

The Maidens' other top 10 performer was Kelsey Salomon, eighth in 21:28.

"We're really working on trying to close the gap between our No. 1 girl and No. 5," said Decker.

"We closed that up pretty good today."

The Columbia Falls boys and girls both finished fourth.

The Wildkats had two girls in the top 25, Addie Houle, 19th, 23:01, and Jessica Dedman, 23rd, 23:37.

"Ran her fastest time of the season," said Columbia Falls girls coach Steve Gasche of Houle, a sophomore.

"She's new to the sport, making a strong impact right now. She's taking 30 seconds off per race. That's pretty neat."

Gasche said Dedman was stung by a bee during warm-ups, but still competed and turned in a solid time.

The Columbia Falls boys had four in the top 25 - Brian Merseal, 11th, 17:44; Dalvin Averill, 13th, 17:57; Steffen Anderson, 18th, 18:26; and Tim McCracken, 25th, 18:40.

"He ran a beautiful race," said Columbia Falls boys coach Richard Menicke of Merseal.

"Very controlled, strong. All three miles he was under a six-minute pace. He ran super smart."

Menicke said the majority of his runners, despite some difficult workouts this week, posted season best times.

Boys

Team Totals

Ronan 42, Polson 88, Thompson Falls 88, Columbia Falls 96, Hamilton 100, Darby 141, Arlee 208.

Top 25 Individuals

1. Michael Fisher, Ronan, 16:04; 2. Logan Torgison, Polson, 16:33; 3. Andrew Graham, Ronan, 16:59; 4. Jacob Naegeli, Thompson Falls, 17:00; 5. Drake Brandon, Hamilton, 17:00; 6. Ben Jessop, Hamilton, 17:01; 7. Shane Donaldson, Thompson Falls, 17:16; 8. Michael Abrahamsen, Darby, 17:16; 9. Buddy Cheff, Ronan, 17:21; 10. Noah Stout, Darby, 17:34.

11. Brian Merseal, Columbia Falls, 17:44; 12. Theron Truman, Eureka, 17:44; 13. Dalvin Averill, Columbia Falls, 17:57; 14. Cameron Barber, Ronan, 18:07; 15. Erick Stedje, Ronan, 18:08; 16. Derek Naegeli, Thompson Falls, 18:18; 17. Chris Ogle, Polson, 18:21; 18. Steffen Adnerson, Columbia Falls, 18:26; 19. Kevin Love, Polson, 18:30; 20. Andrew Elliott, Libby, 18:31.

21. Ryan Sol, Thompson Falls, 18:31. 22. Wes Hill, Bigfork, 18:32; 23. Nathan Poukish, Polson, 18:35; 24. Paul Abrahamsen, Darby, 18:37; 25. Tim McCracken, Columbia Falls, 18:40.

Also

Polson - 27. Keegan Bowen, 18:42; 36. RJ Dalke, 19:23; 39. Toby Friesz, 19:49.

Libby - 28. Caleb Swartzendruber, 18:45; 30. Seth Wright, 18:45; 43. Jeremy Brothers, 20:10; 49. Tyler Brothers, 20:29.

Columbia Falls - 29. Michael Taylor, 18:45; 35. Tripp Gimbal, 19:16.

Bigfork - 34. Julian Taylor, 19:02.

Eureka - 50. Jay Roberts, 21:23.

Ronan - 44. Levi Maughan, 20:17.

Girls

Team Totals

Ronan 25, Polson 51, Thompson Falls 92, Columbia Falls 11, Hamilton 126

Top 25 Individuals

1. Kara DeWalt, Darby, 18:51; 2. Terinee McCready, Ronan, 19:23; 3. Alex Noble, Polson, 20:15; 4. Kaneesha Benson, Ronan, 20:26; 5. Sadie McMillan, Ronan, 20:32; 6. Briana Malmquist, Ronan, 21:06; 7. Kali Cook, Polson, 21:25; 8. Kelsey Salomon, Ronan, 21:28; 9. Natesha Arlint, Polson, 21:30. 10. Delcie Peters, Thompson Falls, 21:32.

11. Ciara Normandeau, Thompson Falls, 21:34; 12. Tina McLinden, Libby, 22:06; 13. Tori Porcella, Hamilton, 22:16; 14. Christa Salomon, Ronan, 22:22; 15. Kelsie Delaney, Polson, 22:31; 16. Dwy Simpson, Thompson Falls, 22:36; 17. Tanna Bull, Polson, 23:00; 18. Emily Pyles, Polson, 23:01; 19. Addie Houle, Columbia Falls, 23:01; 20. Danica Loucks, Hamilton, 23:14.

21. Kari Syrjala, Thompson Falls, 23:15; 22. Heidi Hunsucker, Polson, 23:30; 23. Jessica Dedman, Columbia Falls, 23:37; 24. Ali Mildenberger, Hamilton, 23:45; 25. Chelsey Marjerrison, Columbia Falls, 23:52.

Also

Columbia Falls - 26. Nikki Elek, 23:56; 29. Nelli Lutz, 24:31; 33. Britney Mickelson, 25:12; 36. Dana Gross, 27:49.

Bigfork - 28. Jamie Morgenstern, 24:10.

Eureka - 30. Eryn Adams, 24:43; 31. Mandi Truman, 24:55.