Bulldogs' Coco wins Class A race

Columbia Falls boys place second

By DILLON TABISH/The Daily Inter Lake

MISSOULA - In the end, Drew Coco finished on top.

The Whitefish senior won the Class A boys individual state title in 15 minutes, 26 seconds for three miles on Saturday at the all-class state cross country meet at the University of Montana Golf Course.

The wind picked up during the final race of the day, but Coco wasn't about to let that stop him.

"I've been dreaming about it for awhile," he said. "It's definitely an honor."

Coco led from the start and was followed by cheering fans the entire race.

"Go Coco!" awaited him at the second mile uphill, a high-rise stretch that caused problems for runners all day. But not Coco. Although he said he fell off a pace that would put him under 15 minutes, he pushed hard up the hill without losing ground on a parade of runners behind him.

"The hill was a real killer," he said. "It always is."

Heading into the final stretch, the cheers rose up as onlookers began saying "Here he comes!"

Coco, seemingly miles ahead of the those behind him, didn't slow up to experience the ovation. Instead he turned it on even more and blasted through the finish.

What was going through his head in those final moments?

"This is my last kick in high school cross country," he said. "I'm satisfied."

The Columbia Falls boys had a banner day as well. The Wildcats took second place with 125 points thanks in part to fourth-place finisher Shawn Whitman,16:18, and ninth-place Patric Jessat, 16:31.

"It feels good," Whitman said afterwards.

Columbia Falls coach Steve Gasche was all smiles as well.

"We had a team that came ready to compete," he said. "They ran the race of their season. I'm so proud of everyone, even those who didn't race but ran with us all season and will be here someday."

Hamilton won the team title with 77 points. Jake Jessop took third, 16:03, and Ian Curtiss took seventh, 16:30, for Hamilton. Fergus' Caleb Bentley placed second, 16:02, and Havre's Kendall Murie, fifth, 16:28.

Ronan placed ninth as Justin Dusty Bull earned all-state honors, placing 15th with a 16:40. Teammate Kevin Wreblewski came in two spots behind for 17th place, 16:50.

In the Class B boys race, a pack of 10 runners stayed together out front, including Eureka's Dylan Day. But the second-mile uphill thinned the group out and left only a handful out front.

"I tried gunning it up the hill," said Day, who finished seventh with a 16:31. "It was harder than I thought."

Day regrouped after the long uphill and finished with a strong kick in front of cheering fans.

"I'm very happy," he said after the race.

Words couldn't even describe how happy Darby coach Steve Gideon was after his boys team won the state team trophy, placing three runners in the top 10, including first place finisher Matt Stout, 15:43.

Staring at the fresh results, Gideon, in his 10th year as cross country coach, was speechless.

Then a hug came from one of the Darby runners and the silence was broken. "Oh my God, we won!"

It was the school's first state cross country trophy.

"We could not have had a better day," he said. "It does not get any better than this. My year is made."

The Bozeman boys team started its race moments after the girls team received its state team title, and went out and won one on its own. Bozeman senior Jordan Schlender won the race with a 15:44. The boys team put five runners in the top 25 and won with 73 points.

Missoula Hellgate finished second as a team with 118 points with its fastest runner placing ninth, Daniel Sullivan.

Flathead's Leif Castren went back and forth from third to fourth place all race, and finished fourth in 16:07.

"I just tried to go out there and run on guts," Castren said afterwards. "I'll be back."

A pair of Glacier seniors broke into the top 25 Ð 20th place Mark Fallon, 16:44, and 21st place Dan Howell, 16:45.

Flathead junior Andy Wilson finished 23rd with a 16:49, and the boys team finished sixth overall with 163 points. Glacier finished ninth with 190 points.

In the Class C race, Joliet's Ryan Ketterling won with a 15:42. Joliet won the team trophy as well, scoring an amazing 13 points thanks to five runners in the top 20. Winnett came in second place as a team with 16 points. Culbertson was third with 39 points.

Gavin Owens out of Ennis took second with 16:17. Winnett's Shy Iverson, 17:04, took third, and Sam Dembek, 17:08, took fourth. Joliet's John Songstad, 17:24 took fifth.