TERRY COLUMN: Loggers making the cut in Class B

The first run through Class B seemed to be pretty successful for the Libby Loggers.

Forced to move away from its longtime affiliations in Class A after last season because of declining enrollment, the Loggers claimed a state tennis championship and a handful of individual titles this spring to bolster improving competition earlier in the year.

“We were a little bit more solid this year than we have been in the past in pretty much everything except for football,” Libby activities director Nik Rewerts said.

With the move down, Libby, which had around 350 kids enrolled last spring, competes on a more equal footing against schools with similar class sizes.

Now the largest Class B school, the Loggers are in a conference of schools that enroll anywhere from 135 to 300 kids. Its previous conference, the Northwest A, had four other schools ranging from 375 to 675, three with at least 475.

Now punching in its own weight class, the dividends seem to have paid off almost immediately.

“In basketball in both boys and girls, we hoped we’d get a little further, but, man, we competed well. We probably had the best basketball season we’ve had in a couple of years,” Rewerts said.

“Our spring sports were outstanding. State champions in tennis and second place for girls. We had never had a tennis championship.”

A transcendent star in freshman golfer Ryggs Johnston picked up another individual championship. Though, after beating the all-class state record by five strokes, it’s fair to say he would have won at any level the Loggers competed.

The move down has also opened up new rivalry opportunities with some of its closest competitors.

“Before this year our closest conference game was an hour and 45 minute drive,” Rewerts said.

“Then we had three games that were all that distance. Now, Troy is 15 miles away. It makes it a little more fun to get to compete against them.”

Its other Lincoln County competitor, Eureka, has delved into the rivalry, with the two schools now competing for the Highway 37 Battle of the Kootenai trophy, a handmade behemoth put together by the Eureka shop class topped with a silver cup.

In the winter, because of the proximity, the schools are even able to try out new ways to bring the community together.

“We have varsity (boys and girls basketball) games and a wrestling dual all on the same night against them,” Rewerts said. “We didn’t get to do that against other teams. That’s fun to do.”

There are things missing in the lower class. The rigid Montana football schedule prevents the Loggers from playing any of their long-built rivals from the Northwest. While the track program is still able to move about the region for competitions, the light-hearted end-of-the-season Flathead-Libby track dual was also cut.

Those relationships, as much as anything else, were what soured many on the idea of leaving Class A last year.

“We had really good relationships with our Class A opponents,” Rewerts said.

“Everybody we played against we were friends with. We knew how things went.

“It wasn’t so much we didn’t want to play Class B, as it was a big change when we were really comfortable where we were.

“I think there’s still some missed relationships there. We had some good relationships that we wish we were still a part of. Luckily, for most sports, we still play those guys. It’s not like we don’t get to compete against them still.”

The landscape isn’t quite the same in Class B, but in many ways, it isn’t all that different. As Libby gets itself situated, it’s finding there’s plenty of room for Loggers at this level too.