Reynolds return helps Lions repeat in B

A couple inches of snow, a welcome return from injury and another State B cross country state title made it a fantastic Friday for Isaac Reynolds and the Eureka Lions.

Well, except maybe the running part.

“Absolutely terrible,” Reynolds, a junior, said of his first race since Sept. 24. ”That’s the most pain I’ve been in, in my entire life.

“But so worth it. I feel like the team definitely did well, and I’m just glad I got to be part of that.”

Chaidh Lochridge’s third-place finish led the Lions, who tallied 63 points at Rebecca Farm. Manhattan was second at 85; Three Forks was a distant third at 154.

Gavin Bates finished in sixth for Eureka; Reynolds was 10th. Ian Kumle followed at 17th, and Henry Cooke and Kyle Durden went 27-28.

Cooke, a team captain, had hoped to get closer to the All-State cutoff -- the top 15. Icicles hanging from his hair, he added: “I’m really glad to see Gavin, Chaidh and Isaac made that All-State finish. I don’t think anyone’s going to beat us on that.

“We came to this to win – that was the only option – and I think we pulled it off.”

While the girls’ side had the drama – Townsend edged Manhattan 59-60 for the team title – the Lions asserted their power. Reynolds certainly helped, after his season was in doubt because of a pair of concussions.

“It’s a funny story,” said Lochridge. “Not funny, actually. But it’s a heck of a story.”

“The first one I was free climbing and fell about 20 feet off a cliff,” Reynolds said. “It was a pretty severe concussion, but I recovered pretty quickly. The second time, a rock fell on my head. That one messed me up pretty good for a while.

“I wasn’t even able to practice until this Monday.”

Eureka coach Andrew Gideon felt Reynolds, who was third at state last year, was a threat to win the meet without the injuries. Instead he provided a big lift.

“Without him we probably lose 21 points,” Gideon said. “That was more fun to watch than last year, when we won. I think the kids – they worked harder, they dug down a little bit more.”

The snow that began falling at noon made that even more necessary.

“Last year at state, actually, it was almost like this,” said Lochridge. “I’d say this is a little bit worse for the snow. Deeper, and it was snowing on us a little bit harder.”

It mattered little to Wolf Point’s Zander Ackerman or Thompson Falls’ Justin Morgan. The two battled all race before Ackerman won in 17 minutes, 16.85 seconds. Morgan came across in 17:17.69; Lochridge finished in 17:43.43.

Mission had two All-State runners: Thomas Nuila (ninth) and Andrew Rush (15th). The Bulldogs were eighth in the team race, followed by Thompson Falls and Bigfork. Elliott Sanford was 33rd to lead the Vikings.

Manhattan senior Hallie Hemenway won the girls’ race in 20:10.99. Next was Big Timber’s Natalie Wood in 20:24.11. Townsend’s Emma Stolte was third, and the Bulldogs put three more runners in the top 12.

Thompson Falls was ninth in the girls’ team race, slightly ahead of Eureka. Eureka’s top finisher was Taylor Lancaster, in 25th; Hattie Neesvig finished 32nd for Thompson Falls.

State B Cross Country

BOYS

Team scores -- 1. Eureka 63; 2, Manhattan 85; 3, Three Forks 154; 4, Wolf Point 179; 5, Huntley Project 199; 6, Glasgow 209; 7, Townsend 213; 8, St. Ignatius 265; 9, Thompson Falls 316; 10, Bigfork 322; 11, Boulder 333; 12, Red Lodge 334; 13, Cut Bank 365; 14, Harlem 396; 15, Poplar 439; 16, Deer Lodge 458; 17, Shepherd 478; 18, Colstrip 487; 19, Missoula Loyola 502; 20, Whitehall 437; 21, Anaconda 545; 22, Rocky Boy 617.

Top 15 Individuals

1, Zander Ackerman, Wolf Point, 17:16.845; 2, Justin Morgan, Thompson Falls, 17:17.69; 3, Chaidh Lochridge, Eureka, 17:43.43; 4, Aidan Thompson, Deer Lodge, 18:00.24; 5, Brandobn Emineth, Red Lodge, 18:02.74; 6, Gavin Bates, Eureka, 18:02.89; 7, Wyatt Barney, Manhattan, 18:05.85; 8, Elijah Quick, Red Lodge, 18:08.68; 9, Thomas Nuila, St. Ignatius, 18:15.62; 10, Isaac Reynolds, Eureka, 18:19.99; 11, Kevin Graves, Huntley Project, 18:21.0p9; 12, Layne Vanderby, Manhattan, 18:27.30; 13, Luke Meeker, Manhattan, 18:28.67; 14, Carl Zabrocki, Glasgow, 18:28.95; 1, Andrew Rush, St. Ignatius, 18:36.83.

GIRLS

Team scores -- 1, Townsend 59; 2, Manhattan 60; 3, Red Lodge 99; 4, Huntley Project 159; 5, Three Forks 192; 6, Shepherd 260; 7, Big Timber 284; 8, Glasgow 285; 9, Thompson Falls 310; 10, Eureka 313; 11, St. Ignatius 330; 12, Deer Lodge 365; 13, Anaconda 496; 14 (tie) Poplar and Malta, 503.

Top 15 Individuals

1, Hallie Hemenwaym, Manhattan, 20:10.99; 2, Natalie Wood, Big Timber, 20:24.11; 3, Emma Stolte, Townsend, 20:31.41; 4, Kelsey Plymale, Columbus, 20:40.08; 5, Brayli Reiumer, Red Lodge, 20:44.95; 6, Natalie Lile, Huntley Project, 21:36.02; 7, Emily See, Glasgow, 21:37.89; 8, Bailey Taves, Townsend, 21:37.90; 9, Sarah Christensen, Townsend, 21:38.77; 10, Iris McKean, Glasgow, 21:53.37; 11, Madeline Severson, Manhattan, 21:57.01; 12, Justene Santi, Townsend, 21:59.14; 13, Jayden Woodland, Three Forks, 21:59.95; 14, Bailey Binando, Red Lodge, 22:04.20; 15, Saige Duffin, Manhattan, 22:15.69.