Cross country teams look for perfect ending
The State Cross Country Championships are Saturday at the University of Montana Golf Course, and the weather should be a runner’s dream: 42 degrees at 11 a.m., when the Class B girls start things off; warming up to 55 by 2 p.m., when the AA boys get going.
A perfect day to end another strong season for Treasure State harriers.
“I’d say it is a heck of a time to be running in Montana,” Flathead senior Robbie Nuila said. “Because of the amount of experienced runners out there, and how much depth people have, within themselves and with their teams.”
Nuila is one of 15 AA boys who have broken 16 minutes though 5,000 meters this season — a list led by Glacier junior Owen Thiel, who ran 15:31.8 on Sept. 6 at the Flathead Invitational, and then won the Mountain West on Sept. 28 in 15:41.1 on this same course.
“You can totally see how the fastest times have trended lower and lower,” said Nuila, who helped Mission to a State B championship in 2022 before transferring to Flathead. “Nathan Neil and Weston Brown really influenced that.”
Brown, like Neil, is from Bozeman High: As a senior he won the 2022 state title in 15:25.1. Somebody could go that low again Saturday (Neil’s 2023 time of 14:45.5, not so much).
“They really got things going,” Nuila said. “They were almost like a wake-up call to everyone. It’s motivating all of us to just do better.”
For the record, Nuila has the seventh-best time in AA going into Saturday.
“It’s crazy to be up there,” he said. “Not the highest, but it’s crazy to be racing against this much talent from around the state.”
Braves and Bravettes
Flathead’s boys project as the fifth-place team at state, which — along with the Glacier Wolfpack (sixth) — gives the Braves a kicker’s chance a state trophy.
Kasen Kastner’s best time of 15:53.9 makes him a threat to be All-State. Brodyn DeShaw, Ryker Zuffelato and Jacob Johnson round out the top five.
“We’ve had a really promising season and our rounding out season meets were really satisfying,” Flathead coach Jesse Rumsey said. “We are in good health, in good spirits. Both teams have been working really hard and hoping to have a top five finish on each side.”
The girls, led by senior Josie Wilson and freshman Everett Holland, project fourth according to Athletic.net. Wilson was 18th at State a year ago; she’s finished no lower than sixth in any meet this fall, and has the third-best time going into Saturday.
“Josie has had a strong four years of running,” Rumsey said. “She started one season injured, and that was a hard start. The last two years in cross country she’s really come into her own. She’s really figured out how to complete at this top level.”
Emery Esch, Lindy Porter and Lila Zuffelato round out the Bravettes’ top five.
“We’re excited to get back to Missoula,” Rumsey said. “It's a lot to host the meet, like we did last year... Our kids know it well and it’s always to leave town for your state competition but not have to go too far.”
Wolfpack of Runners
That brings us back to Thiel and Lauren Bissen, who both cruised through the UM Golf Course to place first at the Mountain West. Bissen’s time of 18:22.7 on Sept. 28 stayed first in AA until two-time state champion Claire Rutherford of Gallatin ran 18:10.4 last week.
Glacier coach Cody Moore has high hopes for Thiel, a junior, and the sophomore Bissen, who was fifth at State a year ago.
“It’s also the first year since I’ve been coaching that both the boys and girls teams have a shot at a trophy,” Moore, now in his fifth season with the Wolfpack, said. “That’s right where we want to be.”
Sickness thinned the lineup here and there this season, but the teams now appear healthy. Anna Tretter, Alyssa Vollertsen, Dacia Benkleman and Hailey Fiala round out the girls top five; Gabe Ackerly, Jude Sparkman, Jack Syverson and Brogan Lancaster back up Thiel.
“Knock on wood, everybody’s looking pretty good,” Moore said. “I think it obviously helps to have a good experience at the Mountain West. It feels like a classic course. Not too fast and not too slow, it’s got some challenges. I think it’s a pretty honest cross country course.
“We’re ready to go. The excitement levels are really high. We’re just having a ton of fun with it, and that’s the key. If we can stay loose, stay relaxed and enjoy the race, good things will happen.”
Cats, Kats hunt trophies
Hardin is the favorite to win the State A titles — the girls are going for third straight while the boys haven’t won since 1993 — but Columbia Falls can earn some hardware.
The Wildkat girls project as the runner up at State while Hardin — with Karis Brightwings-Pease and three more runners in the top 15 — is way out there.
“You take the rankings for what they are on Athletic.net, that’s using every kid’s PR for the season,” Columbia Falls coach Jim Peacock said. “But you look at Hardin’s PRs and they’re the second-best team in the state for all classes.”
Peacock loves his team, led by Mya Badger and Chloe Savoy, and compares them favorably with the 2021 squad that won a state championship.
“These girls are running just as fast,” Peacock said. “It shows you the depth of competition is just amazing on the girls side. Mya and Chloe are running really, really well and they have three teammates (Cora Hannan, Ashley Andrews and Marissa Schaeffer) that run almost as fast as they are.”
In fact Schaeffer’s best time of 21:00.6 is less than 70 seconds off Badger’s 19:52.8.
Meanwhile Brightwings-Pease will face a stern challenge from Polson’s Morgan Delaney, who ran a State A-best 18:19.0 last week at the Western A Fall Classic. Delaney, Brightwings-Pease, Hardin’s Zoey Real Bird and Hamilton’s Aleigha Child own the top four times and are all sophomores.
The boys team race appears closer, but Ben Bird and the Hardin Bulldogs could have five runners in the top 20. Corvallis is a close pursuer, while Hamilton’s trophy chances are hurt by the absence of top runner Tyalor Doleac, who hasn’t run since September because of injury.
Columbia Falls and defending champion Browning are sitting right there, in the trophy hunt.
“Browning is the state champion until someone dethrones them,” Peacock said. “Roy (McNabb) does such a good job coaching those kids. A couple of their guys ran personal bests by a minute at divisionals.”
In fact Browning’s top four — River Racine, Koen Calf Robe, Donovan Aims Back and Kayden Rutherford — all PR’d. The Indians edged Columbia Falls for second place, behind Corvallis.
Peacock has junior River Blazejewski leading a Wildcat group that can pack it together: Griffin LaRoque, Lucas Peterson, Jack Phelps and Oliver Kress finished 20-22-23-24 last week.
That kind of grouping can land you on a podium.
“We’re still getting better,” Peacock said. “We had about a month span where we never had a healthy team out on the course. Our No. 1 runner was in a boot for a couple weeks. We haven’t had a chance to show everybody our best team yet.”
Elsewhere
In the State B, perennial power Manhattan is favored to win both state titles, though Boulder and Big Timber also have strong girls teams.
Mission’s Harlan Leishman and Plain’s John Owen Jermyn and Simeon Costner are threats to make All-State for the boys; Chinook’s Ashlyn Ford (18:28.5) and Plains Marina Tulloch (18:36.9) have the two fastest girls’ times. Both are sophomores.
Schedule:
11 a.m. — B Girls
11:30 — C Girls
Noon — B Boys
12:30 p.m. — C Boys
1 p.m. — AA Girls
1:30 — A Girls
2 p.m. — AA Boys
2:30 p.m. — A Boys