Whitefish’s Schwaderer, Dryden land MCA honors

by Daily Inter Lake
| June 3, 2026 12:00 AM

Pat Dryden and Chris Schwaderer, the two leaders of the perennially strong Whitefish tennis programs, have been named Coaches of the Year for Spring 2026 by the Montana Coaches Association after both Bulldog squads won State A titles over the weekend.

For Dryden, it’s his fifth honor; Saturday’s title was the Whitefish girls’ fourth under his guidance. Their championship in Hardin was the program’s fourth and first since 2019.

Schwaderer’s honor was his third. He returned as boys coach this season after spending 2025 as a Whitefish baseball assistant; Saturday’s title was the program’s 11th won or shared and second straight won outright.

The duo were the lone Flathead Valley honorees. The Class A/B baseball honor went to Zach McRae, whose Dillon Beavers lost in the championship to Bigfork and coach Dave Romero.

Of the Class B and C golf champions, only the Florence boys and Scobey boys had their coaches honored. Florence Falcons’ coach Scott Marsh actually swept the awards, winning the boys award for a third straight season.John States coached the Scobey Spartans.

Great Falls Russell boys tennis coach Byron Boyd was also a three-peat winner.

Laurel, which won twice Tuesday to claim the delayed State A softball championship, already had the Class A Coach of the Year: Trent Crookston.

The full list follows. The coaches will be honor on July 30 at CMR High School.

Montana Coaches Association

Spring 2026 Coach of the Year Awards

Girls Tennis

AA Brian Hanford, Hellgate

A Patrick Dryden, Whitefish

B/C Rick Berrett, Superior

Boys Tennis

AA Byron Boyd, Great Falls CMR**

A Chris Schwaderer, Whitefish

B/C Jodi Karvandi, Valley Christian*

Softball

AA Preston Sanders, Billings West

A Trent Crookston, Laurel

B/C Lori Goodell, Shepherd**

Baseball

AA Brian Moser, Sentinel

B/C Zach McRae, Dillon

Girls Track and Field

AA Lars Schmidt, Billings West

A Kari Filius, Havre

B Sara Layng, Boulder

C Joe Day Rider, Richey-Lambert

Boys Track and Field

AA Lars Schmidt, Billings West

A Brandi Fox, Laurel

B Jennifer Crago, Columbus

C Heather Lewis, Cascade

Girls Golf

B Scott Marsh, Florence*

C Garrett Nielson, Manhattan Christian

Boys Golf

B Scott Marsh, Florence

C John States, Scobey

*-Also won in 2025.

**-won 3-plus years in a row.