Anders, Casey win COY honors

High school running partners who pushed each other to new heights during their prep careers in Plains in the late 1990s, Anders Brooker and Casey Jermyn just can’t seem to run away from each other in their adult lives as both have become standout cross country coaches in Montana.

Though still close friends, they have also now become heated rivals when it is cross country season in Montana.

Brooker and Jermyn were recently named as the girls and boys 2018 Class AA coaches of the year by the Montana Coaches Association for their efforts this past fall when Brooker guided his Hellgate Knights to the girls State AA title and Jermyn coached his Bozeman boys to the other State AA team championship.

Hellgate’s win over Bozeman in the girls race also ended eight straight years of championships by the Bozeman girls, who are also coached by Jermyn. The rivalry between the Hellgate and Bozeman girls added a lot of drama to the Class AA campaign this past season as the team’s traded victories over each other during the season before deciding the issue finally at Montana All-Class meet in Missoula where the Hellgate girls won the most important race in the AA championships.

Brooker, by the way, is also the head coach for the wildly successful Hellgate boys program.

Although their friendship was bonded through running early in their lives, Brooker and Jermyn remain avid runners through their parallel careers in Missoula and Bozeman, where each own and operate Runners Edge stores, which specialize in running clothing and shoes.