County runners perform well at state

Runners from Plains, Thompson Falls and Hot Springs competed at Saturday's MHSA State meet at the University of Montana Golf Course in Missoula. It was a great day for racing according to Plains coach Jesse Jermyn. "We were blessed with great weather and a well put together meet, so props to Anders Brooker [event organizer] and his team."

With conditions in the runners' favor, participants from each school posted excellent times on a course with hilly terrain that provided some challenges. The highlight of the event for Sanders County was Thompson Falls senior Will Hyatt earning All-State honors by posting a ninth place finish with a blistering time of 17minutes. 33 seconds. "An outstanding race by Will, who ran focused for the entire race," head coach Sarah Naegeli about Hyatt, a senior. "Will's dedication and hard work this entire season has been an inspiration for his coaches and his team mates. The miles he put in, and the focus throughout the season are the reasons for his improvement this past year, and his earning all state status."

Other notable finishers in the class B race from the Thompson Falls boys were Cael Thilmony with a time of 18 minutes, 47 seconds (55th place), Levi Myers (19:50), Alessi Rolando (20:37 seconds), Briar Palmer (21:41), Will Hawkins (21:54), and Ben Croft (22:03).

Also posting strong results were Blue Hawks girls Hattie Neesvig with a time of 22 minutes, 24 seconds to finish in 35th place, followed by Faith Palmer (22:47), Mollie Nichols (23:50) and Roni Hanks (27:23).

Naegeli was thrilled with her team's overall performance this season. "Saturday was a great race day for both teams. Our three sophomore runners [Thilmony, Neesvig and Faith Palmer] finished looking strong at divisionals and state, and they will bring quite a bit of talent and drive next year. Ben and Roni [both seniors] have put in over 1,000 miles in their years of cross country training, and we'll miss their leadership and positive attitudes," Naegeli remarked. "Mollie, Will Hawkins, Levi all competed at their first state meet, and ran well thought out races. I was certainly glad to have Briar back, healthy and running well for the end of the season. And Alessi, our final senior, improved throughout his first season as a cross country runner, to make a significant contribution to our team.

"We are most grateful for a full cross country season, to the continued improvement our younger and newer runners made this fall, and to the experience these runners will bring to our team next year. 2022 is already looking to be a great cross country season," Naegeli said of the Blue Hawks' season.

As for Coach Jermyn's Plains runners, sophomore Spurr Ryan finished in the top 100 with a time of 20 minutes, 24 seconds, and sophomore Brenden Vanderwall clocked in at 21 minutes, 11 seconds. For the girls, sophomore Peyton Wasson turned in a time of 28 minutes, 58 seconds.

"All our kids ran well and we're all excited for next year," coach Jermyn said about his team's first season in five years. "Everybody improved every week through the state meet. Hopefully we can do some 5k races around the area this summer, add a couple more people to our roster, and be postured for another good season next year."

In the class C race, Hot Springs freshman Wyatt Campbell posted a time of 22 minutes, 51 seconds and sophomore Elijah Campbell finished in 24 minutes, 43 seconds.