Plains runners first among Class B at Flathead

The Plains High School cross country team had a good showing at the Flathead Invitational, talking first place of the four Class B schools.

Several Plains runners had personal bests, including Trotter Marina Tulloch, a sophomore, who finished first in Class B with a time of 19:41.93 and fourth overall out of 127 girls from 18 schools from across Montana. The first Horseman across the finish line was freshman Owen Jermyn, who finished fifth in his class at 17:17.63, also a personal best.

The meet was held at Kalispell, where 166 boys from 24 schools competed at the Rebecca Farm course. The Plains boys finished in 16th place overall but first in Class B with 475 points. The girls chalked up 350 points overall. They placed 13th overall and first in Class B.

"I think they performed great. I'm so happy with them," said Jesse Jermyn, head coach for the team. "Our first time runners are still trying to figure out how to race," he added. The Class B schools included Plains, Lincoln County, St. Ignatius, and Arlee.

For the Horsemen, freshman Cord Greer had a personal best, finishing 22nd overall and fourth in Class B with a time of 18:31.43. Kalem Ercanbrack had a time of 20:10.09, followed by Mike Reistroffer at 20:21.90, a personal best, and Jack Cockrell, with a PB at 20:56.86. Asher Seymour finished at 25:34.28.

Trotter Savannah Costner, a junior, was the second Plains girl across the finish line, the 27th Class B finisher and a PB with a time of 22:38.28. Freshman Annika Ercanbrack was in the top 15 for Class B at 24:50.27, followed by freshman Tia Bellinger in the top 15 finishers in Class B at 25:16.29. Sophomore Ireland Corbin finished at 28:03.96.

The next meet will be Saturday at the Corvallis Invite, followed by the Thompson Falls Invite on Saturday, Sept. 21, at 1 p.m.

Coach Gena Ferlan's junior high cross country team hit the tarmac at the old Plains airport, now the Amundson Sports Complex, where her boys and girls had a dual meet with Thompson Falls on Friday evening. Chief James Russell of the Plains Paradise Fire District had a water truck on hand at the halfway point to spray cool water on any of the kids that wanted it. Plains Police Officer Rob Geenen parked where Airport Road met Diehl Ranch Road to help direct runners.

Horseman Simeon Costner nabbed first place on the 1.79-mile course with a time of 9:50.24. First for the girls was Audrey Fairbank of Thompson Falls at 12:20.30. Second, third and fourth places were all Lady Hawks. Libby Frank finished at 12:52.32, followed by Gabby Taylor at 13:40.50 and Shelby Harmon with a time of 13:52.18. Emmy Russell of Plains finished at 14:02.68 for fifth, followed by Ava Taylor of Thompson Falls at 14:59.37 and Ande Kate Franklin of Plains at 14:59.75.

Ryker Anderson of Plains finished second at 12:57.53. In third place was Blue Hawk Noah Scharfe at 13:03.29, followed by teammate Mason Bartlett at 13:12.33. Next was Horseman Brian Lakko at 13:32.16 and teammate Finn Ercanbrack at 13:34.77. Kaleb Susic of Thompson Falls finished at 13:36.54, followed by Nolan Wilkes, also ofoff T-Falls at 13:45.83. Talon Ferlan of Plains was next at 14:14.71, followed by Colt Browning at 14:41.17 and Trace Browning at 15:33.05, both of Plains.

The race started and finished at the old complex runway with a portion of the course on the walking path and on Airport Road. Teachers Nichole Cockrell and Michelle Greer, the junior high athletic director, helped on the course, along with a handful of high school runners, and Plains residents Tim and Carol Brooker set up the inflatable archway.

"Jace Russell (Emmy Russell's little brother) followed the runners as the caboose of the race. His sister is the only girl on our team," said Ferlan, a volunteer junior high cross country coach for two years.