Plains cross country runs wild at state meet

Tony Banovich

On a grey, cool and breezy day at the University Golf Course in Missoula, the Plains High School Cross Country teams turned in some sunny performances.   And, topping the day was the 12th-place performance of Sophomore Carter Montgomery.  By finishing in the top 15, Montgomery earned a coveted All-State finish and led the Horsemen to a top 10 team finish.

“The boys had a great day” according to Coach Tony Banovich.  “And, Carter’s run was the icing on the cake.  His performances from earlier in the year indicated that he should be able to make top 15; but, anything can happen on race day”.  Through the first couple miles of the race, Montgomery ran among a pack of 10 to 11 athletes.  “When Carter came by me with about 700 meters to go, he was in a pack of about  8 guys” said Banovich.  “The first of those guys was 10th, the last was 18th.  Carter’s last 600 meters were spectacular and he muscled his way to a 16:44 time and the 12th place finish.  That middle of the pack was a real  tight race - less than 20 seconds separated 7th through 17th place.  So, for Carter to pull out the All-State finish was fantastic.”

Following Montgomery was junior Jared Sine.  “Jared had a bit of a shaky start to the year” according to Banovich.  “But, he peaked just perfectly.  Today was his strongest race of the year by far and he ended up with an all time personal best.  He just looked “on” from his first steps and he stayed with it all the way to the finish.”  Running a strong, evenly paced race, Sine ended up with a top 25 finish  (17:20, 23rd place).  Not far behind Sine was junior Kenneth Beech, who, according to Banovich “also peaked at just the right time.  He definitely ran his best race of the year and very nearly beat his all time personal best.”  Beech’s 17:59 garnered  him a 33rd place finish.

Next in for the Horsemen harriers was Robert Earhart (19:03, 66th place).  “Robert was just a bit “flat” today” according to Banovich.  “It  happens to all of us during races at one time or another.  It’s just unfortunate that it happened to Robert at State.  But, he ran hard all the way through and didn’t give up on his performance.  He should be really proud of how he performed today, even when  he wasn’t on his “A” game.”  Rounding out the team’s performances was Dusty Baker’s 20:28, 104th place finish.  “What a perfect day to get your all time best performance” said Banovich.  “Dusty made such great progress during the year.  It was a  thrill to see him run so well.”

When all was said and done, their efforts gained them a 9th place finish (out of 20 scoring teams).  And, they were agonizingly close to a  top 5 finish.  “We were only 27 points out of 5th (and only 14 out of 6th place)” said Banovich.  “With all of our team as underclassmen, I’m super excited about our potential for next year.  A top 3 finish and bringing home a trophy  is a realistic expectation.”

On the girl’s side, Zoe Banovich led the way with a 24:58 time and 109th place finish.  Banovich offered that “Zoe had fought a bit of a cold  over the last week and that left her a bit fatigued.  But, she ran so much better than her race last week at the Runner’s Edge meet.  I’m really proud of how she gave it all she had at the biggest meet of the year.”

Next up for the girls was Rio Crismore (26:11, 121st place).  According to Banovich, “it was a bittersweet day watching Rio race. She ran  stronger than she had all year; and, I was so excited to see how well she did today.  But, being a senior, it was also the last time that we’ll get to see her run in the Plains colors.  On the upside, we’ll see her pulling on a wrestling singlet in a few weeks  and be able to watch her once more in the black and orange.”

In a season that started in triple digit heat during August and finished with a 10 degree run on a crisp October morning, the student athletes of the  Plains Cross Country team stayed strong through it all and were rewarded handsomely.  All-State performances, a top-10 team finish, and all time personal bests.  They did themselves, their school and their community proud.