Plains cross country runs well at Libby

Contributed by Tony Banovich

Many runners tend to think that any day is a good day for a run, some days are just better than others. Well, in the case of the Plains Cross Country team, the opening race of the 2009 season was one of the better days. Traveling to Libby on the Friday of fair week, the Horseman and Trotters kicked off the holiday weekend in fine style.

The first race of the year was the Middle School Girls at 1.5 miles. Andrea Wood is an 8th grader who comes to the program after spending her earlier school years at Thompson Falls (including competing in 7th grade cross country). Her finishing time of 11:40 represented an improvement of over 3 minutes in her time from last year’s meet. Running her first ever cross country meet was 6th grader Lily Huenink. Her 15:55 finish was a great result, and junior high coach Gena Ferlan was thrilled with the performances for the initial race of the year.

Next up were the Varsity Girls. Due to 4-H and Fair activities, senior Rio Crismore was the lone representative for the Trotters. Coach Tony Banovich was “very pleased with Rio’s even paced effort. This race was a great starting point to getting Rio to reach some of her goals for this season. Rio’s a hard worker and a dedicated student and I’m confident that she’ll have a successful senior season.” Her 28:35 over the 3 mile course netted her a 38th place in the girls’ field.

The start of the Boys Varsity race saw sophomores Carter Montgomery and Robert Earhart break from the line. “Carter came into the season with some good base fitness and I was really curious to see how he would stack up against the front of the pack at this meet” said Banovich. The answer came quickly as Montgomery was sitting at the back of the lead pack in the first kilometer. Sitting inthe top 5 for most of the race, he was in a charge to the finish with a large pack of other athletes and ended up in 8th place with a time of 16:42. “I was really expecting Carter to be in the 17:15 range and maybe on the edge of the top 10” stated Banovich. “To see him hit 16:40’s and race at the front of the pack was a very pleasant surprise. That’s the first sub-17:00 time by a Plains boy in over 3 years and really bodes well for what he can accomplish the rest of the year.”

“I was also really happy with how Robert raced today” added Banovich. “He was very patient at the start and ran exactly the pace and effort that I was hoping for. Plus, he had one of the better finishing kicks of the entire field – so, it shows that he’s got a lot of room for improvement yet.” Earhart’s 19:09 time placed him 33rd in the field.

Banovich’s pick for the gem of the day was Dusty Baker’s performance in the JV Boys race. According to Banovich, “Dusty hasn’t run cross country before and is entirely new to distance running; and, we’re both trying to figure out what’s going to work best for him and what he’s fully capable of. I just wasn’t at all sure what to expect from him today.” Baker, another member of the sophomore class, answered a lot of the coach’s questions with his 22:36, 27th place finish. “Dusty went out nice and conservatively and just continually moved up and picked off other runners all the way through the race. He looked strong and solid throughout the race. I was just so excited to see him run so well. I think that Dusty is going to continue to surprise us and keep improving by leaps and bounds throughout the season.”

Next up for the Plains Harriers will be Eureka on Friday, September 11th. With fair, holidays and illness behind them, it’s expected that the full team will make the trip. The Lincoln County H.S. coach has promised a fun, challenging course. The kids and coaches from Wild Horse Plains are just hoping for another one of those “Better Days”.