PLains XC runs at Whitefish Invite

The Plains Cross Country teams competed in the Whitefish Invitational this past Saturday - on a perfect day for cross-country racing.  With temperatures in the low 40’s and no wind, the conditions were just right to run fast; and, the Horsemen and Trotter harriers took full advantage.

Sophomore Russell Kujala once again led the boys team.  Running under 18:00 for the 2nd week in a row, his 17:39 gave him a 14th place finish.  Garrett Horton, junior, had his best performance of the season as his 18:39 was within seconds of his personal best and his fastest time this year by almost 40 seconds.  

“Garrett Horton had a huge jump in performance.  The cool weather and lack of smoke in the air is finally allowing him to run to his potential,” said head coach Tony Banovich.

Rounding out the boys team were junior Wyatt Winebrenner (in a new personal record of 19:19), sophomore Aaron Garrison in 19:20 (a new personal best by a minute) and junior Daniel Damschen in 20:52 (2nd fastest time ever).   

“Aaron Garrison is another surprise for the year.  He’s improved by almost 8 minutes as well this year; and, he suddenly is within sight of a sub-19:00 performance,” said Banovich.

As a team, the Horsemen placed 5th out the 7 competing squads.

For the girls, freshman Demi Horton broke the 20:00 barrier for the first time in her career.  Running a near 30 second PR, her 19:33 brought her home with a 4th place overall finish.

“Demi continues to show great improvement; and, she’s positioned herself quite well for the upcoming championship events,” said Coach Banovich.

She was followed by freshman Carley VonHeeder’s personal record of 23:21 and sophomore Kayla Holme’s PR of 25:53.  

“Kayla Holmes is better known as a roundballer, thrower and sprinter.  But, she showed some great heart in giving cross country a try,” said Banovich. “I was very impressed with the 8 minute plus time improvement that she made during the year.  Due to some family commitments, this was Kayla’s last race of the season; and, we thoroughly enjoyed having her as part of the team.”

Felicia and Kimberly Earhart both missed the meet due to conflicts with the Volleyball teams home game against Thompson Falls; and, Shannon Dimond had a soccer team obligation.

 “This was just a solid performance by the entire squad.  Five of the eight kids ran personal bests; and, the other three were all within seconds of their all time bests,” said Coach Banovich. “This meet may have been one of the best overall performances by a Plains team since in my four years of coaching.  It’s great to see them coming along and peaking as we get into the last couple of weeks of the season.”

Next up for the Plains teams will be Saturday’s District 6B/7B Conference championships in Ronan.  For just the second time all season, both the boys and girls squads will be at full force and will have scoring teams in both races.  That will be the final tune up race before the State Championships in Helena on October 20th.