Coach reflects on third consecutive Class B title
<p>Seniors Kayla Holmes (left) and Hailey Phillips (right) were honored for their academic and athletic achievements during last week's Plains High School graduation. Both Holmes and Phillips were instrumental in the Trotters success over the past few track and field seasons.</p>
PLAINS – Three years in a row Plains High School has sent a large contingent of student athletes to the Class B State Meet during the final weeks of spring.
And three years in a row the Trotters have returned to Plains victorious, taking the State B Title in 2013, 2014 and most recently, two weeks ago, in 2015.
The team’s most recent state championship was a complete team effort as the Trotters faced tough competition from Bigfork High School in both the Divisional and State meets this season.
At the divisional meet in Missoula, it was the girls of Bigfork who won first place inching by Plains 155-154 in the team competition.
Two weeks ago at the State Meet in Kalispell, the Trotters regained the initiative outscoring Bigfork 115-110 for the team’s third straight state championship.
Plains Head Coach Denise Montgomery was proud of her team’s performance throughout the season and noted the state championship was the direct result of the entire team stepping up when it mattered most.
“I really think it was a complete team effort. It was super exciting to see the kids do as well as they did,” Montgomery said.
Montgomery also spoke highly of the team’s work ethic.
The coach stated the team was ready to go and ready to improve from the start of the season.
“They were committed from day one. The team worked tirelessly all year,” Montgomery said.
Montgomery added junior Kimberly Earhart’s efforts at the state meet were an integral part of the team’s success noting Earhart accounted for 20 of the team’s points.
“She (Earhart) is a real solid competitor,” Montgomery said.
The coach also spoke highly of another junior, Carley VonHeeder whose efforts in the javelin and relay events also helped the team score key points at the state meet.
The Trotters 1,600-meter relay team set a school record in the event, taking second at the meet with a time of 4:11.00,
In addition to the Trotters, there were also members of the Horsemen track team at the state meet and Montgomery was very pleased with the results of their competitions.
Montgomery was excited to see seniors Bransen Krebs and Russell Kujala reach the podium at the Class B State Meet.
Krebs placed sixth in the javelin with a throw of 162-5 and Kujala placed fourth the 800-meter and fifth in the 1,600-meter events with times of 1:59.04 and 4:38.40 respectively.
Looking back on the past few years Montgomery stated she was lucky to be able to work with such talented and committed student athletes.
“It’s amazing, just the commitment level of these kids. They wanted to do their best and to see them do that was great,” Montgomery said.