McConnell, Neesvig lead T-Falls at state XC meet
LEFT: Kacey VanZanten (2480) and Megan Baxter (2475) of Thompson Falls run at the Western B/C Cross Country Divisonal cross country meet. Baxter placed 25th and Van Zanten was 31st. (Erin Jusseaume photos/Clark Fork Valley Press)
Rachel Rebeiro of Thompson Falls earned all-conference honors by placing 10th place at the Western B/C Divisonal cross country meet at the River’s Edge Golf Course. She came in 44th at the state meet. (Erin Jusseaume/Clark Fork Valley Press)
Nick Viera of Thompson Falls ran to 38th place at the Western B/C Divisonals. (Erin Jusseaume/Clark Fork Valley Press)
RIGHT: Erik Melendez of Thompson Falls placed 31st at the Western B/C Divisonals cross county meet at the River’s Edge Golf Course. (Erin Jusseaume/Clark Fork Valley Press)
Thompson Falls sophomore Josey Neesvig ran to fifth place at the Western B/C Divisonal cross country meet at the River’s Edge Golf Course, then earned 31st in Class B at the state meet. (Erin Jusseaume/Clark Fork Valley Press)
Thompson Falls Bluehawk nation hosted this year’s Western B/C Divisional cross country meet at the River’s Bend Golf Course on the second Thursday of the month.
With a load of runners on hand, it was a push all the way for some runners, while it seemed the top runners representing each team cruised through the course boasting some respectable times.
For the varsity girls, it was Bigfork that took the team win, with Lincoln County second, Anaconda third and Thompson Falls taking fourth place for class B.
Class C varsity girls top finishing teams saw Arlee take first place.
Class B varsity boys saw a change-up from the girls’ team win, with Lincoln County taking first place, Anaconda second, Powell County third, Bigfork fourth, Loyola-Sacred Heart fifth and Thompson Falls sixth.
Thompson Falls Lady Hawks saw standout young runner Josey Neesvig take overall eighth place with a time of 22:16.92. Not far behind her was fellow Lady Hawk Rachel Ribeiro, who landed in 11th place overall with a time of 23:14.94.
For the boys, it was Bluehawk Parker McConnell who took third overall with a time of 17:50.15, and Colby Lantz with an overall finish of seventh in 18:16.26.
As the teams wrapped up the meet on a sunny optimal day for running, some runners still had the Montana State Meet to prepare for in Missoula, which happened over the weekend.
With 171 runners for the boys, McConnell ended up 24th place in the field with a time of 18:33.84 while Lantz finished in slot 30 with a run time of 18:45.19. The team as a whole finished in 10th place out of a field of 22 teams overall for the boys.
For the girls’ state finishers, it saw Neesvig finish in 31st place for the Thompson Falls team with a time of 22:49.51. Ribeiro wasn’t too far behind her with a finish time of 23:29.51, which put her in 44th place overall. The girls’ varsity was a slightly smaller field overall — seeing 151 runners. Team placing for Thompson Falls saw the girls finish 11th out of 19 teams that competed.