Lady Hawks dominate Western B/C Invitational
From left, Western B/C champion Thompson Falls Lady Hawks Aubrey Baxter, Ellie Baxter, Faith Palmer, Mollie Nichols, Kellyn Carr and Kylee Huff. (Photo by coach Sarah Naegeli)
Thompson Falls runner JT Taylor runs through the woods at the River's Bend Golf Course west of town during last week's Western B/C cross country meet. (Photo by coach Sarah Naegeli)
One title and a quarter is not a likely reason for the town council to get out the brushes and paint the town blue.
It’s way too early to change “Thompson” to “Title” when referring to “T Falls”.
But could it be the beginnings of talk about considering the possibility of such a nickname change?
Last year’s Blue Hawks football team won the state B-8 player title and this year’s Lady Hawks cross country team just put a Western District team “title” in the bag, with that sport’s state championships set for this Saturday in Missoula.
Just saying…
At any rate, T Falls High School’s girls cross country team will head to Missoula this weekend after a dominating performance last week in the Western B/C Invitational meet at River’s Bend Golf Course just west of town.
All five members of the girl’s team qualified for the state meet, led by senior Ellie Baxter, who won the 5,000 meter race with a time of 21 minutes, 41 seconds.
That rapid romp was just enough to edge out her eighth-grade sister, Aubrey, who took second with a time of 22:06.
And for good measure, the Lady Hawks got a fourth place showing from Faith Palmer, who crossed the line in 22:46, giving the girls three of the top four places. The two other runners on the team, Mollie Nichols (26:08) and Kylee Huff (a PR 26:21) finished seventeenth and eighteenth respectively.
Those five runners combined for a first place team score of 38 points, nearly double that of runner-up Lincoln County High (Eureka), which accumulated 64 points.
All five runners qualified for the state championship meet, making T Falls a team to watch this weekend at the very least.
In addition, Cael Thilmony repeated as the lone Blue Hawks boys harrier to earn a trip to state with his eighth-place finish in a time of 18:33, helping the boys to a sixth place team showing.
Head coach Sarah Naegali was pleased with her runners’ performances in the Western B/C meet and agreed the girls could be a top contender this weekend.
“Ellie, Aubrey and Faith all received medals for their top ten finishes,” she said. “It was great racing for the girls, a great team effort from each and every one of them and a well-deserved first place. These five girls continue to work hard in practice and focus on the state meet”.
Naegeli also had high praise for Thilmony who matched last year’s state championship trip with his eighth place finish this year.
“Cael is our lone returning state runner from last year, and he is ready to challenge himself again at that level,” she said. “He’s been putting in the miles since June and looks forward to a second race on the Missoula course this year”.
Other members of the boys squad include: Brock Ryan (19:59); JT Taylor (20:54); Simon Armstrong (21:47, PR); Blake Shusterman (22:19, PR); Wesley Powers (25:11); and Alek Sweden.
Other Sanders County girls who took part in the B/C meet included a trio of runners from Plains High: Kassidy O’Keefe (27:17); Peyton Wasson (28:00); and Lillian MacDonald, (28:52).
On the boys side, Plains’ runner Kaleem Ercranback finished 44th, while a pair of Hot Springs runners, Wyatt Campbell and Elijah Campbell came in 41st and 49th respectively.
