Spikers defeat Ronan

By JOE SOVA / Hungry Horse News

Just when you thought the match was slipping away, the Wildkats of Columbia Falls regained their composure and earned a 25-22, 25-18, 18-25, 15-25, 15-8 Northwestern A Conference volleyball victory over Ronan last Thursday.

The Kats dominated the first two sets, but could not put the Maidens away.

Behind 5-1 in the fifth and deciding game, CFHS caught fire — going on a dominating 12-1 run. After the Kats got within a point at 6-5, senior Amanda Milliard went to the service line to spark her team. With Ronan off balance, the Maidens committed several unforced errors. By the time that Milliard had served three aces and Cedar Smith scored on a kill, the Kats held a 13-6 lead.

After two Ronan points, Brooke Cady provided a kill and the Kats sealed the win when Kayla DeWit and Smith combined for a block.

"The girls had a long night going five games," Kats coach Addy Hines said. "They came out and played with their hearts that last game."

An Alyssa Ladenburg kill gave the Kats the win in the first game. CFHS took an early lead in the second set and cruised to the win. But Ronan took early advantages in the next two to force a deciding game.

Cady led the Kats with 10 kills. Milliard added eight, and DeWit had seven. DeWit also had two blocks.

Milliard and Cassidee Skiles each dished out 14 set assists.

Ladenburg and Smith were very solid in the back row. Ladenburg had 20 digs, and Smith added 13.

The Kats, now 1-1 in conference play, host Bigfork today (Thursday). They play at Libby on Saturday.

Harriers win Ronan title

Shawn Whitman, Patric Jessat and Tripp Gimbel ran to top-10 finishes, leading Columbia Falls to the varsity boys title at the Ronan cross country invitational last Thursday in Pablo.

The Wildcats finished with 40 points, 37 ahead of runner-up Ronan. Polson had 118, Arlee 120, Whitefish 135, Eureka 145, Thompson Falls 197 and Libby 217.

Whitman earned third place with a time of 17:11, and Jessat was fourth in 17:41. They finished behind only medalist Drew Coco of Whitefish (15:54) and Dylan Day of Eureka (17:01). Gimbel ran to 10th place (18:23).

"We had an incredible day at Ronan," CFHS coach Stephen Gasche said. "Our three returning all-conference runners (Whitman, Jessat and Gimbel) had a tremendous supporting cast which clinched the win for the Wildcats."

That supporting cast included Justin Whitman, who was 11th (18:27). Pascal Jessat and Michael Kruse had the same 12th-place time (18:31). Tim Chopper was 18th (19:14).

"This was a tremendous team effort and it was fun watching them have some well-deserved success," Gasche said.

CFHS had a varsity girls team in competition for the first time this season, finishing in third place. Whitefish, which was the team titlist, looks like a favorite to win the Class A championship, according to Gasche. He said Thompson Falls, placing second, should be a contender in Class B at the end of the season.

Whitefish had the second- through sixth-place runner and totaled 20 points. Thompson Falls had 66, CFHS 86, Ronan 118, Polson 129 and Eureka 135.

"That put our girls in pretty good company so I am excited," Gasche said of the Wildkats' third-place finish.

Leesa Benner had her fastest race of the season, placing 10th (21:25) in her first varsity effort. Madison Stolte placed 15th (22:06), Jinise Osborne 18th (22:34), Nicki Moser 20th (22:38), Dannah Turner 23rd and Nikki Elek 25th.

"It was great watching our younger athletes running so well at the varsity level," Gasche said.

CFHS junior varsity athletes had another strong performance at Ronan, according to Gasche. For the JV girls, Tessa Cowan was third, Alexas Young fourth Dezi Brunz seventh and Natalie Law 15th. In JV boys, Kodiak Gimbel earned second place, Joe Gross was third, Jacob Silva fourth, Coby Hutchens eighth, Ben Burgess 20th and Alex Peterson 21st.

"Some of these athletes may be seeing varsity action soon," Gasche said.

CFHS harriers will face their best test of the season Saturday at the Mountain West Invitational in Missoula. Races are run at the University of Montana golf course and will feature teams from Montana, Idaho and Washington. Gasche said the competition is typically much better than CFHS runners will see at the state championships. The order of races: 9:30 a.m., JV girls; 10:15 a.m., JV boys; 11 a.m., varsity boys; and 11:45 a.m., varsity girls.