Williams takes 8th at invite

The Columbia Falls cross country team had a strong showing at the Flathead Invitational last week. Derrick Williams led the boys’ effort, taking eighth overall with a time of 16:57 while teammate Justin Whitman took 15th with a time of 17:36.

“Those two guys ran really well,” said coach Richard Menicke. Whitman is doing well despite some hip problems, Menicke said.

“He’s not 100 percent.”

Overall, many runners improved over last week, Menicke said. The team saw solid performances from freshmen James Ratzlaff, who ran a 19:02, and Zayne Brunz, who ran a 19:10. Both placed 49th and 55th. Runner Kohl Thompson also shaved a minute off his time, but did not place in the top 60.

The girls were paced by Jinise Osborne, who took 17th with a time of 21:06. She was followed by Nicki Moser, 35th, 22:23; Alexas Young, 40th, 22:39; Tessa Cowan, 42nd, 22:48; Cami Cassaza, 44th, 22:56; and Caroline Hansford, 59th, 23:56.6.

“The girls ran a great team race,” Menicke said.

He said freshman Tori Price had a solid JV performance and will get bumped up to varsity for the upcoming Mountain West Meet in Missoula this Saturday.

Joining the squad this week is runner Pascal Jessat. Jessat was a key member of last year’s boys’ team. He was ineligible for the first two meets because he was in army boot camp.

Menicke said Williams and Thompson were his “athletes of the week” — Williams for his strong performance, placing in the top 10, and Thompson because he shaved a minute off last week’s time.