Corvallis junior Sadi Henderson brought home the gold again this year in cross-country. The distance runner who turns sprinter in the spring repeated as Class A champion and led her team once again to a state championship. Henderson crossed the finish line of the course in Helena with a time of 18:37.6. Teammate Kacie Stewart was third and Isabella Pape finished fifth. The Blue Devils finished with 56 points. They were followed by Lewistown (79) Laurel 137) and Hamilton (154).
The Blue Devils struggled this fall, as did all teams in the valley, with the smoke and didn’t put the time in training outside that they normally would have done. However, the past couple of weeks allowed the team to peak at the best time. In addition to the three top five placers, Corvallis had three others place in the top 35. Stewart, who was third, finished in 19:33.7. Pape’s time was 19:44.4. Lakyn Connors was 19th with a time of 20:26.3. Hannah Smith finished 30th with a time of 20:54.6 and Amelia Gardner was 35th with a time of 21:04.5. Only Connors and Smith are seniors.
Hamilton’s top finisher was Sara Amish who finished in 11th place with a time of 19:55.2. Jenny Smith was 23rd with a time of 20:43.1. Kaitlin Stromberg was 28th with a time of 20:53.6. Sierra Gideon finished in 46th ; Taylor Goligoski was 51st and Tess Clancy finished 53rd to round out Hamilton’s top six finishers. There were a total of 130 racers in the event.
Hamilton finished second in the boy’s cross-country race behind Whitefish. Corvallis finished seventh. Anthony Schmalz finished in seventh place with a time of 16:39.9. Easton Albert was 10th with 16:42.7. He was followed by Cameron Meikle, a freshman, in 11th place with a time of 16:46.5. Rounding out the scoring for the Broncs were Karille Appendaile in 29th, Cody Rockwell in 51st and Sam Parker in 77th place.
Morly Jessop was Corvallis’ top finisher. He finished in 25th pace with a time of 17:31.2. Dane Watt was 27th. Josh Jessop and Eric Healy finished in 47th and 48th place. Rounding out the scoring for Corvallis were Riley Jessop in 55th place and Porter Jessop in 58th place. There were 141 racers in the Class A boys’ race.
Darby finished in third place in Class C behind Culbertson/Bainville and Twin Bridges. Garrett McCormack finished in 185h with a time of 18:53.4. Tyler Morris was right behind with a time of 18:55.6. Dawson Jakober was 23rd. Rope Rennaker finished 32nd and Keagan Beranek was 36th for the Tigers. Julie Abrahamsen finished in 30th for Darby in the girls’ race.