Corvallis brought home the gold from the State Cross Country meet in Helena on Saturday. The boys team won the championship handily, easily outdistancing second place Whitefish. Chris Jessop, who battled injuries early in the season, came in 24 seconds ahead of Derrick Williams of Columbia Falls for the win. Colby Henderson, another Blue Devil, finished fifth, 28 seconds behind his teammate. Also finishing in the top 25 for Corvallis was Chase Stoker in seventh. Hamilton’s Easton Albert, only a freshman, finished 11th.

The Corvallis girls finished in fourth place behind Whitefish, Fergus and Polson. Sadi Henderson was second and Kaycie Stewart finished fourth for the Blue Devils. Hanna Smith, Paige Squire and Annie Jessop were solid in the middle of the pack. Sara Amish of Hamilton was 17th for the Broncs.

Doug Raymer and Chris Jessop, shown at the Daly Mansion run earlier this season, each won a state championship over the weekend. Raymer topped the Class B boys’ field at the All Class Cross County Championships in Helena. Jessop led his team to not only the individual Class A championship but also the team championship. Jean Schurman photo.

Darby’s Doug Raymer continued his determined dominance of the Class B field, finishing first with a time of 16:12. He was 13 seconds faster than his running buddy. Sean Abrahamsen, also of Darby, had a time of 16.25 and finished in second place. Sean Hansen finished in 15th for the Tigers with a time of 17:35. Other Darby placers were Sherman Smith in 38th, Cougan Kidd in 55th, Tyler Morris at 89th, and Kegan Beranek at 146th.

Class A

Boys Team scores: Corvallis 81,Whitefish 124, Belgrade 125, Browning 153, Columbia Falls 188, Livingston 198, Havre 204, Glendive 223, Anaconda 258, Laurel 259, Fergus 269, Hamilton 273, Billings Central 289, Polson 314, Dillon 323, Ronan 365, Frenchtown 366, Hardin 366, Libby 613.

Top local individuals

1. Chris Jessop, Corvallis, 16:00; 5. Colby Henderson, Corvallis, 16:28; 7. Chase Stoker, Corvallis, 16:33; 11. Easton Albert, Hamilton, 17:00; 30. Morly Jessop, Corvallis, 17:36; 38. Emmett Stoker, Corvallis, 17:47; 46. Anthony Schmalz, Hamilton, 17:56; 57. Devan Williams, Corvallis, 18:07; 69. Collin Johns, Hamilton, 18:20; 72. Danny Bartley, Hamilton, 18:26; 75. Denny Hoselton, Hamilton, 18:29; 86. Tanner Palin, Corvallis, 18:51; 111. Angelo Porcella, Hamilton, 19:20; 117. Colin Robinson, Hamilton, 19:30;

Girls Team scores: Whitefish 80, Fergus 88, Polson 100, Corvallis 126, Glendive 137, Havre 218, Browning 236, Columbia Falls 244, Laurel 246, Belgrade 303, Frenchtown 312, Billings Central, 339, Hamilton 345, Dillon 352, Anaconda 359, Custer 397, Livingston 414, Hardin 416, Ronan 475, Sidney 536.

Top 25 individuals

1. Brook Rodgers, Fergus, 18:51; 2. Sadi Henderson, Corvallis, 18:51; 4. Kaycie Stewart, Corvallis, 19:03; 17. Sara Amish, Hamilton, 20:20; 38. Hanna Smith, Corvallis, 21:14; 40. Paige Squire, Corvallis, 21:15; 42. Annie Jessop, Corvallis, 21:16 ; 55. Jenny Smith, Hamilton, 21:47; 60. Chelsi Clarke, Corvallis, 21:56; 62. Sarah Del Rae, Hamilton, 21:59; 85. Ari Watt, Corvallis, 22:39; 94. Chelsea Hayes, Hamilton, 23:02; 117. Kaurie Albert, Hamilton, 24:21; 127. Olivia Livoni, Hamilton, 26:18; 129. Whitney Cleveland, Hamilton, 26:35;

Gutsy play by Hamilton falls short

Soccer is a game of speed, stamina, guts and mental fortitude. It is also a game of luck. The semi final game between the Hamilton girls team and the Billings Central Lady Rams featured all of these characteristics. Billings Central came into Hamilton on a 42 game winning streak. But it was Hamilton’s house and the advantage was theirs to keep.

Billings Central quickly went to the net on the opening salvo but Hamilton’s keeper, Ali Stahl, was ready and stopped the attempt. It was the first of 10 saves by the Hamilton senior.

Coach Greg Shifflett of Hamilton said he didn’t think his team was the least bit intimidated by Billings Central. The two teams have played each other at least once and sometimes twice a season.

“Our record against them isn’t that good,” said Shifflett. “But we’re not afraid of them.”

Ali Stahl of Hamilton had 10 saves in the semi final game against Billings Central on Saturday. Hamilton lost to the Lady Rams, 1-0. Jean Schurman photo.

Hamilton held the Lady Rams scoreless in the first half and almost had a goal of their own. Kelsi Almond had a nice shot midway through the first half but the shot hit the crossbar and bounced outside the net.

Billings Central kept the pressure on the Broncs. According to Shifflett, “they have size, they have speed and better than either of those, they all have skill. And they have good tactics. They know where they want to go, where their teammate is going to be.

The Lady Rams took 18 shots on goal but the Hamilton defense held them off in all but one shot. With time running down, midfielder Jaelene Zygmond took a shot at the goal after pulling keeper Stahl and defender Sami Pederson away from the net. Two other Hamilton defenders stopped the ball just outside of the net in what looked like a rugby scrum, but the ball popped loose and was booted in by Billings Central.

“Our defender made a good play by just grabbing the ball,” said Shifflett. “She grabbed the ball with her hands and just held on. I don’t know why he didn’t award them a penalty kick. But somehow they ball got knocked away and they poked it in. I would have definitely taken the penalty kick opportunity.”

That goal was the difference. Hamilton never stopped playing but just couldn’t make a dent in the defense, especially once Billings Central went into slowed down play. Billings Central finished with four corner kicks and Hamilton had one. Hamilton finished the season with an 11-3 record.

“They had a really good chance, poked it in. We had a really good chance and hit the crossbar,” concluded Shifflett. “That’s how it happens in soccer.”

Busy weekend on volleyball court

Hamilton and Corvallis were hosts to the top two teams from the Northwest A conference on Thursday. Polson and Whitefish came down to the Bitterroot for some volleyball action and although they left victorious, both teams knew they had been in a battle. Polson topped Hamilton in three games and took four games to best Corvallis. It took Whitefish four games in Hamilton and five in Corvallis.

Kasey Arceniega, coach of the Blue Devils said the game plan for the day for her team was to stay mentally tough, play scrappy, and give it all they had.

“They did that 98 percent of the time,” she said.

Because these were non-conference games, Arceniega used the games to try new plays and work on fixing problems before they resume conference play this week. One of the pleasant surprises was the play of freshman Laura Berner. After jamming her fingers against Whitefish in the early match, the scrappy player came back to help her team to five games against Whitefish.

Lairen Phinney makes a dig as Julia Battisti watches and Stephanie Wood assists during Corvallis’ match against Whitefish. Jean Schurman photo.

“We knew it would be a fight,” concluded Arceniega. “We weren’t going to lie down and die. We were going to fight. I’m proud of them.”

Stevensville defeated Columbia Falls in three games and Browning in three games, 25-20, 25-15, and 25-23.

Florence will host the District 6B volleyball tournament. That will begin on Thursday. Victor will play in the District 13C tournament in Seeley-Swan.

Polson def. Hamilton, 25-21, 25-15, 25-22.

Kills - Polson 44, Hamilton 21 (Mary Conwell 13). Blocks - Polson 5, Hamilton 4 (four with 1). Digs - Polson 53, Hamilton 40 (Kennedy Chadwick 9, Colleen McGibben 7). Assists - Polson 31, Hamilton 21 (Conwell 8). Aces - Polson 10, Hamilton 1 (Presley Chadwick).

Whitefish def. Hamilton, 19-25, 25-17, 27-25, 25-22.

Kills - Whitefish 29, Hamilton 35 (Rebecka Hood 11, Rebecca Lyons 7). Blocks - Whitefish 4 (four with 1), Hamilton 5 (Mary Conwell 2). Digs - Whitefish 107, Hamilton 87 (Colleen McGibben 17, Kennedy Chadwick 14). Assists - Whitefish 22, Hamilton 29 (Conwell 25). Aces - Whitefish 7, Hamilton 8 (Presley Chadwick 3).

Whitefish def. Corvallis, 26-24, 26-24, 11-25, 22-25, 15-6.

Kills - Whitefish 34 (Heather Bailey 11), Corvallis 30 (Alex Ewing 9). Blocks - Whitefish 8, Corvallis 0. Digs - Whitefish 86, Corvallis 85 (Lairen Phinney 23). Assists - Whitefish 27, Corvallis 22 (Phinney 19). Aces - Whitefish 11, Corvallis 13 (Julia Battisti 4).

Polson def. Corvallis, 25-22, 25-23, 19-25, 25-18

Kills - Corvallis 33 (Alex Ewing 10, Whitney Jessop 10). Blocks - Corvallis 9 (Brooke Heckeroth 4, Jessop 4). Digs - Corvallis 57 (Lairen Phinney 17). Assists - Corvallis 25 (Phinney 19). Aces - Corvallis 11 (Laura Berner 5).

Stevensville def. Columbia Falls, 25-10, 25-13, 25-14.

Kills - Stevensville 22 (Britney Chilcott 13), Columbia Falls 7. Blocks - Stevensville 7 (Molly Brewer 4), Columbia Falls 4. Digs - Stevensville 16 (Maddie Jones 7), Columbia Falls 40. Assists - Stevensville 17 (Alexa Omlid 9), Columbia Falls 7. Aces - Stevensville 9 (Kyla Paulsen 4), Columbia Falls 4.

Hamilton def. Ronan, 17-25, 25-22, 25-12, 25-16.

Kills - Hamilton 45 (Rebecka Hood 18), Ronan 32. Blocks - Hamilton 5 (Cara Schulz 1, Hood 1), Ronan 1. Digs - Hamilton 89 (Presley Chadwick 26), Ronan 76. Assists - Hamilton 37 (Mary Conwell 25), Ronan 19. Aces - Hamilton 9 (Conwell 6), Ronan 7.

Seeley-Swan def. Victor, 25-13, 25-16, 25-11.

Kills - Victor 10 (Kaylene Munson 4), Seeley-Swan 24. Blocks - Victor 2 (Katy Brittle, Munson), Seeley-Swan 4. Digs - Victor 30 (Mariah Caniglia 11), Seeley-Swan 28. Assists - Victor 7 (Hannah Upegui 3), Seeley-Swan 19. Aces - Victor 9 (Shailyn Scheffer 2, Munson 2, Liz Taylor 2), Seeley-Swan 14.

Florence def. Superior, 25-13, 25-18, 25-16.

Kills - Florence 30 (Casey Mann 9), Superior 7 Blocks - Florence 6 (Melody Maki 3), Superior 10. Digs - Florence 19 (Taylor Marcelli 7), Superior 38. Assists - Florence 29 (Makenzie Bauck 28), Superior 4. Aces - Florence 6 (Karli Cotton 3), Superior 3.

Football wrap up

Stevensville advances to playoffs

The football season came to a close for all but Stevensville this weekend. The Yellowjackets will travel to Libby for a first-round playoff game on Saturday according to the Montana High School Association web site. Stevensville finished in third place behind the undefeated Dillon Beavers and Frenchtown. Stevensville lost to Dillon on Friday, 47-0.

Hamilton defeated Corvallis in inter valley play, 51-0. The Broncs opened the scoring with a 35-yard field goal by Seth Mason. Edie Anzo had two touchdowns off of turnovers by the Blue Devils. He loped 30 yards for a score after recovering a fumble. He also had a 98-yard interception return. Josh Brenneman threw two touchdown passes – for 27 yards and 15 yards - with Tyler Pigman on the receiving end of both. Cody Noffsinger had a four-yard scoring run. Billy Winsett also rushed four yards for a score. Jeremy Elsworth finished the Bronc scoring with a seven-yard romp. Mason didn’t miss a PAT attempt all night.

Florence topped Deer Lodge, 38-6 and finished the season with a 3-1 conference record and 6-2 overall record. However it wasn’t enough to make the playoffs. Florence, Loyola and Superior ended up in a three-way tie for first with identical records of 3-1. But Superior beat Loyola in their final game by seven points which gave the Bobcats the edge in the tiebreaker over Florence by one point. Had they won by six points, Florence would have advanced.

Spencer Burns had 105 yards rushing and was 12 of 16 in the air. He had scoring runs of 17 and 5 yards each. He hit Zach Damron from three yards out and Riley Philips from 20 yards out. Tanner Cobbs, who finished with 135 yards on 19 carries, had a one-yard touchdown plunge and scored on another run from 10 yards out.

Victor finished on a winning note, defeating Philipsburg 52-32. Randy Lewis had four scores. He had a 19-yard scoring run and a 32-yard run. He caught a one-yard TD pass and a seven-yard pass for the score. Kurt Manely threw two other touchdown passes, one to Dennis Mitcham from 21 yards out and one to Chris Morozumi from 52 yards out. Manley also had a one-yard run for six. Victor finished the season with a 2-5 record.

Page One •	Valley News •	Op/Ed •	Sports •	Calendar •	Classifieds •	Legals •	Links •	About Us •	Back Issues •	Email Us •	Home
©2009 Bitterroot Star This site was Done By Dooney