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Wyoming sweeps
honors at 1st BorderWar
Top 10 Boys
Top 10 Girls
photos by Nikki
Peterson
Highlights by Steve Smoot
Both the Wyoming Boys and Girls All-Star Cross Country Teams ended
up victorious at the 1st Annual Montana/Wyoming High School “Border
War” in Sheridan, Wyoming on Saturday morning. The runners
from the Cowboy state, all clad in their golden jerseys, struck
gold in both individual titles as well.
Natrona County sophomore, Sarah Balfour, the 4A state champion
in Wyoming ran away with the girls win as did Campbell County’s
4A boys state champion, Andrew Jones.
Despite a week of record low temperatures dipping below zero and
a four-inch accumulation of snow, Saturday’s showdown in Sheridan
ran off under a glorious blue sky, with temperatures in the high
30’s and no sign of any wind. The meet, however, had to be
moved from the Powder Horn Golf Course to the VA Hospital Complex
where city crews cleared off a 3 mile path through the snow on Friday
The Wyoming teams, comprised of the top runners from each classification,
took on an equal counterpart from Montana for a team size of 30
runners. Overall, 10 different state champions from all the different
classifications, represented their state in the run-off .
At the start of each race Sheridan Mountain Man, John Sweem, stood
in the middle of the two opposing teams, facing each other about
100 yards apart. The unique “Border War” start was a
crowd favorite and added a ‘Brave Heart’ quality to
the inter-state clash. With the blast of his black powder rifle,
each team charged toward one another for 40 yards before turning
on the first straight away.
In the first race of the day, Balfour of Natrona County High School
took the lead in the girls race shortly after the 400 meter mark
and fought off the only challengers she would see during the first
mile. Early on, on Elisabeth Driscoll of Bozeman and Wasewi Shawl
of Browning made a run at Balfour but by the mile, the sophomore
from Natrona County High School was never seriously challenged again.
The champion from Casper, Wyoming ran a splendid time of 18:06 to
earn the first ever girls Montana/ Wyoming “Border War.”
However, equally impressive was Emily Higgins, the freshman 2A
state champion from Rocky Mountain High School, who led the rest
of the Wyoming contingent to a 1-2-3-4 Wyoming sweep, was just 6
seconds back in 18:12. The top Montana runners faded somewhat and
the Wyoming runners teamed up for an ambush. Higgins was followed
to the finish chute by Nikki Peterson of Riverton, and hometown
favorite, Gretchen Fagley of Sheridan.
Since the team outcome was not based on placing, but total time,
each of the Wyoming girls were also running against the clock to
accumulate the lowest team time. By the time it was all over, the
Wyoming girls took charge to take 6 of the top 10 spots and 6 of
the next ten. The Wyoming girls totaled a combined time of 7 hours,
49minutes, and 30 seconds to Montana’s 8 hours, 7 minutes
and 23 seconds.
Shawl finished in 5th for the Treasure State team while Driscoll
was 6th, C.J. Martin of Colstrip was 8th and Kaci Calaway, who traveled
over 570 miles from Bigfork to make the race, finished 10th to earn
the last medal winning spot.
“Too bad the Kalispell team was unable to make the 10 hour
journey to Sheridan. I would have liked to see how we would have
matched up. They have one of the nation’s top runner and a
good bunch of runners, but the way our girls ran today, I don’t
think it would have made any difference.” (Steve Smoot, Douglas
High School & Meet Co-Coordinator)
Andrew Jones, and his teammates from 16th ranked Campbell County,
led Team Wyoming’s charge against Montana to an unexpected
team victory over the neighbors to the north. A strong and well
balanced team effort from the out-manned Cowboys hung together in
a tight pack for much of the way to earn the championship “Border
War”trophy.
Montana was well represented by Matt Winter of Billings Central,
Fritz Friesz of Polson, and Dan Driscoll of Bozeman. Driscoll was
the large school state champion and Winter and Friesz ran record-breaking
performances as they battled it out to a 1-2 finish in their class
A division championship.
After leading out with a 4:55 first mile, Jones soon built up a
40 yard lead which he extended to over 200 by the time he crossed
the finish line in 15:11, with a 29 second margin victory. The individual
battle for first place never materialized. Montana runners, Winter
and Friesz, however finished in a tight race just three tenths of
a second apart in second and third, at 15:40.5 and 15:40.8.
Not far back was T.J. Goddard of Campbell County in 4th at15:50
while Driscoll was 5th in 16:03. Ryan Kendall of Rock Springs was
6th in 16:14 while Mike Kline, also of Campbell County was 7th in
16:15. Chris Schultz of Cody in 8th and Scott Covington, of Green
River in 10th rounded out the 6-man, Team Wyoming top ten finishers.
T.J. Strangeowl of Colstrip was the other Montana medal winner in
9th at 16:19.
Team Wyoming amassed a total time of 6 hours, 57 minutes and 33
seconds to Team Montana’s 7 hours, 2 minutes and one second.
“A lot of credit goes to runners across the whole state for
running tough throughout the race. Since the Wyoming team was short
4 runners, Montana did not have to count their last 4 finishers
in the total time. Runners from all three classifications contributed
to the team victory.”
It was neat to see all of the kids, who were running against each
other all season, come together on one team and share in mutual
success. It was a fun day for athletes and spectators alike. It
was so neat to hear ‘Go Wyoming’ from the spectators
as the runners threaded through the spectator-friendly course. Next
year, we do it again in Billings..”
Steve Smoot, Wyoming Coaches Assoc. Sport Rep. Cross Country
307-358-4081
[email protected] |
It
was a great experience!
by Nikki Peterson, WYrunner.com
The first ever Border War was a success! I think everyone who ran
in it had fun and enjoyed the competition. It was nice to have all
of the people you've been competing against on the same team for
once (especially Gillette ) ! Wyoming won both the boys and girls
race. The girls won by a lot, with the boys race quite a bit tighter.
The course definitely was not made for fast times. The grass was
slippery and muddy, about 1/4 to 1/2 mile section of it was on muddy
snow/ice, and there were a TON of turns. On top of that, it was
only 24 degrees for the girls race at 11 and about 29 degrees for
the boys at 11:30 (I would know too b/c the assistant coach at Riverton
who I'm working on the website with is a meteorologist for the National
Weather Service)!
In the girls race, it was too bad Zoe Nelson and her team didn't
make it although I don't think the Zoe-Sarah race would have materialized
as Sarah Balfour was struggling a lot. I talked to her after the
race and she said she was still sore from state last week. She only
won the race by 6 seconds (18:06.71). On her tail was freshman Emily
Higgins from Rocky Mountain High School with an 18:12.42. At about
300 meters from the finish she was only 3 seconds behind. She's
not going to Foot Locker this year (I tried to talk her into it)
but if she makes the trip next year I think she could be a threat!
She's an awesome competitor- on and off the course. The battle for
3-4-5 was only 3 seconds apart. Coming around the turn (the last
200 meters) it looked as though it was going to be Gretchen Fagley
of WY, Wasewi Shawl of MT, and then Nikki Peterson of WY but Peterson
came from behind to catch Shawl with about 50 meters to go and Fagley
with only about 5 meters to go. Wyoming ended up taking 6 of the
top 10 and won by 17 minutes- 7:49:30.17 to 8:07:23.57.
The boys race was really exciting to watch because of how close
the race was! For the first 3/4 of a mile Matt Winter and Fritz
Freisz tried to hang with Andrew Jones. However, Matt Winter made
the mistake of getting next to him and throwing a few elbows. When
he did this, Andrew looked over at him and then looked straight
ahead and put in a nasty surge which ended the race for first. Jones
ended up winning by 29 seconds. To show how slow the conditions
were, Winter and Freisz ran a 15:13 and 15:14 at their state meet.
At the Border War, Winter and Freisz ran a 15:40.54 and a 15:40.80
respectively. That makes Andrew Jones' time of 15:11.62 even more
outstanding! I seriously think he has a shot at a National berth
in December. Wyoming, although having to go without the 3A state
champ (Matt Heller) and several other of the top 3-4A runners still
out ran Montana by 4 1/2 mintutes. The final times were 6:57:33.26
to 7:02:01.75.
After the races, there was a well-put-on banquet at the meet headquarters,
Holiday Inn, where they served lunch and handed out awards. Steve
Smoot told everyone about one of the Montana boys. He couldn't afford
to come down so he sold his truck to pay for the entry fees, hotel,
and food! I think that is awesome and that that is exactly what
the sport needs! Maybe eventually, the meet can make enough money
to have some sort of financial aid for runners like him.
All in all, it was a great experience and I'm looking foward to
going again next year! I think it would be awesome if maybe Dyestat
could make it too! I was talking to my coach on the way back and
what would be interesting is to see how Wyoming compares to the
rest of the country.
Hmmm...maybe we need to start some sort of Rate-your-state meet
... Nikki
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Results
Place Time Name School Grade
1 0:15:12.00 Jones, Andrew Campbell County 12 runners
2 0:15:41.00 Winter, Matt Billings Central 12
3 0:15:41.00 Freisz, Fritz Polson 12
4 0:15:51.00 Goddard, T.J. Campbell County 11
5 0:16:03.00 Driscoll, Daniel Bozeman 12
6 0:16:15.00 Kendall, Ryan Rock Springs 12
7 0:16:15.00 Kline, Mike Campbell County 12
8 0:16:16.00 Schultz, Chris Cody 12
9 0:16:19.00 Strangeowl, TJ Colstrip 10
10 0:16:21.00 Covington, Scott Green River 12
11 0:16:25.00 Beamer, Matt Kelly Walsh 10
12 0:16:25.00 Real Bird, Nolan Hardin 9
13 0:16:26.00 Hale, Kevin Sheridan 12
14 0:16:26.00 Ricardi, John Manhattan Christian 10
15 0:16:26.00 Wright, Cole Rock Springs 12
16 0:16:27.00 McCleland, Ryan Campbell County 11
17 0:16:27.00 Mizel, Chris Rock Springs 12
18 0:16:33.00 Lunk, Steve Natrona 12
19 0:16:34.00 Metropoulos, Jon Helena 12
20 0:16:35.00 Schuler, Brett Wright 12
21 0:16:37.00 Trombley, Carl Browning 11
22 0:16:39.00 Hyams, Aaron Billings Central 10
23 0:16:41.00 Green, Derek Douglas 11
24 0:16:41.00 Hansen, Richard Laramie 12
25 0:16:43.00 Hlavacek, Tom C. M. Russell 12
26 0:16:44.00 Wambach, Dietrich Douglas 11
27 0:16:45.00 Sheridan, David Helena Capital 10
28 0:16:45.00 Grever, Shane Great Falls 11
29 0:16:47.00 Hunsucker, Chad Polson 11
30 0:16:48.00 Duncan, Martin Riverton 10
31 0:16:48.00 Ames, Jason Helena 10
32 0:16:50.00 Running Crane, Ryan Browning 11
33 0:16:53.00 Lofthouse, Casey Helena 12
34 0:17:00.00 Wirtz, Joe Helena 11
35 0:17:01.00 Harris, Thunder Browning 12
36 0:17:05.00 Kinney, Kris Green River 12
37 0:17:07.00 Atwater, Jon Wright 11
38 0:17:09.00 Rakness, Steven Worland 10
39 0:17:12.00 Senrud, Logan Bigfork 12
40 0:17:21.00 Porter, Russ Wright 12
41 0:17:25.00 Zarn, John Billings West 12
42 0:17:32.00 Harris, Tony Wyoming Indian 11
43 0:17:32.00 Smith, Greg Helena Capital 11
44 0:17:34.00 Carrywater, Ben Harlem 11
45 0:17:35.00 Deininger, Nik Douglas 10
46 0:17:41.00 Athey, Devin Natrona 12
47 0:17:43.00 Parsell, Drew Douglas 12
48 0:17:47.00 Bullock, Jeremiah Boulder 11
49 0:18:01.00 Zoeller, Marcus Billings West 12
50 0:18:33.00 Yager, Andrew Joliet 11
51 0:18:36.00 Clark, Justin Belt 11
52 0:18:49.00 Brockie, Charlie Dodson/Whitewater 10
53 0:20:52.00 Bull Shows, Raymond Plenty Coups
54 0:21:42.00 Flat Lip, Scott Plenty Coups
Girls - Border War 2002
Sheridan, WY - VA Hospital - November 2, 2002
Place Time Name School Grade
1 0:18:07.00 Balfour, Sarah * Natrona County 10 30 runners
2 0:18:12.00 Higgins, Emily * Rocky Mountin 9
3 0:18:28.00 Peterson, Nikki Riverton 11
4 0:18:28.00 Fagley, Gretchen Sheridan 11
5 0:18:30.00 Shawl, Wasewi Browning 11
6 0:18:46.00 Driscoll, Elisabeth Bozeman 11
7 0:18:52.00 Gross, Sarah Campbell County 9
8 0:18:55.00 Martin, CJ * Colstrip 11
9 0:19:02.00 Fall, Abby Campbell County 10
10 0:19:10.00 Calaway, Kaci Bigfork 11
11 0:19:17.00 Hughes, Abby Saratoga 12
12 0:19:18.00 Harwood, Kasey Polson 11
13 0:19:25.00 Slight, Stacy Cody 11
14 0:19:29.00 Wadsworth, Amanda Green River 10
15 0:19:30.00 Nimmo, Ashlen Rock Springs 9
16 0:19:32.00 Klee, Emily Billings Central 12
17 0:19:39.00 Juelfs, Danni Natrona County 12
18 0:19:40.00 Tucker, Jessica Billings Senior 11
19 0:19:42.00 Neville, Lindy Malta 9
20 0:19:43.00 Schroeder, Ashley Campbell County 10
21 0:19:44.00 Dilts, Jenne * Douglas 10
22 0:19:45.00 Saunders, Marissa Douglas 10
23 0:19:45.00 Kelsey, Shatto Douglas 9
24 0:19:46.00 Birkeland, Kiele Helena 12
25 0:19:47.00 Larson, Jayme * Glasgow 10
26 0:19:49.00 Vonholtum, Megan Lander Valley 11
27 0:19:53.00 Slight, Samantha Cody 11
28 0:19:54.00 Larson, Kayla Glasgow 11
29 0:19:56.00 Lif, Ashley Cheyenne East 9
30 0:19:56.00 Peters, Darcy Bozeman 10
31 0:19:59.00 Campbell, Samantha Polson 10
32 0:20:01.00 Stacy, Sarah Cheyenne Central 10
33 0:20:05.00 Karst, Kendra Natrona County 12
34 0:20:08.00 Schulte, Megan Butte 11
35 0:20:11.00 Bakich, Ashley Colstrip 11
36 0:20:15.00 Gaughen, Kelly Bozeman 12
37 0:20:18.00 Doroha, Megan Rock Springs 12
38 0:20:31.00 Hueckstadt, Lindsay Rock Springs
39 0:20:40.00 Ware, Alexis Great Falls 12
40 0:20:46.00 Bulltail, Isreal Lodge Grass 10
41 0:20:47.00 Haderlie, Rochelle Star Valley 12
42 0:20:47.00 McFerran, Paige Wright 12
43 0:21:15.00 Reed, Jessica Glenrock 11
44 0:21:21.00 Hohnholt, JaNae Saratoga 10
45 0:21:22.00 Pexton, Brianna Douglas 12
46 0:21:26.00 Rose, Carli Cheyenne East 9
47 0:21:34.00 Young, Megan Harrison Public 11
48 0:21:37.00 Kroeger, Karen Lander Valley 10
49 0:21:42.00 Halko, Sam Belt 10
50 0:21:42.00 Carey, Sally Jefferson - Boulder 12
51 0:21:59.00 Sjostrom, Whitney Broadwater 9
52 0:22:46.00 Beston, Tessa Frazier 9
53 0:22:48.00 Deboo, Cayla Valier 10
Schedule
Saturday, November 2, 2002
Powder Horn Golf Course
9:00 a.m. Walk Course
10:30 a.m. Girls Race
11:00 a.m. Boys Race
12:30 p.m. Luncheon & Awards --- Holiday Inn of Sheridan
PRESS RELEASE
Re: 1st Annual Universal Athletic
Montana/Wyoming High School
Cross Country “Border War”2002
From: Steve Smoot – Douglas High School – Wyoming Coaches
Association Sport Representative - Cross Country
Art Baures – Sheridan High School – Sheridan, WY
Bob Stingley – Great Falls High School – Great Falls MT
Paul Jorgenson – Flathead High School - Kalispell, MT
The High School sport of Cross Country in Montana and Wyoming has consistently
produced some excellent teams and runners over the past decade. Both boys
and girls from these states have represented their states well at both
the Regional and National competitions, and many are currently competing
and excelling at the collegiate level.
It is the desire of the coaches from these two states to promote their
athletes and the sport of cross country by initiating an All-Star Championship
race between the two states.
Coaches Steve Smoot of Douglas High School (Wy), Art Baures of Sheridan
High School (WY), Paul Jorgenson of Flathead High School in Kalispell(MT),
and Bob Stingley of Great Falls (MT)are coordinating efforts to bring
this “border war” about. Joining efforts with the coaches
are Universal Athletic Services, the Holiday Inn of Sheridan,Wyoming,
and the Powder Horn Golf Course of Sheridan.
Within the past several years, teams from Campbell County High School,
Wyoming and Flathead High in Kalispell, Montana have have received national
recognition with top-twenty team rankings on several occasions.
This year is no different. The high school runners from both Montana
and Wyoming are once again are proving to continue the tradition. Each
state's high school state championship meet will serve as the qualifier
to determine each state's All-Stars with each class receiving a specified
representation. Instead of running against each other, like they have
done all fall, they will be able team up to represent their state in Sheridan
on Saturday, November 2.
Individually, in recent years, Wyoming girls, Alicia Craig of Gillette
and Katie Moon of Evanston have represented Wyoming in the National Footlocker
Cross Country Championships and currently run for nationally ranked powerhouses
Stanford and BYU.
On the Montana side of the border, Zoe Nelson, now a sophomore at Flathead
High School, is currently leading the nation with the fastest 3-mile time
of 16:43. As a national qualifier last year, she is considered one of
the best in the nation. Heidi Lane of Great Falls, a national qualifier
last year, presently runs for University of Wisconsin.
Seth Watkins and David Vidal of Flathead were both national qualifiers
two years ago and run for Northern Arizona and Stanford, respectively.
The top male and female Wyoming runners from last year, Tony Bachman of
Gillette, is currently running for Montana State University while Brittanie
Saunders of Douglas is competing for Colorado State University. There
are scores of other runners from both states presently running for Division
I, II, III, and NAIA collegiate programs.
This year's matchups between the two states “All-Stars”
could be a real exciting competition in what is hoped to become an annual
face-off with the top runners from each state going head-to-head. The
team scoring format will make it interesting as each and every runner
will make a significant difference in the outcome.
The Holiday Inn of Sheridan will serve as host and meet headquarters
for the inaugural meet to be run on the Powder Horn Golf Course. Team
and individual awards will be provided by Universal Athletic, serving
high school athletic programs in both states.
Here are some particulars concerning the race:
1MAKE-UP OF TEAMS: With three classifications in Wyoming, each of the
boys and girls all-star state teams will consist of the top 15 finishers
in the state meet from class 4A, top 10 runners from 3A, and the top 5
runners from 1A-2A, for a total of 30. Since Montana has four classes,
the teams from Montana will consist of 12 from class AA, 8 from class
A, 5 from class B, and 5 from class C. ALL CLASSSIFICATIONS WILL BE REPRESENTED.
2SCORING FORMAT: Unlike the typical scoring format, in which team scores
are determined by the places of the top 5 runners, the winning team will
be awarded to the lowest total team time. This will ensure every runner
will have an equal impact in determining the team championship, not just
the top runners.
5STUDENT AFFILIATION: This will not be a "seniors only" race.
An athlete in any grade may participate without jeopardy to their eligibility,
and will not be representing their school. Each athlete will be representing
their state on an "All Star" team.
3LOCATION: Sheridan, Wyoming has indicated a commitment to hosting the
meet every other year beginning this year. The beautiful Powder Horn Golf
Course will be the site of the first intra-state showdown and will serve
as race site on all even years.
Billings, Montana has committed to the odd years. These two cities already
host “All-Star” competitions between the two states in boys
and girls basketball.
Steve Smoot
Wyoming High School Coaches Association Sports Representative –
Cross Country
Douglas High School
Douglas Wyoming 82633
307 358-5250 (w) 307 358-44081 (H) [email protected]
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