Class A
Headlines
Subscribe to our Newsletter
STATE 'A' XC PREVIEW
October 20, 2023
The Livingston Rangers won the Class A boys cross country championship Oct. 22, 2022 in Missoula.
Boys
2022 team champion: Livingston Rangers
2022 individual champion: Greyson Piseno, Billings Central
Start time: 12:50 p.m.
2023 storylines: Could this be Browning's year to claim a 23rd title? The winningest program in state history hasn't topped the podium since 2007, but Jerdan Crawford, Preston Iron Heart and River Racine all come in ranked within the top 11. They topped the Western A Classic last weekend, a field that also included contenders Whitefish and Columbia Falls.
But the strength of the Wildcats is in their pack as they have run together all season and look to return to the podium after a pair of fifth-place finishes. Their last title came in 2019; Whitefish would like to secure its first title since 2012.
Defending champion Greyson Piseno of Billings Central again leads the field with a season's best time at 15:44.2, but four of the top five are all underclassmen who were all-state last season. The Rams sophomore, who also won track titles at 1,600 and 3,200 in the spring, leads a group of last year's contenders that also features Hardin freshman Ben Bird (previously runner-up), Havre senior Caleb Tomac (fourth in 2022), Livingston sophomore Finn Schretenthaler (sixth) and Hamilton sophomore Taylor Doleac (10th).
The Hardin Bulldogs won the Class A girls cross country championship Oct. 22, 2022 in Missoula.
Girls
2022 team champion: Hardin Bulldogs
2022 individual champion: Karis Brightwings-Pease, Hardin
Start time: 1:40 p.m.
2023 storylines: Brightwings-Pease and the Bulldogs only lost one runner to graduation from last year's title-winning squad and currently have four runners ranked within the top 10 of Class A. They've challenged themselves against tough competition all season long and even placed third overall at the Mountain West Classic in Missoula, just behind AA contenders Bozeman and Gallatin, so unseating the Bulldogs could be a steep challenge.
Watch for Corvallis and Columbia Falls to vie for podium spots and the Wildkats to race together as their season bests are all within less than 45 seconds of each other.
Freshman Brightwings-Pease has dipped as low as 18:15.8 this season when she won the Capital City 7 of 7 meet in Helena two weeks ago, a time that tops everyone in the state regardless of classification. If all goes well, the current Class A state record of 18:16.22 (set by Hamilton's Brynnli Poulsen in 2019) could be in her sights. Last year in track, she also captured the 1,600 and 3,200 state track titles, all before she was officially in high school.
Senior teammate Mariah Aragon will look to close out her high school career with a potential third top-three finish. Hamilton freshman Aliegha Child has steadily dropped time all season long and is about a minute behind Brightwings-Pease with the second-best mark (19:14.1) in Class A this season.
Class A
The surprise isn’t that Browning’s boys are good, it’s that it’s been this long (2007) without a state championship. That year they won their 22nd.
“Browning has the winningest school program in history, all classes, going back to the early 70s,” said Columbia Falls coach Jim Peacock, who was running for Boulder in Class B while Browning was winding down a run of 18 state titles (three in Class B) in 18 years from 1974-91. “It’s been a couple years since they’ve been a powerhouse and it’s really neat to see the coach they’ve had the last couple years (Roy McNabb) bring the winning culture back to that program.”
Jerdan Crawford, Preston Iron Heart and River Racine lead Browning, and have a habit of sticking together.
Columbia Falls, meanwhile, has River Blazewski, Oliver Kress, Logan Peterson and Lucas Peterson tightly bunched.
“We’ve got a little bit better depth. But right now they’ve been able to sneak ahead of us with those first couple runners,” Peacock said. “I think we compete with them really well. If the kids do what they’ve done all year, they’ll give themselves a chance. If Browning does what they’ve done all year, it will be a really good battle.
“We’ll see who has the best day and either way walk away pretty happy about having a great team that put in some great times.”
Not far behind is Whitefish, where first-year cross country runner Simon Douglas has surged and given the Bulldogs a strong core of four along with Mason Genovese, Deneb Linton and Ethan Amick.
“Browning is really tough. They’re dynamite,” Whitefish coach Richard Menicke said. “Columbia falls has the same thing Browning has — a strong group of guys that runs in a nice tight group. “We’d be extremely happy to come home in third because there are a couple of excellent teams (Hardin and Corvallis) right on our heels.
Hardin seems a lock to win its second straight girls title and fifth in seven years. The Bulldogs have four runners — Karis Brightwings-Pease, Mariah Aragon, Zoey Real Bird and Dierra Takes Enemy — ranked in the top 10 in Class A, so Corvallis and Columbia Falls can battle for second place.
“Corvallis has been edging us the last few meets but we’ve been missing the girl that led us most of the year,” said Peacock, referring to Ashley Andrews. “She should be back and healthy this weekend.”
Whitefish might make a run at the state trophy, and like the Wildkats welcomes back an injured runner in Maeve Inglefinger.
“Our girls have beena surprising team, and young,” Menicke said of the Bulldogs. “I’m interested to see how (Inglefinger’s return) changes our team results.”
Among the local athletes that could get top 15 All-State honors are Bigfork’s Jack Jensen and Polson freshman Jackson Bontadelli for the boys, and Polson freshman Morgan Delaney for the girls.
“It’s great to have this meet in our backyard,” Peacock said. “As a local coach, I’m hopeful to see some good local representation and spectating. There are a lot of good local individuals and teams competing this weekend.”
