The Plains High School Cross Country teams took part in the 6B/7B Conference Championships this past Saturday.  The teams took full advantage of a cool, calm day at the Mission Mountain Golf Course in Ronan.

The boys team was lead by the All-Conference performance of Russell Kujala.  Running a solid, strategically sound race, Kujala ran a new personal record of 17:18 and secured a 7th place finish.  

“Russ ran a great race with nice even splits through all 3-miles.” said coach Tony Banovich.  “He competed well and was right in the hunt for a top 5 finish during the entire race.”   

Garrett Horton was next in the for Horsemen harriers - finishing 19th with a time of 18:40.  

According to Banovich, “Garrett was fighting a bit of a cold this week; but, he still managed his second sub-19:00 performance of the year.”

Following Horton were Wyatt Winebrenner (37th in 19:45), Aaron Garrison (42nd in 20:18) and Daniel Damschen (43rd in a new PR of 20:18).  

“Daniel and Aaron had an epic battle down the finish stretch, with Aaron prevailing by fractions of a second” said Banovich.  “Due to a church mission trip to South Africa, this was Daniel’s last race of the season.  What a great way to finish up the season - a new personal best and a great race performance side by side with his teammate.”

With a score of 148 points, the boys finished 6th out of 8 teams (with Bigfork taking the title with 33 points).

The 5-girl Trotter squad had a spectacular day.  Running for the first time all season with the top 5 girls fit and present, they made their presence known right from the outset.  

Once again leading the team was freshman Demi Horton.  Her 19:45 performance brought her home with a 3rd-place podium finish and All-Conference honors.  Close behind, and also garnering All-Conference status, were the Earhart sisters (both scoring personal records).  Kimberley finished in 6th place at 20:00 and Felicia was just steps behind in 7th at 20:02.  Banovich commented 

“To have 3 girls All-Conference and all at or below 20:00 was amazing.  It’s without a doubt the best group performance that Plains High School has seen in at least the last 6 or 7 years.  20:00 and below is as fast as anyone has ever run at PHS - and we have 3 hitting that mark,” said Coach Banovich.

Not to be lost in the great performances at the front was some great, gutsy running by the 4th and 5th place Trotters.  Shannon Dimond set a new PR with her 23:13 (22nd place); and, Carley VonHeeder secured 24th place with her 23:30.  

“Shannon was amazing in the last 300 meters of the race.  Fighting an upset stomach from early on in the race, she threw up 3 times down the final stretch of the race.  But, she never broke stride.  It was one of the more ‘gutsy’ performances that I’ve seen in my over 30 years in the sport,” said coach Banovich.

As a result of those great performances, the Plains girls secured a 2nd place finish with 62 points, close behind champion Loyola’s 45 points.  

“I really thought that we had a chance to sneak in for the win” said Banovich.  “But, Loyola’s girls ran an amazing race as a group; and, we just couldn’t overcome their big pack finishing between 8th and 14th places.  But, I’m extremely proud of the girls.  They put themselves in position to run well and did everything they needed to do.  Sometimes you just run into a team that has a “magic” day.”

The final competition of the season awaits the PHS harriers as they travel to the State Championships in Helena this weekend.