If you are a coach at either of Sanders County’s two cross country schools, you may spend some of the next few months shopping for sunglasses.

For Thompson Falls coach Sarah Naegeli and Plains coaches Jesse and Charity Jermyn, the future's so bright they will likely need shades.

The present is good too based on the results from the recent Montana State Class B Cross Country championship at Kalispell’s Rebecca Farms. The local men’s and women’s runners were led by a freshman and an eighth grader, from the Plains teams while both schools are loaded with underclassmen.

And while both schools have benefited greatly from senior leadership and talent, the years ahead promise to be as bright as the Autumn sky under which they all ran.

Plains women, led by the fourth-place finish of freshman Marina Tulloch, placed sixth out of 39 Class B schools, while another runner, eighth grader John Owen Jermyn helped the Plains men’s team to 18th place in the men’s category.

In both categories, Thompson Falls was in the running also, with the women’s team finishing ninth and the men coming home 19th. Jefferson High (Boulder, MT) runners won the Class B men’s title with a low score of 79 team points, well ahead of second place Columbus, which had 137 points.

Manhattan won the women’s team title with 93 points, edging second place Glasgow, which accumulated 103 team points. The Plains women had 239 team points while T Falls posted 310 points on what Naegeli described as a “quite warm, beautiful autumn afternoon in Kalispell Saturday afternoon.

In the women’s competition, Glasgow’s Tanae Baker was the top individual Class B runner with a time of 19:03.6. Tulloch cross the line fourth at the 20:10.55 mark, earning her a spot of the 15 member 2023 All State team.

Thompson Falls senior Faith Palmer also made the All State squad via her 14th place showing. Palmer covered the 5K (3.1 mile) course laid out over the scenic Rebecca Farms site in 20:50.03.

Top local finisher for the men’s team was Plains’ Jermyn, who completed the run in 17:29.75. Senior harrier Cael Thilmony topped the Blue Hawks with a 26th place finish when he completed the race at the 17:55.42 mark.

All classes of runners were present at the event with the Class B individuals leaving the starting line in the early afternoon hours.

Thompson Falls has three eighth graders on the men’s roster and two on the women’s team.

Bozeman’s Nathan Neil had the day’s best time, covering the 5K route in an eye-popping 14:45.47, an average of 4:46 per mile.

In addition to Palmer and Thilmony, T Falls runners who took part in the meet were, in the women’s competition: Aubrey Baxter, a freshman who finished 26th with a time of 21:45; Lexi Franck, eighth grade, 23:02; Peighton Kenney, 24:02; Kylee Huff, another eighth grader, 77th with a time of 28:11; Jaden Bewick, 156th place with a personal best time of 28:49; and, Addie Traver, 157th as she crossed the finish line in 28:50, capping her first year of competitive running.

The Thompson Falls men’s team, in addition to Thilmony, included: Tulff Ryder, a freshman who recorded a personal best time of 19:50; Weston Block, eighth grade, 107th at 20:06; Evan Lofthus, another eighth grader who posted a personal best time of 21:09; Blake Shusterman, 145th place at 21:23; Sean Nowlan, personal best time of 22:31; and, Jakob Molina, who also had a personal best time of 22:37.

Plains, in addition to Tulloch’s fourth place finish, had four other runners in the event: sophomore Savannah Costner, 52nd in (23:11); Annika Ercanbrack, 8th grade, 53rd (23:14);Ashley Ferlan, 8th grade, 58th, (23:32); and, Peyton Wasson, senior, 72nd, (23:54).

The Plains men, in addition to Jerymyn top 20 finish, included: Joe Martin, 47th, (18:38.37); Kalem Ercanbrack, 97th, (19:54); Drew Carey, (20:53); and, Asher Seymour, (25:15).

A total of 172 runners participated in the women’s Class B event, while 210 Class B men crossed the finish line.

Naegeli said the meet was “all in all a pretty great way to run state races and end the season”. She had high praise for her team’s efforts.

“State meet is always a roller coaster with the wonderful highs followed by the heartbreaking lows,” she said. “I appreciate how our teams came together to compete and support each other, celebrating the successes and working together. Faith (Palmer) earned all-state and several runners already have goals for next season”.

For both Plains and Thompson Falls, strong classes of underclassmen point toward a bright future.