MISSOULA — Cross country titles might be a rite of passage for the Hardin Bulldogs, but the Polson Lady Pirates have been building — and decorating — toward a trophy for a while. 

With Morgan and Quinn Delaney finishing third and sixth and Kimora Scott taking 10th, Polson claimed third in the State A meet held Saturday at the University Golf Course.  

So while Hardin picked up its eight girls team title and fourth in a row — the Bulldogs swept the team titles for a second straight year — Polson snared its first trophy since the girls finished third in 2017. 

“It’s been a while,” Jason Delaney, Polson’s first-year head coach and father to two Pirate runners, said. He was smiling behind a sparkly, pink-and-purple beard. 

“Earlier this year, the girls made a request that if they win the meet, the next meet I get the glitter beard,” Delaney said. “It started with a little patch of glitter on my chin three weeks ago. It’s grown to be this. But now I finally get a break.” 

Hardin won the girls team title with 93 points; Miles City was next with 107 and Polson followed with 142. Columbia Falls was fourth at 156. 

Morgan Delaney finished behind Billings Central freshman phenom Addison Kegel, who won in a Class A-record time of 17 minutes, 48.8 seconds. Zoey Real Bird of Hardin came across in 18:53.1 and Delaney in 18:57.9. 

“It wasn’t really what I wanted to run, but the season has been kind of up and down so I can’t really be made with a third-place finish.” 

Delaney wasn’t surprised by Kegel; she’d seen her win a junior nationals title. 

“So I knew she was coming up and tried to prepare myself for that,” she said. 

Kegel’s time broke the mark of 18:16.22 by Hamilton’s Brynnli Poulsen in 2019; Delaney ran the second-fastest time in A history last October while winning in 18:35.3. 

She’s a junior; Polson’s top four finishers will be back next season, and five of its top seven. 

“We’ve got a lot coming back,” said Jason Delaney, a Polson native who spent the last four yours coaching middle school. “These girls have worked so hard. They put in a pile of miles and they’re a tight team. It’s been so fun to see them go after this.  

“It was a goal they set in the summer. They went after it and they got it.” 

Libby sophomore Capri Farmer was fourth and was the other Northwest A runner to claim All-State (top 15) status. Bigfork’s Toren Wenz, a freshman, was 16th. 

Hardin’s boys were pretty dominant, scoring 64 points to 137 for second-place Corvallis. 

Columbia Falls edged Browning 154-169 for the third-place trophy. 

“Last year our girls were second and our boys just missed a trophy,” Columbia Falls coach Jim Peacock said. “This year our boys were third and the girls just missed. Both programs are right there and in a good spot, knocking on the door.” 

Senior River Blazejewski of Columbia Falls was fifth among the boys, clocking 16:39.1.  

“I’ve been watching him race for four years, and I’ve seen lots of really good races from him,” Peacock said. “This was hands down by far the best I’ve seen him race. River went out and used his talent to the maximum and ran smart. He put together a com;plete race. He just ran brilliantly.” 

Peacock expanded his endorsement to every Wildcat and Wildkat. 

“Our teams were probably projected out of the trophies,” he said. “For our girls to finish fourth, they were phenomenal. I’m walking away thrilled.” 

Livingston senior Finn Schretenthaler won his third straight individual title, in 15:29.7; Grey Piseno of Billings Central, who’d run 15:00.1 earlier this season, was second at 15:45.4. 

The top runner from the Northwest A was Polson senior David DiGiallonardo, who finished in 16:23.3 

“He ran a very smart, well-executed race,” Delaney said. “He had a couple of just really impressive runners that we were keeping an eye on. If something went awry up front, he was ready to pounce.  

“He kind of knew what he was runner for and went out and executed.” 

Libby junior Cody Watson was 11th, clocking 16:55.4. 

Plains’ Jermyn wins

Sophomore John Jermyn held off Harlem’s Ethan Walker for the State B boys individual title; Jermyn won in 16:02.4; Walker finished in 16:04.0. 

Sophomore Cord Greer gave Plains a 1-3 finish but it was Harlem that ran away with the team title with 60 points. Ennis was a distant second at 140; Manhattan was next at 160. 

If Jermyn is a familiar name, it might because his uncle Casey Jermyn won three cross country titles for Plains from 1997-99. Only five boys have done that in Montana. 

Eureka’s Benjamin Hughes, a senior, claimed the final All-State spot with a time of 17:17.6. 

Boulder won the girls team title with 76 points, and Manhattan was second at 105. Huntley Project was third at 153. 

State A

BOYS

Team scores — 1, Hardin 64; 2, Corvallis 137; 3, Columbia Falls 154; 4, Browning 169; 5, Hamilton 170; 6, Laurel 202; 7, Lewistown 204; 8, Livingston 244; 9, East Helena 295; 10, Ronan 304; 11, Glendive 357; 12, Polson 361; 13, Libby 374; 14, Frenchtown 384; 15, Lockwood 400; 16, Havre 407; 17, Miles City 408; 18, Billings Central 425; 19, Bigfork 428; 20, Sidney 434; 21, Stevensville 440; 22, Dillon 446; 23, Whitefish 541. 

Individual Top 15

1, Finn Schretenthaler, Liv, 15:29.7; 2, Grey Piseno, BC Rams, 15:45.4; 3, David DiGiallonardo, Pol, 16:23.3; 4, Ben Bird, Har, 16:30.9; 5, River Blazejewski, CF, 16:39.1; 6, River Racine, Browning, 16:42.6; 7, Wiley Rides Horse, Har, 16:42.8; 8, Taylor Doleac, Ham, 16:46.1; 9, Benjamin Beare, Ham, 16:48.6; 10, David Curry, Lew, 16:54.3; 11, Cody Watson, Lib, 16:55.4; 12, Carter Heggem, Sid, 17:01.1; 13, Jeremy Davidson, Cor, 17:05.9; 14, Koen Calf Robe, Brw, 17:10.9; 15, Payton Drake, Har, 17:13.5. 

GIRLS

Team scores — 1, Hardin 93; 2, Miles City 107; 3, Polson 142; 4, Columbia Falls 156; 5, Billings Central 166; 6, Hamilton 182; 7, Corvallis 188; 8, Browning 197; 9, Frenchtown 216; 10, Glendive 222; 11, Sidney 291; 12, Whitefish 292; 13, Libby 350; 14, Lewistown 357; 15, Dillon 358; 16, Havre 403; 17, Ronan 438; 18, Bigfork 465; 19, Laurel 508; 20, Livingston 589. 

Individual Top 15

1, Addison Kegel, BC Rams, 17:48.8 (state record: old record 18:16.22, Brynnli Poulsen, Hamilton, 2019); 2, Zoey Real Bird, Har, 18:53.1; 3, Morgan Delaney, Pol, 18:57.9; 4, Capri Farmer, Lib, 19:15.6; 5, Aleigha Child, Ham, 19:24.2; 6, Quinn Delaney, Pol, 19:35.8; Karis Brightwings-Pease, BC Rams, 19:58.3; 9, Kimora Scott, Pol, 19:59.3; 10, Quinn Ulrich, Gle, 20:04.8; 11, Reecelyn Walthall, Ham, 20:09.6; 12, Andrielle Herrera, Har, 20:10.2; 13, Katelyn Engel, Har, 20:13.0; 14, Javon Dutton, MC, 20:15.2; 15, Rosa Layton, MC, 20:26.7. 

NOTE: Full results for all classes can be found at athletic.net.