A fleeting chance at team glory may have passed by, but there will be no slowing down the Plains Horsemen’s dynamic distance running duo of John Owen Jermyn and Cord Greer on the Class B cross country running scene this fall.

Both juniors now, Jermyn and Greer finished first and third, respectively at the 2025 State B meet in Missoula last fall to lead the Horsemen to a fifth place team finish. With the addition of Simeon Costner to the mix last year, the Plains boys were building to the thought of entertaining hopes for a State B team championship in ’26, but Costner and his family moved away from Plains this summer, reducing those team title aspirations somewhat.

In proof of his immense distance running potential, Costner had won third behind Jermyn and Greer in the State B 3200 meter run back in May.

“It would have been nice, seeing what we could have done with Simeon in the mix this year,” coach Jesse Jermyn admitted. “We will be watching him, seeing how he’s doing where he’s now at.”

Although there was some talk of Plains and Thompson Falls combining cross country programs before the season due to low numbers at both schools, that idea was eventually nixed for a variety of reasons, he said.

All of which leaves both Sanders County schools with relatively small squads this season.

“We are a little light on numbers,” Jermyn said. "We are hoping to get a couple more kids once school starts. There’s reportedly a foreign exchange student coming in that may want to join us. We’ll see what happens.”

Senior Jack Cockrell, juniors Riley Geenen and Ryan Remington, home-school sophomore Tyler Barton and freshman Finnian Ercanbrack complete the current Plains boys cross country roster.

Junior Annika Ercanbrack, sophomore Kylie Silva and freshman Emmy Russell are the three girls on the Plains cross country team this season.

Jermyn, who is John Owen’s dad, said Plains will be hosting the annual Plains Invitational on a course south of Plains Saturday, with racing scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. Schools invited to participate include Arlee, Thompson Falls, Seeley-Swan, Two Eagle River and possibly the Dixon Middle School and Mission.

Jermyn says he likes the idea of keeping the race low key as a good way to ease into season for the runners. “We’re trying to keep it small with mostly local teams,” he said.