Ada Thiel, Morgan Delaney are state runners up; Lady Pirates win title

BILLINGS — Addison Kegel is still very tough to beat but Morgan Delaney and the Polson Pirates got a nice consolation Saturday, taking the girls State A title at the cross country championships held at Amend Park.

Kegel, Billings Central’s superb sophomore, won her second straight individual title with a career-best time, covering the 5,000 meters in 16 minutes, 44.9 seconds. That’s an all-Class record as well. Bozeman’s Camila Noe had owned it since clocking 17:28.01 in 2017. 

Also running under Noe’s time: Morgan and Quinn Delaney, Morgan finishing her final MHSA-sanctioned race in 17:11.5. Her sophomore sister was third at 17:25.1, followed by Libby junior Capri Farmer at 17:28.9. 

The State AA individual winner, Bozeman’s Phoebe Maixner, also went under 17 minutes (16:58.4). That relegated defending champ Ada Thiel of Glacier to second, despite the sophomore running her personal best: another sub-Noe titme of 17:10.0. 

Back in the Class A race, Polson eighth-grader Sara Dumouchel completed the fast track — 14 of the top All-State runners had PRs — in 18:24.5 to finish eighth. Add in freshman Taryn Cochran (20th) and junior Kimora Scott (45th) and the Pirates scored 78 points. 

Hardin, in second at 96 points, saw its four-year streak of state titles snapped; Polson won its first title since 1994. Corvallis was a distant third at 160. Libby was fifth and Columbia Falls, seventh. 

Hardin’s boys kept their title streak going, putting all five runners in the top 15 and winning a third straight state title with 41 points. Corvallis was second at 102 points. 

Columbia Falls, with sophomore Connor Jordan hitting a PR of 16:17.1 to finish 12th, was third in the boys team race at 141. 

Hardin senior Ben Bird capped off his career with his first individual title, winning in 15:19.9. Lewistown’s David Curry (15:33.2) was second and Whitefish freshman Porter Shehan (15:34.1) was third. 

Area athletes who were All-State (top-15) included Bigfork’s Toren Wenz, 14th among Class A girls; Libby’s Cody Watson, seventh among Class A boys; Jackson Bontadelli of Polson took eighth. 

Wolfpack fourth and fifth

In AA, both Glacier teams fell off the pace after coming in with state trophy hopes. 

Thiel and teammate Lauren Bissen ran PRs, with Bisson taking fourth at 17:26.5, six seconds behind Hellgate’s Reed Stromberg. The Wolfpack finished fourth among the AA girls teams with 126 points, behind Helena (83), Bozeman (94) and Gallatin (113). Helena won its second-ever title and first since 1973. 

Flathead’s girls were 11th at 302; Finley Putzler and junior Emery Eash finished 45-46 for the Bravettes. 

Glacier’s boys finished fifth with 123 points; Bozeman (59) edged Helena (67) for third straight team title and fourth in five seasons. Great Falls CMR (102) and Hellgate (117) were next. Gabe Ackerly, who clocked a PR 15:41.1, was eighth for the Wolfpack. 

Chris Holland got the 15th and final All-State nod running for Flathead, hitting a PR of 15:49.5. Brodyn DeShaw was 21st for the Braves, a couple spots ahead of Glacier’s Nathan Turner. 

Hawks and Horsemen shine

Thompson Falls’ Audrey Fairbank was 14th in the Class B girls; the Blue Hawks’ West Block was ninth among the boys. 

Plains’ John Jermyn (15:42.8) and Cord Greer finished 3-4 in the boys B race. Harlem’s Ethan Walker won in 15:20.5; Harlem lost the team title to Poplar, 100-101. 

Boulder won the B girls team title, followed by Big Timber and Chinook. 

Full results can be found at athletic.net and competitivetiming.com.