Mountain West Inv. 2009
CROSS COUNTRY: It’s a Spokane sweep at Mountain West
Story Discussion Video By MICHAEL HEINBACH of the Missoulian | Posted: Saturday, September 26, 2009 11:55 pm | No
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A Day in the (Shadle) Park
Runners from small Spokane high school win individual varsity races at annual Mountain West Classic cross country meet
This year's Mountain West cross country meet was the biggest in the history of the event. But it might as well have been the
Greater Spokane League championships.
Featuring an outstanding performance by the Shadle Park girls, ranked seventh in the nation by MileSplit.us, Spokane teams
and individuals ran away with the biggest hardware Saturday at the University of Montana Golf Course.
In a meet that boasted a total of more than 2,000 runners for the JV, varsity and middle school races - including 43 girls' and
52 boys' complete varsity teams from Montana, Idaho and Washington - the Shadle Park girls ran supreme.
Led by individual champion Andrea Nelson, the Highlanders placed all five of their scoring competitors in the top 30 to finish
with a total of 56 points. Runner-up Bozeman tallied 101, followed by Billings West with 223, Billings Senior at 249 and
Whitefish, which netted 260 points.
"We were really pointing toward this one," said Shadle Park girls' coach Bob Isitt, who came away with his first Mountain West
championship. "You can only really point toward two or three meets a season and we've had five meets in the last two weeks.
This is the meet that I really wanted the girls to run well in."
Nelson, a senior who had never competed in the Mountain West, paved the way for the Highlanders' runaway victory by
completing the three-mile course in 17 minutes, 53 seconds. She outlegged Alexa Aragon from Billings Senior and teammate
Kendra Weitz in the final mile to earn her championship.
"I really, really liked the course," Nelson said. "I like hills and that hill was awesome. I think that's where I got a little distance
between me and the others."
Aragon finished in 18:04 and Weitz, a freshman, crossed the finish line three seconds later. Dani Aragon was fourth with a
time of 18:13, Billings West harrier Nicole Reitz placed fifth, finishing in 18:31. Missoula Hellgate's Paige Gilchrist was sixth, two
seconds behind Reitz.
The boys' event was like a who's who of Spokane cross country. While Shadle Park's Nathan Weitz broke the 15-minute mark
to earn individual medalist honors, schools from Spokane earned the top four team spots.
Mead was first with 130 points, followed by Lewis and Clark with 142, Mount Spokane at 178 and Gonzaga Prep with 189.
Kalispell Flathead was the top Montana school, earning a fifth-place finish with 259 points.
Mead head coach Steve Kiesel was more than happy with his boys' team's victory, though it was unexpected.
"I guess the top four spots were all GSL teams, so we're definitely familiar with the competition," Kiesel said. "I'm surprised
really. When I watched the groups come in and I saw Mount Spokane had about four kids up front, I thought it was a foregone
conclusion that they had won."
Weitz, a soft-spoken sophomore, ran the second-fastest time in meet history, breaking the tape in 14:58. He outkicked Allan
Schroeder of Mount Spokane in the final stages for his victory.
"I know in the last mile last year here I felt pretty good," the boys' medalist admitted. "I started really going after that hill before
the last straightaway. I knew Allan Schroeder was tired , so I pushed it a little more."
Schroeder took second at 15:13 before Mike Asay of Manhattan clocked the Treasure State's best time of 15:23. Kenji Bierig
from Lewis and Clark took fourth at 15:28 and Gavin Owens from Ennis place fifth with a time of 15:30.
Mountain West Classic
University of Montana Golf Course
BOYS
Team scores: Mead (Spokane) 130, Lewis and Clark (Spokane) 142, Mount Spokane 178, Gonzaga Prep 189, Kalispell
Flathead 259, Billings Skyview 295, Bozeman 314, Shadle Park (Spokane) 317, Helena Capital 348, University (Spokane) 352,
East Valley (Spokane) 434, Missoula Hellgate 452, Idaho Falls 499, Columbia Falls 506, Great Falls Russell 509, Helena High
522, Missoula Sentinel 594, Manhattan 613, Laurel 626, Loyola Sacred Heart 642, Soda Springs (Idaho) 654, Butte 680,
Browning 685, Billings Senior 693, Great Falls High 694, Billings West 710, Lewistown 712, Kalispell Glacier 731, Deer Park
(Wash.) 789, Frenchtown 833, Corvallis 841, Shelton (Wash.) 878, Darby 920, Polson 939, Bonners Ferry (Idaho) 947,
Billings Central 952, Belgrade 966, Havre 1,064, Cut Bank 1,085, Townsend 1,093, Whitefish 1,135, Ronan 1,139, Fillon
1,228, Hardin 1,229, Hamilton 1,270, Lakeland (Idaho) 1,278, Anaconda 1,410, Libby 1,428, Eureka 1,455, Manhattan
Christian 1,491, Arlee 1,581, Thompson Falls 1,597.
Top 30 individuals - 1, Nathan Weitz, SP, 14:58.44; 2, Allan Schroeder, MtS, 15:13.21; 3, Mike Asay, Man, 15:23.15; 4, Kenji
Bierig, LC, 15:28.09; 5, Gavin Owens, Ennis, 15:30.95; 6, Zach Perrin, Flat, 15:31.97; 7, Andrew Gardner, Mead, 15:34.50; 8,
Austin Kunz, IF, 15:37.99; 9, Leif Castren, Flat, 15:39.56; 10, Chris Ennis, LC, 15:43.72; 11, Collin Overbay, Gonz, 15:47.60;
12, Hunter Johnson, MtS, 15:49.72; 13, Jon Smith, Uni, 15:53.54; 14, Jakob Woodland, Boz, 15:54.25; 15, Jager Warner,
Town, 15:56.14; 16, Ben Vaughan, GFH, 15:56.85; 17, Matt Barker, Hel, 15:57.41; 18, Byron Groh, Gonz, 15:57.76; 19, Cory
Foss, Mead, 16:01.84; 20, Derrick Alcorn, LC, 16:02.26; 21, Connor Jones, MtS, 16:11.91; 22, Tucker White, BC, 16:13.35;
23, Jake DePledge, MtS, 16:15.07; 24, Seth Garbett, Dar, 16:15.48; 25, Chase Robinson, Col, 16:15.95; 26, Baxter
Arguinchona, LC, 16:16.37; 27, Merrill Lines, EVH, 16:19.17; 28, Taylen Howland, Mead, 16:19.95; 29, Stephen Hafferkamp,
SP, 16:20.82; 30, John Gilboy, Cap, 16:22.49.
GIRLS
Team scores: Shadle Park (Spokane) 56, Bozeman 101, Billings West 223, Billings Senior 249, Whitefish 260, Missoula
Hellgate 289, Helena High 351, Deer Park (Wash.) 359, Mount Spokane 410, Soda Springs (Idaho) 421, Gonzaga Prep 428,
Mead (Spokane) 443, Great Falls High 479, Kalispell Flathead 495, Missoula Big Sky 512, Missoula Sentinel 558, Kalispell
Glacier 593, Idaho Falls 610, East Valley (Spokane) 618, Belt 657, Ferris (Spokane) 677, Helena Capital 706, Columbia Falls
714, Hamilton 720, University (Spokane) 754, Billings Skyview 757, Browning 846, Shelton (Wash.) 871, Lewistown 874, Great
Falls Russell 893, Polson 915, Hardin 938, Anaconda 971, Cut Bank 1,021, Belgrade 1,062, Havre 1,087, Miles City 1,103,
Three Forks 1,145, Dillon 1,151, Eureka 1,220, Ronan 1,333, Manhattan 1,349, Bonners Ferry (Idaho) 1,385.
Top 30 individuals - 1, Andrea Nelson, SP, 17:53.65; 2, Alexa Aragon, Sen, 18:04.12; 3, Kendra Weitz, SP, 18:07.24; 4, Dani
Aragon, Sen, 18:13.86; 5, Nicole Rietz, West, 18:31.44; 6, Paige Gilchrist, Hgt, 18:33.85; 7, Katie Morris, SP, 18:35.83; 8,
Sierra Kamplain, Boz, 18:38.10; 9, Kayla Carlson, Bfk, 18:39.94; 10, Sarah Johnson, Shel, 18:48.61; 11, Keely West, CMR, 18:
49.39; 12, Mackenzie O'Dore, Jol, 18:54.26; 13, Alicia Doohan, Gonz, 18:57.07; 14, Chiara Warner, Town, 19:02.60; 15,
Heather Demorest, Dar, 19:08.63; 16, Shayle Dezellem, SP, 19:09.33; 17, Mariah Schmidt, Boz, 19:11.76; 18, Jessica
Duenich, DP, 19:12.85; 19, Shannon Young, Har, 19:13.45; 20, Paige Bouma, Flat, 19:17.16; 21, Katie Keith, Boz, 19:17.94;
22, Michelle Cline, Boz, 19:19.84; 23, Molly Crum, GFH, 19:21.25; 24, Bailey Eaton, Wfsh, 91:21.66; 25, Emily Schall, Ftn, 19:
24.27; 26, Megan Beam, West, 19:29.97; 27, Jessica Sagen, Wfsh, 19:31.07; 28, Leah Davis, West, 19:33.20; 29, Chelsea
Chandler, SP, 19:34.54; 30, Casey Carpenter, IF, 19:34.92.