Colt Idol

2009 Whitefish graduate, former all-state basketball player

Once one of Montana’s best high school basketball players, Colt is now an acclaimed artist who showcases his work in galleries across the country. His oil paintings, capturing elements of the Old West in distinctive style, have garnered high praise; one piece earned the highest selling price at last year’s C.M. Russell Museum art auction. His artwork can be found locally at his family’s gallery in downtown Whitefish.

Maddey Frey

2010 Glacier graduate, former all-state soccer and track athlete

Since her successful days playing soccer and running track in Kalispell, Maddey has become quite the adventurer. She was a leader on the University of Montana women’s soccer team and graduated with degrees in mathematics and education. She’s been working as a whitewater river guide on the Alberton Gorge and a ski patroller in Utah. She’s also worked at the Whitewater Rescue Institute and has specialized in snow science and avalanche training. She is preparing for a few months of maneuvering whitewater rapids before moving to New Zealand, where she will work as a ski patroller through the fall.

Derrick Williams

2012 Columbia Falls graduate, former state champion distance runner

Talk about making the most of your college career, Derrick is 24 and still racing competitively. He’s a junior at Colorado State University-Pueblo and has earned NAIA All-America honors in distance events. He’s now mostly competing in the 3K steeplechase. He’s working on both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in biology and is interested in going into medicine after graduation.

Kwyn Johnson

2013 Flathead graduate, former all-state basketball and volleyball player and all-state record holder in the triple jump

Kwyn just finished her fourth year at Arizona State University, where she has competed on the nationally ranked beach volleyball team. Three years ago, the NCAA sanctioned Division I beach volleyball, and Kwyn transitioned from the indoor program. The former Bravette helped ASU earn a top 15 national ranking. She graduated in December with a bachelor’s degree in communications and is working on her master’s degree in sports law and business. This summer Kwyn will be working in Las Vegas as an intern for the new NHL franchise, the Golden Knights, which is co-owned by part-time Whitefish resident Bill Foley.

Austin Barth

2012 Columbia Falls graduate, former all-state football and basketball player

A multi-sport standout in Columbia Falls, Austin became a consummate leader on and off the field for the Montana State University football program the last five years. During his tenure, he played tight end and was a mainstay on the special teams unit. He graduated two weeks ago and has accepted a job as a seventh- and eighth-grade social studies and science teacher in Big Sky, where he will start next fall. He’s excited to start a new chapter in life, maybe even coaching high school athletes, and keeping his fly rod close by at all times.

Lexy Boschee

2012 Glacier graduate, former four-time high jump state champion

After becoming only the second track athlete, boy or girl, in Montana history to win four high jump state championships, Lexy took her talents to Fargo, North Dakota, where she competed on the track team at North Dakota State University. She’s ranked fourth all time at NDSU in the pentathlon, while much of her focus the last five years was on the heptathlon. She graduated last weekend with a bachelor’s degree in interior design, and she’s returning to Montana this summer to work for CTA Architects Engineers.

Drew Coco

2009 Whitefish graduate, former all-state distance runner

After a standout running career in the Flathead Valley, Drew attended the U.S. Naval Academy Preparatory School and then the Naval Academy in Annapolis. After a year, Drew stepped away from the academy and spent roughly a year exploring the country, occasionally hitchhiking from town to town. “I went out on the road and wherever the next ride took me,” he says. For the last two years, he has worked for the Northfolk Southern Railroad. This week he is getting married and plans to return to the Flathead Valley to work with his father, Joe Coco, who owns Coco Enterprises in Whitefish. Drew still runs as a healthy pastime.

Mallery Knoll

2011 Bigfork graduate, former all-state basketball and volleyball player and track athlete

After staying busy as a three-sport, all-state athlete in Bigfork, Mallery competed in track for Carroll College. She graduated in 2015 and worked at St. Peter’s Hospital in Helena while serving as an assistant track coach at the college. She is now finishing her first year at Pacific University’s School of Physician Assistant Studies in Oregon and is preparing for her first round of clinical rotations.

Kellen Bates

2013 Glacier graduate, former four-time singles tennis state champion

One of the best high school tennis players in Montana history took his talents to Indiana University before returning to Big Sky Country and leading the Montana State University tennis team the last three years. He recently concluded his final season of eligibility, helping the Bobcats advance to the Big Sky Conference Tournament for the second year in a row. He has one more year of majoring in business and minoring in economics, and will study abroad next fall for a semester in Denmark.

Makena Morley

2015 Bigfork graduate, former state champion distance runner

The all-time great high school distance runner is clipping along at a fast pace at the University of Colorado. Last weekend she placed second in the women’s 10,000-meter race at the Pac-12 Track and Field Championships. Earlier this spring she earned a last-minute qualifying seed at the NCAA Division I Indoor Championships. She was one of only two freshmen to qualify in the 5,000-meter run.

Brock Osweiler

2009 Flathead graduate, former all-state basketball and football player

It hasn’t been hard keeping track of Brock since his storied days in Kalispell. The former Flathead quarterback is preparing for his sixth season in the NFL and is battling for a starting position for the Cleveland Browns. The local product is trying to reestablish his career on firm footing after the Houston Texans traded their once-franchise QB in the offseason. He gave the keynote speech last weekend at Arizona State University’s College of Integrative Sciences and Arts convocation, and told the school in a Q-and-A beforehand, “I want to leave a legacy that my family, my town and my state will be proud of.”

Ashley Ferda

2008 Whitefish graduate, former all-state basketball player

Ashley earned a scholarship to play basketball at University of Montana but injuries prematurely ended her career. She graduated in 2012 with a degree in elementary education. Today she’s one of the top CrossFit competitors in the nation. She  lives in Great Falls where she and her husband own Big Sky CrossFit. They’re both preparing for the CrossFit Games West Super Regional in Portland.

Travis Knoll

2011 Bigfork graduate, former all-state football player

Travis finished his prep career in storybook fashion, leading Bigfork to its first football state championship. After playing for the Carroll College Fighting Saints for five years, he graduated with a degree in civil engineering and moved to Northern California last fall. He is working as an office engineer with Clark Construction and is currently working on a 14-story apartment building in San Francisco.

Kelsey DeWit

2010 Columbia Falls graduate, former all-state basketball player

After a standout prep career as a Wildkat, Kelsey attended Montana Tech in Butte and played basketball for the Orediggers, surpassing 1,000 points in her college career. She’s now living in Perth, Australia studying for her master’s degree in health administration, policy and leadership at Murdoch University. Her goal after graduation is to specialize in remote, rural and emergency medical care.

Luke Halliburton

2012 Glacier graduate, former all-state football player

After a stellar high school career, Luke went to Montana State University to play football before injuries sidelined him. Luke graduated in 2016 from MSU with a degree in health and human enhancement with a coaching minor. He later attended and  graduated from the Navy’s Office Candidate School in Rhode Island. Luke now resides in Colorado.

Marlow Schulz

2014 Whitefish graduate, former state champion runner and jumper

One of the most decorated high school track athletes in Montana history, Marlow is now competing at Washington State University, where she is a junior. She spent two years competing out of high school at St. John’s University in New York, where she was a member of the Big East championship long relay team. Now based in Pullman, Marlow placed ninth in the women’s 800 prelims at the Pac-12 Track and Field Championships last weekend, just missing the top-eight cut. She clocked 2:09.09.

Zach Perrin

2013 Flathead graduate, former state champion distance runner

One of the fastest high school distance runners in Montana history is now one of the fastest collegiate runners in the nation. Zach is in his junior year at the University of Colorado, and last weekend he won the 5K race at the Pac-12 Track and Field Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon. A junior, he won his first conference title by nearly three seconds. Earlier this spring, he clocked one of the fastest miles in the nation and qualified for the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, running 4:02.27 in Colorado.