Columbia Falls is a basketball town, a soccer town, maybe even a volleyball town. But a cross country town? This year, it appears so.
Following a 2008 season in which the boys finished second at state and the girls finished eighth, first-year head coach Richard Menicke has high hopes for the Columbia Falls cross country program this fall. Of his top eight boy runners from last year, six are back. And the girls team is loaded from front to back.
Returning to lead the boys are seniors Shawn Whitman and Patric Jessat, who finished fourth and ninth at state, respectively. Whitefish’s Drew Coco, last year’s Class A champion, has graduated, leaving the door open for contenders like Whitman – who Menicke said has “a really good chance to be in the mix” – and Jessat.
“They really understand the opportunity that’s ahead of them both individually and as a team,” Menicke said.
Whitman’s younger brother, Justin, is also expected to be a top runner in Class A. As a freshman last fall, Justin finished 30th at state, giving him the second-highest finish of all freshmen. Junior Pascal Jessat and senior Joe Gross also have state meet experience.
Last season’s second-place finish was the highest ever for the boys program, Menicke said, which means this frontrunner status “is kind of new territory.” Hamilton is the defending state champion.
“We have some very, very talented young men on our side,” Menicke said. “But the flip side is we don’t have very many of them, so if a few get hurt, it will be tough. We have to be very careful with them.”
These girls are both talented and deep, which Menicke said creates great scoring opportunities at meets. The girls can run in packs and score points with a number of different girls. Menicke said the pack-running formula fueled six conference championships for the Columbia Falls girls program of the 1990s.
While the “girls team has a long history of success” with its string of conference championships, Menicke said the highest the girls have finished at state is third.
“I’m very excited about this particular girls team,” Menicke said.
Leading the Wildkats are juniors Nicki Moser, Alexas Young, Tessa Cowan, and Madison Stolte, and sophomores Leesa Benner and Jinise Osborne. Also, Kaylin Carvey, who switched over from soccer, has been running well, as has Cami Cassazza, Menicke said. Whitefish is the defending girls champion.
“We have a core of seven or eight girls who are working extremely hard right now; they’re very focused and they’re very talented,” Menicke said. “I think they will be very happy with their results in the end.”
Menicke, who has been an assistant since 1996, replaces previous head coach Stephen Gasche. The team also has a new assistant coach in Camie Stolte. Menicke hopes both the girls and boys stay consistently healthy throughout the season, so they are running their best when it matters most – in October, when it’s time for the divisional and state meets.
“We’re all very excited about the possibilities,” Menicke said.