COLUMBIA FALLS – These five boys have slight shoulders, but they gracefully carry the weight of hefty superlatives: “best,” “first” and “greatest.”
As in, they are best friends; they were the leaders of the first boys cross country team in school history to win the state championship; and they are the greatest group of high school runners this town has likely ever seen.
Now they have their eyes set on helping Columbia Falls High School win its first boys state track title ever. Head track coach Jamie Heinz said his track squad is strong from top to bottom, but he knows the team’s chances at state rely on his five middle- and long-distance runners: Shawn and Justin Whitman, Patric and Pascal Jessat, and Derrick Williams.
“They get the majority of our points,” Heinz said. “They’re definitely the nucleus of our team.”
He added: “This is the strongest distance crew we’ve ever had, by far.”
Columbia Falls isn’t known for long-distance running. It’s known for basketball, maybe football, but certainly not running. The boys are well aware of this and, if anything, they view it as evidence of their trail-blazing status.
They hope to start a tradition at the school. Last year, the cross-country team was state runner-up, this year it was the champion and next year remains to be seen. Considering only two of the five – Shawn Whitman and Patric Jessat – are seniors, the Wildcats should make another run at state next year.
“We’re trying to set the standard,” Patric Jessat said.
Justin Whitman, Shawn’s younger brother, is a sophomore, Williams is a sophomore and Pascal Jessat, Patric’s brother, is a junior. At the state cross country meet, Shawn Whitman finished fourth overall, Williams finished fifth, Patric Jessat finished seventh, Justin Whitman came in 11th and the Pascal Jessat came in 37th.
Whether these boys do indeed spark a long-distance tradition at school or whether they are an anomaly is unclear. The school has had great individual runners in the past, but never such a deep, cohesive squad. And this team’s cohesiveness can be easily explained: they’re all brothers or friends.
The brotherly cohesiveness has been a catalyst for Columbia Falls’ cross country and distance track squads over the past couple of years. Last year, the school boasted three brother tandems: the Gimbels, the Jessats and the Whitmans. Tripp Gimbel graduated and Kodiak Gimbel is the track team’s top hurdler this year. Now Williams has found his place among the brothers.
In the offseason, the five boys hang out and train together, hopping buses to locales far outside of Columbia Falls and running back into town. During the season, they can usually be found together as well.
“It’s still like a brother thing,” Justin Whitman said. “Last year it was the Gimbels, Jessats and Whitmans. Now it’s the Jessats, Whitmans and Derrick.”
Williams has filled in nicely as the fifth brother. Only a sophomore, Williams has the second-best time in the 800 meters in Class A this spring at 2:00.18, behind Lewistown’s Caleb Bentley at 2:00.
Originally slated to run the 200 and 400 meters, Williams entered the 800 at a meet earlier this season for conditioning purposes. He ended up winning. So, naturally, he stuck with it. His time of 4:35.64 in the 1,600 meters is one of the best in Class A and close to a school record. Shawn Whitman is right behind him, also battling for the school record.
Patric Jessat has the second-best time in Class A in the 400 meters at 50.92, behind Whitefish’s Anto Daoud, whose time of 49.77 is the top mark for all classes this year. Jessat is closing in on the school record in the 400.
Between the five runners, Columbia Falls has a chance to rack up points at state in the 400, 800, 1,600 and 3,200. Each school can take five athletes in each event to the divisional meet, which is the state meet qualifier. The five friends and brothers will likely take up those five positions in all of the middle- and long-distance events.
Having so many solid runners on the team forces the boys to push themselves in both practice and at meets. Williams said it starts with brotherly competition and extends out to him. The Whitmans are always competing against each other, Williams said.
“At least I know they’re competitive, even if they might not admit it,” Williams said. “Even in practice they go see who got the fastest time. But the competitive nature of the brothers helps everyone else.”
Williams said the runners know how important they are to the whole team’s chances at state and he realizes that “doing whatever it takes” might mean running all of the middle- and long-distance events in a two-day period at state. Those events are often considered the most grueling in the sport.
“I guess I’ll go through the pain,” Williams said, “to help the team win.”