Two Flathead Valley coaches have been honored as the best in their sports by the Montana Coaches Association.
Todd Emslie of Bigfork was named the Class B football coach of the year and Bill Brist of Whitefish was named the Class A girls cross country coach of the year. Emslie led Bigfork to the first state title in school history, while Brist led the Bulldogs to their fourth straight Class A crown.
Below is the MCA’s full list of top coaches from the fall season, broken down into Class AA, A, B and C from left to right, with both eight-man and six-man included for football. There are no names for Class B-C golf, because that season is held in the spring.
Football – Troy Purcell, Bozeman; Dan Stanton, Miles City; Todd Emslie, Bigfork; Matt Molyneaux, Chinook; Scott Sparks, Denton
Volleyball – Sheila Williams, Helena; Tara Taylor, Lewistown; Iona Stookey, Huntley Project; Betty Klein, Ennis
Boys cross country – Clint May, Bozeman; Joanne Cleveland, Corvallis; Scott Marron, Missoula Loyola; Alane O’Dore, Joliet
Girls cross country -– Clint May, Bozeman; Bill Brist, Whitefish; Rod Karst, Glasgow; Mark Gerber, Belt-Centerville
Boys golf – Terry Caekaert, Billings Senior; Owen Burch, Hamilton
Girls golf – Brian Halverson, Great Falls CMR; Jim Hawbaker, Billings Central