Every year as the fall sports season winds down, Flathead’s cross country teams find a way to the top of the field — and this year was no exception. At the state meet in Helena, on Oct. 25, the Flathead boys won the state title taking home a record of 26.2 points. The Bravettes fell just two points short of the title, losing to CMR 47.2 to 49.2. Bravette sophomore Amber Arvidson came away with the girls’ individual title in class AA with a time of 18:23. The Braves dominated the team competition in Helena by finishing five of six runners inside the top 10 to break the point record. Flathead’s closest competition was C.M.R. who finished second with 49.2 points. “It was great being a part of the best boys team in history, “ said senior Kevin Murphy. “You gotta give a lot of credit to the coaches for preparing us and for believing in us.” Junior Brett Winegar led the Flathead team with a strong second place finish with a time at 15:28, which was only one second behind Helena Capital’s Kurt Wolf. “I thought that I ran really well,” said Winegar. “I think one more step and I would have won.” Freshman David Vidal and senior Kevin Murphy grabbed the fourth and fifth spots and sophomore Kevin Clary (6th) and senior Nick Hanson (9th) rounded out the top 10 for Flathead. Flathead and Great Falls Russell both had with five runners on the All-State team, which comprises of the top 15 finishers at state. Arvidson was the only Flathead runner to take home an individual state title. She led the girls team to a second-place finish overall, with three other runners placing in the top 15. Junior Hanni Buettner claimed seventh place with a time of 19:28 and senior Kari Hill managed to finish twelfth with a time of 19:56, despite an injury. Sophomore Lindsay Judge also finished in the top 15 with a time of 20 minutes flat. Said Arvidson of her state championship: “I knew it was possible. I was still kind of surprised it happened this year.” |
