HELENA — The state cross country meet is still more than two weeks away.
Judging by the times posted Thursday at the Capital City 7 on 7 Meet, runners from Butte Central and Butte High are about ready. (Complete results)
Four Butte High boys broke the 18-minute mark in a meet that saw Bulldog freshman Aubree Corcoran put up another impressive showing at the Bill Roberts Golf Course. The meet drew runners from all across the state.
“The team left feeling good about their performances,” Butte High coach Guy Wadas said. “I think the confidence on the boys’ team is great. They are feeling good and ready for the state meet. The girls’ team had some bright spots today, too. We’re looking forward to state in two weeks and showing what we can do. It’s looking promising.”
Butte High’s Jake Vetter placed 17th in the race of No. 1 runners. He finished the 5-kilometer course in 17 minutes, 24 seconds.
Great Falls Russell’s Cooper West won the race in 15:33. He was one of only two non-Bozeman runners to win a race.
The Hawks won five of the seven varsity races on the boys’ side. The Bozeman girls won all seven.
Bulldog Austin Gerry placed 14th in the No. 2 race with a time of 17:36. Butte High’s Erik Casagranda took 14th in the No. 3 race in 17:57, while teammate Billy Cunneen clocked in with a time of 17:53 to place seventh in the No. 4 race.
Also for Butte High, Zach Carlson took 17th in the No. 5 race in 18:45, Brok Martin placed 26th in the No. 6 race in 19:31, and Sean Foley ran to 15th place in the No. 7 race in 19:03.
Butte High placed 14th with 110 team points. Bozeman won with 9 points, and Kalispell Glacier placed second at 38.
Three Butte Central runners ran and posted solid times.
Brian McGeehan placed 10th in the No. 5 race in 18:18. Nathan Ortega ran to 26th place in 19:37, while Jayden Mitchell finished 32nd in the No. 7 race in 20:44.
On the girls’ side, Butte High placed 18th with 150 points. After Bozeman’s seven points, Missoula Hellgate took second at 16.
Corcoran placed eighth in the No. 1 race, finishing in 19:51. Bozeman’s Camila Noe won the race in 17:49.
Butte High’s Danika Murphy placed 26th in the No. 2 in 22:47. Teammate Gabby Haberman took 31st in the No. 3 race in 24:26. Bulldog Anna Trudnowski ran to 28th in the No. 4 race in 23:52, Helena Schoonen took 23rd in the No. 5 race in 23:47, Rosie Real placed 19th in the No. 6 race in 23:44, and Taylor Huff finished 15th in the No. 7 race in 24:44.
Butte Central’s Savannah Parks posted a time of 22:46 in the No. 7 race. Her time, however, did not show up in the meet results.
“They all ran great today,” Butte Central coach Bob Johnson said of his four runners.
Butte High will get in one final tune up next Thursday when the Bulldogs run in Bozeman. The Maroons, meanwhile, will run in the Western A Divisional meet next Saturday in Frenchtown.
The all-class state meet is Oct. 21 in Helena.
