Freshman Nic Raiser and junior Kendall Alley were the top runners for Butte High during the cross country portion of the Purple and White night at the high school.
Raiser was the top boy, finishing the roughly 3-mile course by sprinting across the football field to finish in 18 minutes, 56 seconds.
Senior Kody Lane was next at 19:46, followed by junior Forrest Kultgen at 20:29, senior Hunter Biegler at 20:36, junior Bryan Armstrong at 21:08, sophomore Gavin Sisson at 21:51 and sophomore Kolby Tretheway at 22:06.
Those will be the varsity runners for the Bulldogs when they open the season Aug. 31 at the Billings Invitational.
“Our boys will be young and inexperienced,” Butte High coach Jim O’Neill said. “We’ll take our lumps early, but toward the end of the year we’ll surprise some people.”
O’Neill praised the running of Kultgen, who is out for cross country for the first time.
“He showed me something today,” O’Neill said. “He ran really well. With a name like Forest, he’s got to be a good runner.”
Alley finished strong in 21:42 to win the girls side.
Fellow juniors Andie Hogan (21:46) and Haley Hodge (21:55) were next. Juniors Bailee Hanson, Erica McLeod and Mariah Richardson and senior Jordan Duffy locked up the other varsity spots on the team.
“The girls should be really strong,” O’Neill said. “We’re going to have a good pack of girls who will surly surprise some people.”
