Class C dominance continues for the Manhattan Christian boys, as Bozeman’s Nathan Neil establishes a record

Kalispell, Montana – Nathan Neil was unambiguous. for Rebecca Farm on Saturday, for the State AA cross country meet.

The former teammate Weston Brown’s Class AA state cross country record, set last fall, was surpassed by the Bozeman senior. Neil finished far faster than Brown—15:25.00—with a time of 14 minutes, 45.47 seconds.

Bozeman finished with 71 points, good for second place because of Neil’s performance. Leading the way were Great Falls High (68 points), with Ryan Harrington (second) and John Spinti (fourth) in the AA boys team standings.

The boys from Manhattan Christian extended their incredible run, winning their eighth straight Class C championship and their tenth overall. Drama did not, however, as the Eagles defeated Drummond by a tiebreak decided by the finishing positions of the fourth-place runners. Both sides ended with 33 points apiece, with Broadus scoring 35 and Two Eagle River scoring 34.

For Manhattan Christian, Oren Arthun won his third straight individual title, finishing 30 seconds ahead of Broadus’ Thomas Oylear in second place. For the Eagles, Cavan Visser came in fourth place.

By adding title No. 23, the Browning Boys increased the number of state titles they have won in history. Laurel finished second with 146 points, while the Indians finished first with 96. To lead Browning, Preston Iron Heart finished in eighth position, while Jerdan Crawford finished in ninth. In 2007, Browning won his final cross-country championship.

Finn Schretenthaler of Livingston won the Class A boys race with a time of 15:27.8.

The boys from Jefferson won their first cross-country state championship since 1992 and their 11th overall, the most in Class B program history. Columbus ended in second place with 137 points, while the Panthers finished with 79. Luke Mest finished in second place, leading Jefferson, while teammate Logan Harnung came in sixth.

Tanae Blake won the girls’ title in 19:03.06, while Peyton Summers of Wolf Point won the Class B individual boys’ title in 15:48.62.

The girls from Missoula Hellgate added a title this past weekend, placing first with 46 points and second with 54 for Bozeman Gallatin. Claire Rutherford of Gallatin won the individual title—her second consecutive—while Stella Diaz of Hellgate finished sixth, Jamison Molloy of seventh, Gia Petrini of eighth, and Rose Wiltse of tenth.

Karis Brightwings-Pease, a standout freshman, led Hardin’s girls to their second consecutive cross-country title. This was her second individual title in as many years. For the Bulldogs, Zoey Real Bird finished in fifth place, and Mariah Aragon in fourth.

With 93 points to Glasgow’s 103, Manhattan’s girls defeated Glasgow for the team title. Tanae Baker won the Scotties solo title, Ella Miller finished sixth for Manhattan, and Ruthanne Bowen finished in the 12th position.

On Saturday, the Roberts girls also required a tiebreak to win, as the Rockets defeated Scobey to win the team championship after both teams finished with 27 points. Sunburst scored thirty to finish third.

The Class C individual winner was Shelbi LaBrie (19:52.42). Roberts’ top three finishers were T.J. Chirrick in fifth, Elizabeth DeVries in seventh, and Faith Pitts in fifteen.