YEAR in SPORTS 2009

The year 2009 was all about adapting and overcoming for athletes, coaches and spectators of sports in Bigfork.

In November 2008 Bigfork High School was given notice that due to a decrease in enrollment that it was being reclassified as a Class B school for competition in sports and extra-curricular activities in the 2009-2010 school year. So, as the students of BHS prepared for the switch, they worked to leave their mark in Class A.

The 2008-2009 varsity girls basketball team finished the regular season in third place behind first place Columbia Falls and second place Libby. The Vals narrowly missed winning the Northwest A Divisional Tournament for the third year in row when they lost in overtime to Columbia Falls 55-53 in the championship game. The loss normally would've meant that Bigfork was the second place team of the tournament, and had therefore earned one of the two available spots at the Class A State Tournament in Butte. However, Polson was sitting under them in third place, and since they had not played each other during the tournament they faced-off in a challenge game, which the Vals dominated and took a 50-42 victory in.

At state, they lost both of their games in the double-elimination tournament. For their first game, the Vals were pitted up against Anaconda, who went on to win the state championship for the second year in a row, and lost 74-45. On the second day of the tournament they were defeated by Belgrade 49-47.

Senior Roxy Thurman, who graduated in the spring, was named to the All-State and All-Conference basketball lists. In the spring, Thurman signed to play basketball for the University of Montana-Western in Dillon where she red-shirted her freshman year. During her final basketball season at BHS, she scored 346 points and broke the school's record for most points in a season, 309, a record shared by Alyssa Fierro, from the 2007-2008 season, and Brittany Brendsel, in 2003-2004. Thurman, who made 99 steals, also squashed the school's record for most steals in a season, 78, held by Nikki Thompson from the 2004-2005 season.

The Vikings basketball team had a tough 2008-2009 season finishing with the worst record in the Northwest A Division, 1-9 in conference and 3-15 overall. Their only conference win was against third-ranked Polson. The 59-55 victory was the Bigfork boys' last game of the regular season. The Vikes were knocked out of the Northwest A Divisional tournament after losing to Polson in the first round and Whitefish in the second.

Scott Taylor, who graduated in June, set a new school record for most rebounds in a game, after grabbing 27 boards in the Vikings' game against Ronan. The record was previously held by Matt Emslie, who had 21 rebounds in a game during the 1996-1997 season.

Matt Porrovecchio, who was assisting BHS principal Matt Jensen with the activities director duties last school year before taking over the position for the 2009-2010 school year, organized the first-ever alumni basketball game. The event brought together former Vikes and Vals basketball players who had been out of school for at least 10 years and put them up against the 2008-2009 BHS boys and girls basketball teams. The games drew big crowds and raised $2,670 for Maurice Dale, a Bigfork school bus driver who was experiencing medical problems.

The speech and debate team finished their 2008-2009 season on a high note. All 20 team members finished in the top six in their events and were therefore eligible to advance to state. Jerry Gaiser and Jacob Sefcak, who won divisionals in Humorous Duo for the second year in a row, also became state champions in the event this year. Kayla Carlson also won the state and divisional first place titles for her event, Memorized Public Address.

The Vikes and Vals teams had strong showings in the spring in tennis and track.

The boys and girls tennis teams had several athletes place high at divisionals, including Scott Taylor, who took second behind eventual state champion Matt Harris from Whitefish. Taylor finished the state match in fourth place.

Jade Bosic, who was a junior at the time, placed fourth in the girls divisional tournament, but did not place at state.

The boys and girls track team came out strong in all of their meets this spring with athletes from Bigfork consistently placing in the top spots. There were 14 athletes from Bigfork that placed high enough at the divisional meet to earn a spot at sate.

Carlson placed at divisionals. At state, she took first in the 3,200-meter race, second in the 800-meter and third in the 1,600-meter.

The Valkyries track team placed fourth at the meet, and Mallery Knoll, who was in her sophomore year, was a big contributor in that. Knoll placed third in the 100-meter dash and the 300-meter hurdles and had a handful of other solid race finishes.

For the boys, then senior Garrett Pewe earned third place in the high jump at the state meet and the divisional meet both with a height of 6-4. By clearing the bar at this height, Pewe tied the school record, which he now shares with Ben Haugan, 2002, and Shaun Reed, 2006.

Donny Tudahl, a 2009 graduate, captured the divisional title in the shot put and the discus. His shot distance was 46-0 and he threw the discus 148-10. At state he took fourth place in the discus and sixth place in the shot put with distances of 152-6 and 48-06, respectively.

The summer of 2009 brought plenty of warm days for golfing, hiking and playing on area waterways. It also had enough rainy days to keep wildfires from starting in the Valley and reeking havoc on outdoor enthusiasts recreating time.

One Bigfork native had a particularly exciting summer on the water. Jonny Meyers, who is currently finishing his college degree in Colorado, earned himself a spot on the men's U.S. Freestyle Kayaking Team. In August, the team traveled to Thun, Switzerland where they competed in the World Freestyle Championships. Meyers finished the competition in sixth place among more than 100 paddlers from 32 countries.

The fall brought an abundance of change for the student athletes of Bigfork. They were competing in Class B for the first time since 1998 and they had new coaches in volleyball and football.

After a five year absence, Todd Emslie returned to fill the position of head coach for the Vikings football team. Emslie previously served as an assistant and head coach for the team for 13 years. When he returned to coach the team, he brought with him several of the coaches he had worked with during his previous tenure at BHS and they instilled into the team new beliefs and ways of doing things.

The changes paid off for them as the Vikings won their first game in three years Sept. 18. Bigfork beat No. 9 ranked Plains 35-29 in overtime. From there, the Vikes went on to finish their season 4-1 in league play, which earned them part of the regular season championship title. Bigfork shared the honors with Plains and Eureka. Due to the district's tiebreaker rules, Bigfork did not earn one of the two spots given out for the playoffs.

The volleyball team adapted to a new coach as well. Tammi McDaniel became a coach at BHS for the first time this year and helped the program continue its previous success. The Vals finished the regular season with a 9-1, 12-2 record, which left them tied for first place with Eureka. At the District 7-B Tournament the Vals went multiple rounds with Eureka before taking the district tournament title. However, they were knocked out of the divisional tournament before they could earn a spot at state.

BHS' boys and girls soccer teams were the only programs that didn't have to move out of Class A because Class B doesn't compete in soccer. However, they still dealt with adversity. The boys team, which finished with a record of 2-7 in league play and 2-8-2 overall, had a young team this year.

The girls team struggled with numbers and often had only one sub on the bench, and sometimes none at all. The Vals finished their season with a 2-5-1 league record and 2-8-1 overall.

The athletes on the cross-country team improved their times every meet throughout the season. That hard work paid off at the state meet when several of the Bigfork runners were able to finish with top times.

Kayla Carlson took fourth among 138 girls who participated in her race. Bridger Mahlum, a senior, took 22nd in the boys race and Evan Jordt, a junior, placed 25th.

The successes of the fall sports season helped motivate the student-athletes of Bigfork and propelled them into the 2009-2010 basketball season where they faced more changes.

Paul LaMott took over as head coach of the boys basketball team. He brought in all new assistant coaches to the program and established new philosophies and techniques.

The boys on the Vikings team have responded well and are already off tow a winning season.

The girls basketball program has an increase in numbers from last year, and is benefiting from consistency in its coaching staff as all three from last year have returned for this season.

The girls are looking to take their successful history in Class A and transfer it to similar success now that they are in Class B. While they are just a few games into the season, they look as though they should do just fine with that.

The BHS speech and debate team's season is in mid-swing as well. Due to some scheduling conflicts they have only competed in a few meets, but when they have participated in meets several BHS students have placed well.

Although Jan. 1 brings a new decade, which will likely carry with it even more changes, Bigfork will be ready.

BHS has proven year after year that its sports teams are up the challenge of adapting and overcoming.