Cats take division crown

| October 22, 2009 11:00 PM

Girls capture second

By CHRIS PETERSON / Hungry Horse News

A quick start helped Senior Patric Jessat and three Columbia Falls cross country teammates repeat as Northwest A Conference champions last Saturday on a slow track in the fog at Pablo Golf Course.

Four Wildcats took the top four spots in the race: Jessat with a time of 16:40, Shawn Whitman 16:44, Justin Whitman 16:45 and Derrick Williams 16:58. Also finishing in the top 20: Pascal Jessat, eighth, 17:44; Joe Gross, 12th, 18:06; and Kodiak Gimbel, 16th, 18:20.

Coach Richard Menicke said seniors Shawn Whitman and Patric Jessat "have hoisted everyone on their backs."

Their leadership will be crucial at the state championship this weekend in Missoula.

The course will require a quick start to avoid a bottleneck that can trap his runners behind slower competition, Menicke said.

The Columbia Falls girls finished second to Whitefish. Top runner was Jinise Osborne, who finished eighth with a 20:51, followed by Nicki Moser, in 10th place at 21:21, Leesa Benner 11th at 21:36, Kaylin Carvey 13th at 22:11, Tessa Cowan 15th at 22:24 and Madison Stolte 19th at 22:32.

"We ran a deceptively phenomenal race," Menicke said. "Jinise and Nicki had super strong runs."

Menicke praised the rest of the team, which he said improved their times in the second half of the season.

Osborne, Moser, the Whitman and Jessat brothers and Williams received all-conference honors.