LaBrie Third at State! Wisher Eighth!

The Whitewater Penguins and Dodson Coyotes Cross Country teams competed at the 2022 State C Cross Country Meet in Missoula.

Shelby LaBrie led the Penguins with a third place finish. LaBrie finished seventh in the 2021 State C Meet.

This year LaBrie was joined in the top ten by teammate Samantha Wisher who was eighth with a time of 20:52. Ava Hanley was 81st with a time of 28:43, and Kandra Cummings had a time of 30:31 and was 95th. The team finished in eighth place.

For Dodson, Mason LoneBear finished his race with a time of 23:21 in the boys race , and Jazlyn Flansburg finished with a time of 31:17 in the girls race.

The following is write up from Whitewater Head Coach Carly Hammond:

We arrived in Missoula Friday, October 7, at 4 p.m. and headed straight for a walk through at the U of M Golf Course.

We LOVE this course. The girls were so excited that state was back in Missoula this year. It has a great combination of gradual increases/decreases and one giant hill right in the middle of the run. The girls got into the spirit of the dress up theme that state always has for the night before and decided to wear old Whitewater Penguin cheer outfits. They had a good time.

Saturday we were set to run at 1:45. The girls started their warm up about an hour before and with 15 minutes left, I left them knowing that the most important thing was to take in the experience and have fun. If your relaxed, you'll run your race that you've been practicing for the last three months.

I always plant myself at about 400 meters up that first hill to make sure they level off to their pace and don't go out too fast that first mile. One hundred and fifteen runners shot up the hill right at 1:45 pm. Shelbi jumped out behind the front runners, Sammi 20 yards behind, followed by Kendra and Ava in the middle of the pack. Kendra actually started this entire race in pain. She'd been icing the whole week, determined to finish her senior season with her teammates. So, we were very happy to have all four runners at the start.

I ran to mile one. The nice thing about this course is that it is very easy for coaches to get to each mile so we can check splits and see how the girls are feeling. Shelbi was right where I wanted her, coming in around a 6.27 about 30 seconds behind the front four runners. Sammi came up behind her at about 6.35, also right on pace. They both looked relaxed and were ready for the 800 meters of downhill ahead of them. I stressed this area to pick up the pace by about 10 seconds so they had a little more leeway on the big hill near mile two. Ava came through mile one around 9:15 and Kendra right with her. I was hoping to have Ava at about 8:30, so this is something we will definitely shoot for next year. Kendra was clearly hurting and had no plan of stopping. I was just glad she made it through the first mile.

I ran to the top of the big hill that the girls hit at about 1.75 miles. This part of the race either makes or breaks the runners. If you can maintain speed here or make a pass, the chances of those runners coming back for you are slim. Shelbi was pretty alone at this point. The three front runners were still ahead of her by about 200 meters but I was happy with this, as she usually catches up to them on mile three. I swear every year she hits this hill harder than any runner there, it is so fun to watch. Sammi was still behind her by about 20 yards, hanging right on Mia Handran's(Scobey) hip. This has been a big competitor for her all season. I waited on the hill to make sure Ava and Kendra made it up ok. Ava nursing her knee and Kendra with her foot, I was nervous for the trek up the hill. They did awesome. No stopping and they worked hard to get to the top.

As soon as they passed I sprinted back to the final 400 meters of the race right as Annie Kaul and Jadyn Vandyken rounded the corner side by side for the final finish of the race. Those two ran a great race and have had awesome XC careers. I sat for another second waiting to see who the next person rounding the corner was, crossing my fingers that it would be Shelbi. She came around the corner with Mya Green right on her tail by about 10 yards. I told her to get her head up and arms moving forward. I couldn't see the finish so I didn't know how she fared until after the race was over. Sammi came to the corner about a minute later with four girls right behind her. Another finish I would have loved to be at but knew I had more runners to get to. She battled the last 200 yards with those runners and ended up falling behind, but that just tells me she gave that race every fiber of her being to get the time she did.

Ava and Kendra brought up the tail of the race. Ava had a great last 600 meters and finished with a nice kick. Kendra, through lots of tears, struggled to get to the last 400 meters and was able to stride it out down the last downhill stretch into the finish line.

Shelbi ended her Sophomore year of running in 3rd place with a time of 19.44, a killer time. Sammi ended her Senior year in 8th place with a time of 20.52. Staying below a 21 on this course was a huge accomplishment for her. Both of these runners will receive All State honors for finishing in the top 15. Ava Hanley finished her junior year of running in 81st place with a time of 28.43. This isn't quite where I would like her to be, but this just gives us areas to improve next year. She enjoyed her season and is always such a happy athlete. Kendra ended her senior year in 95th place with a time of 30.31. This finish just goes to show her character. She's a fighter. She was not going to finish her senior year on the side cheering for her teammates, she was going to be running right with them and she did that.

These places gave us an 8th place overall team finish with 92 points. The girls were very happy. That's all I can ask for. We ended the day with four happy girls that felt accomplished and successful. Two of them will be back next year to do it again. Two of them will be off to college to do big things. Sammi has some colleges interested in recruiting her to run with them next year, so we are very excited for that adventure for her.

I appreciate everyone who helped put on the state meet, all of the parents, family, and friends who came to the state meet to support all of the runners, and the other teams who were so supportive to my runners all season. We can't wait for next year.