Blaine County High School Girls Accomplished some Big Things in 2022

Covering the accomplishments of the Blaine County High School Girls this past year has been a blast. There were plenty of highs, plenty of tough times to overcome, Some huge accomplishments, some shockers and even a first. The following is a look back at some of those moments.

Lady Cats Make Impressive

State Tournament

Basketball Run

The Harlem Lady Cats advanced to State B semifinal round with impressive 61-39 Thumping of Thompson Falls. Harlem falls to Colstrip in semifinal 62-34, exits tournament with 58-40 loss to Bigfork as cinderella run comes to an end in Bozeman.

The old adage "It's not how you start the season, but how you finish it" couldn't be more true when talking about the 2021-22 Harlem Lady Cat girls basketball team. The Lady Cats struggled through the preseason, their non-conference schedule, and their District 2B regular season schedule. They didn't really shine at the District 2B tournament either, but did enough to advance to the Northern B Divisional.

Then the lights came on. At the Northern B Divisional the Lady Cats knocked off perennial state contender and District 1B No. 1 Fairfield in the quarterfinal round. They then avenged a pair of lopsided losses to the District 2B No. 2 Wolf Point Wolves in the semifinal round and turned in a solid effort against the District 2B No. 1 M-ettes in the championship to advance to the State B Tournament for the third time in four seasons.

The Montana Class B State Girls and Boys Basketball Tournaments were held in conjunction with one another, March 10-12 at the Brick Breeden Fieldhouse on the campus of Montana State University in Bozeman. Heading into the tournament, everyone in the gym was talking about the surprise entry of the Harlem Lady Cats in the girls field. Everyone was surprised except for the Harlem Lady Cats.

The Lady Cats continued to make history on day one of the Class B Girls State Basketball Tournament. For the first time in school history they advanced to play in the semifinal round of the tournament after defeating the Thompson Falls Blue Hawks 61-39 Thursday afternoon. The Lady Cats turned in a dominate effort, start to finish. They started out with a few tournament jitters, but senior Taya Trottier controlled the tempo on both ends of the court allowing her teammates time to get comfortable and involved in the game. When they did, the Lady Cats were by far the best team on the court. Harlem was extremely active on defense, corralled every loose ball and swung the ball around on offense in a highly efficient manner.

Sugarbeeters Shine in First Cross Country Season

The Sugarbeeters were competing at the State Cross Country meet for the very first time in school history after adding the sport this past spring. To say their first season was anything but a success would be a huge understatement.

Anna Terry finished seventh overall in the field of 115 runners with a time of 20:51.40. Terry was consistent in her run with her first mile pace being 7:09.1. She steadily maintained that pace over mile number two coming in at 7:09.0. Terry finished strong with her pace being timed at 6:44. Her cumulative time after the second mile was 13:27.5.

Chinook also got outstanding efforts from freshman Emma Klingamen and Kirbey Hofeldt. Klingamen crossed the finish line in 24:26.1 good for thirty fifth overall while Kirby was right behind in thirty eighth at 24:40.40.

The Sugarbeeters were all competing in cross country for the first time this year and with the exception of Terry everyone else was running competitively for the first time. Sophomore Jeni Mord finished in 24:52.7 while junior Riley Hofeldt completed her race in 26:24. 3.

Chinook Head Coach, Kendall Harwood was very proud the way his team finished, "The state meet was a wet one this year. Luckily the runners on the course only had to deal with the cold rain. The Beeter girls were up later in the afternoon after the AA, A, and B races. Our girls were ready to go from the very beginning. They were amazed by the number of people attending the meet."

Harwood commented on his All-State senior, "Anna had a great race, she was surprised at the difficulty of the hill at the end of the second mile. But she finished strong, beating a girl from Whitewater in the last stride. Anna developed a kick at the exact right time in her running career." Harwood had plenty of good things to say about his freshman as well, "Emma ran a fantastic race as well. She pushed the pace the whole way. Kirbey, Jeni, and Ryley all had their strategies based off of keeping Emma close and pacing off of her. They did just that. Our second through fifth runners all finished pretty close to each other."

Harwood added, "Emma really elevated the rest of the team. We needed every runner to do exactly what they did to finish above our ranking going into the meet. The girls finished 6th by two points. We were ranked 7th going into the meet."

Harwood recognized the effort of top boys' finisher, "Corey ran a guts race. He had a slow start, by about the halfway point he was not where he needed to be, and he knew it. The second half of the race I saw Corey dig deep and fight to pass about 15 people, including four kids on the monster hill. Corey getting a personal record on that course is a feat in and of itself. Corey had massive improvements throughout the year. I hope he keeps training into the track season."

Chinook Volleyball 4th at State C

Chinook Sugarbeeter Volleyball team was back in Bozeman this past year competing in the Montana Class C State Volleyball Tournament. The 'Beeters were in the field for the first time since 2016 and turned in a terrific effort, finishing fourth in the tournament. The All-Class State Volleyball Tournament was played in the Brick Breeden Fieldhouse on the campus of Montana State University.

Head Coach, Paula Molyneaux couldn't have been prouder of her teams accomplishments this fall, "This has been an incredible season. To be able to end it at a state tournament is not only a goal, but also a dream. I really enjoyed working with this group, they were willing to work hard, they bought into the program philosophy and believed in their team potential."

Molyneaux appreciated their effort every time they stepped on the court, "They continually built on their success day by day. As a coach it is a goal to find a plan that helps your team peak at the end of the season. This team did exactly that. They earned their way by entering the District 7C Tournament as a two seed, but emerged as the 7C champion. Next, at the Northern C Divisional, they continued to improve their game with a 2nd place finish which punched our ticket to state.

Being able to conclude the season in Bozeman was icing on the cake, "At the state tourney, I was very proud of them because not only did they earn their way there, but they also proved that they belonged at the state level as one of the top four Class C teams in the state. They definitely played their best volleyball of the season against some very tough teams. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to work with them and am very proud of the team and all that we accomplished together," said Molyneaux afterword's.

The journey to the state tournament for any team, especially in small towns includes so many people outside of the locker room and Molyneaux is extremely appreciative of each and every one of them, "I have always been grateful and amazed by the strong show of support by our community for Beeter Volleyball. The fan base is often larger than our opponents when we are on the road and our home crowds are always large, loud and fun."

Harlem Lady Cats Win First Wrestling Team Title

The Harlem Lady Cats wrestling team brought home hardware a season ago but for the first time in school history they brought home a First Place Team Trophy. The Lady Cats won the Badger Invitational in Cascade running away from the field in the process. The Lady Cats amassed 123 points, 57 more than the second place Simms Tigers. In addition all eight Lady Cat Wrestlers made the podium and took home a medal.

Senior Amelia Blackcrow led the way, winning three matches en route to the 152 pound Individual Championship. Freshman Elleonna Azure was second at 185, sophomore Izzy Baker (4-1) placed third at 114. Junior Kaitlyn Johnson (3-1) placed third at 126, Senior Mylah Rider (2-2) placed fourth at 138. Sophomore Ihte` Stiffarm (1-2) was fifth 152, freshman Cyla Adams (4-2) finished fifth in the 114 pound division. Freshman Svea Hogan placed sixth at 114.