Scotties Take a Bite Out of 2009

It may have been a new year, but 2009 started the same way many have in recent years – with a championship.

Each season brought its own excitement and share of great moments. Records were broken and teams rallied and whether it was a traditional power team or a set of kids that were underestimated for years, the Scotties kept finding ways to make a statement this year.

Of course the first statement of the year was made by the wrestling team. On the way to their third consecutive state championship, the Scotties did something that hadn't been done in the history of the storied program. In January, all 12 varsity wrestlers qualified for the state tournament, a feat that had never been pulled off at Glasgow, even though the school boasts some of the most dominant teams in state history.

The feat was just foreshadowing for what became a dominant performance at state. The Scotties won their third championship in as many years and eleventh in school history by obliterating the field, placing 10 wrestlers in the top four and winning four weight classes. Coming home with the gold were 112-pound freshman Luke Zeiger, 171-pound junior Aaron Hartsock, 189-pound senior Myles Kittleson and 215-pound senior Chance Rauscher.

Following that act, the basketball teams fought their way into the playoffs. Though they didn't come out with a championship, both had strong seasons.
The boys' basketball team, in its first year under head coach Norm Braaten, rode the legs of eventual Athlete of the Year Evan Etchart to a third place finish in District 2B and a 14-10 overall record.

The girls' team also found strength in its senior leaders, especially returning star Emilee Morehouse. The girls snuck up on the league and took third place in District 2B. They followed up that strong performance just a week later by taking third place in the Northern B Division.

As the snow melted, the Scotties kept up their pace on the field and saw another remarkable display of talent.

The Scotties' track and field teams had a great showing in the spring.
The boys blazed through the conference and division, taking first place trophies in both District 2B and the Northern B divisional on their way to a second place finish at the state tournament. Senior runner Josh Neumiller took the only gold medal home, winning the 100-meter dash in decisive fashion with a time of 11.33, beating Townsend's Shade Theriault by 0.12 seconds. Neumiller also took home silver in the 200-meter dash to go along with a team silver in the 4x100m relay, in which the team edged out Baker by 0.04 seconds. Etchart brought home the bronze for his 51.20 finish in the 400-meter run.

The girls didn't bring home a trophy from states, but did plenty of damage on the way. Claiming the District 2B championship and second place in the Northern B division, the Scotties finished in 15th at states, but still had some pretty good performances. Morehouse brought home the only medal for the Scotties, finishing second in the 3,200-meter run with a time of 11:47. Sophomore Tiffany Wetzel also had a good tournament, finishing just shy of the podium with a fourth place finish in the high jump. Jami Johnson finished fifth in the 1,600-meter run and Quinn Viara finished sixth in the 300-meter hurdles.

The golf teams were equally as good, with each sending athletes to the state tournament. The Scotty girls led the way with a third place finish in their division, which qualified five golfers for states. The boys only sent one golfer, sophomore Kevin Hill.

The softball team made it to the state tournament after a 19-9 season. Though they lost their only two games in Anaconda, the Scotties still had a stellar season. Senior shortstop Katelin Anderson was named to the All-State team after leading the team in nearly every offensive category. Anderson had a tremendous year, hitting .523 with 46 hits, 44 runs and 20 extra-base hits, including five home runs. Natalie Hopstad and Shelby Fossum each had nine wins for the Scotties. Hopstad twice racked up double-digit strikeouts, fanning Shelby and Dickinson each 10 times. She finished the season with 109 strikeouts overall.

When the new school year started the Scotties didn't miss a beat. The Scotties had contenders in every sport and were a nightmare for opposing teams.

The cross country teams came into the seasons as favorites to get gold at the state tournament. The girls were returning after two consecutive top finishes and the boys won third the year before.

The season was long but one thing was consistent – the Scotties seemed to be on top after every meet this fall. When the teams showed up to Missoula for the state championship, each had a good chance to take home hardware.

The boys ran into a tough situation as Manhattan won the meet by a large margin. As great as the Scotties had been all season, injuries and sickness got the best of them at state and saw some of the top performers not finish where they had liked. Kyle Loewen finished in fifth place with a time of 16:23 to earn his second straight All-State selection. No other Scotty finished in the top 20, but the team still had enough points to earn its second straight third-place finish.

The girls also came short of defending their title. As with the boys, the girls team ended up in a race for second as the Colstrip girls ran away with the championship, finishing 48 points ahead of the second place team. The race for silver was nearly a dead heat, but the Scotties finished third, falling short to Red Lodge by just five points. Jami Johnson and Emily Braaten led the way for the Scotties all season and answered the call yet again at states, both being named to the All-State team. Johnson finished ninth with a time of 19:36 and Braaten finished 14th with a time of 20:24.

The Scotty volleyball team overpowered its competition for much of the season. Behind seniors Erin Bell, Taylor Markle, Shielda Pattison and Jess Mehling, the Scotties ate up the competition in conference. Despite battling with Wolf Point all season, the girls failed to drop a conference match all season until the final game against the Wolves. But the team got revenge in the playoffs, winning District 2B by defeating the Wolves in Wolf Point.
After breezing through the first round of the divisional playoffs, the Scotties added to their season by clinching a spot in the state tournament with an epic rally from two sets down to beat Fairview 3-2 and clinch at least a third place finish in Northern B. Though the Scotties failed to win a match at the state tournament Bell was named to the All-State team for her performance this fall.

The Glasgow football team, playing under a new system with first-year head coach Dan Dale, surprised almost everybody. Losing what was touted as one of the most talented classes in years, the Scotties weren't expected to go very deep into the playoffs. Instead, the Scotties steamrolled teams all season and made it to the state semifinals for the first time this decade.
Led by a strong class of seniors, including All-State selections Aaron Hartsock, Zach Remus and Parker Miller the Scotties compiled an 8-3 record on way to yet another District 2B championship. The Scotties beat Choteau and Florence-Carlton in the playoffs before falling to eventual-champion Huntley Project in the semis.

As the teams head in to the new year with wrestling, boys' and girls' basketball all competing toward the top of the conference, don't expect 2010 to be any less spectacular.