Libby Logger harriers show major improvements heading to state

Coaches look for improvement from the beginning of the season to its end and judging from what the members of the Libby High School cross country squad did so far in 2024, they’ve left head coach Brittany Katzer a happy person.

The Loggers got to see their improvements in cold, hard times after hosting the season-opening Libby Invitational on Aug. 30 to the Western A Fall Classic last Friday. Twelve boys teams and 10 girls teams competed.

“We always look for improvement from the beginning to the end and every runner improved and most of them had all-time PRs (personal records),” Katzer said. “It’s very ideal to have a season-opening meet to one near the end, so we can compare the times on the same course. Every course is different and comparing times from one week to the next is useless.”

The Loggers were led by their standout trio which includes sophomore Cody Watson, senior Rowen Sherbo and freshman Capri Farmer.

In the boys varsity race, Watson placed fifth overall among 78 runners with a time of 16:35.08. Sherbo wasn’t far behind his teammate, placing eighth in 16:38.39. Sophomore Colter Anderson was Libby’s third finisher. He placed 18th in 17:18.52. They led the squad to a sixth-place team finish.

Watson’s improvement from the Aug. 30 race was 11 seconds while Sherbo’s was about 47 seconds. Anderson dropped more than 45 seconds from his Aug. 30 time.

Libby assistant coach Andrew Mehan said dropping even a second or two during the season is, “a huge accomplishment.”

Corvallis, led by winner Jack Davidson (16:04.20), was first in the team event. They had six runners in the top 21. Browning was second, edging Columbia Falls by four points.

Also running for Libby were freshman Ashton Rehl, 61st, sophomore Samuel Erickson, 68th, senior Tristan Baker, 70th, and freshman Jake Rusdal, 73rd.

For the Libby girls squad, Farmer was first for her team and fifth overall in a field of 70 runners with a time of 19:46.88. Classmate Alli Clemons was 30th in 21:36.79. 

Farmer dropped more than 90 seconds from her time in August while Clemons dropped 30 seconds. 

Sophomore Irene Benjamin was 60th, freshman Lillian Bailey was 63rd, senior Bergen Fortner was 64th, senior Taryn Greene was 65th and senior Taylor Greene was 69th.

Libby finished ninth in the 10-team race.

Hamilton won the team race with 70 points, three ahead of runner-up Columbia Falls.

Polson sophomore Morgan Delaney was the overall winner, finishing in 18:19.04, more than 31 seconds ahead of Hamilton sophomore Aleigha Child.

Katzer was happy her team members could see their respective improvements.

“They know their hard work paid off,” she said. “Hopefully, we get a big sendoff to state next week. That’d be awesome for the kids.”

The Loggers qualified their top seven boys and girls runners for Saturday’s Class A state championship in Missoula. They’ll leave Libby at 8 a.m. The girls will race at 1:30 p.m. and the boys at 2:30 p.m.

Notes: Led by athletic director Nik Rewerts and an army of volunteers, Libby hosted divisionals for the first time since 2010. They presented medals to the top 15 finishers in each varsity race and plaques to the top two teams.

    Libby High School cross country runner Capri Farmer finished fifth at the Western A Divisional Cross Country Championship Friday, Oct. 18, 2024, at Cabinet View Golf Course in Libby. (Scott Shindledecker/The Western News)
  

    Libby High School cross country runner Rowen Sherbo finished eighth at the Western A Divisional Cross Country Championship Friday, Oct. 18, 2024, at Cabinet View Golf Course in Libby. (Scott Shindledecker/The Western News)