Plenty of positives for Trojans in 2019

There were plenty of positives for Whitehall High School sports in 2019.

The highlight of the year came in February when senior Connor Johnson captured the 132-pound state title with a win by fall 46 seconds into his finals match against Nathan Schmidt of Eureka.

"Winning the state title is the greatest feeling ever. All the hard work paid off and I wouldn't have wanted it to end any other way," Johnson said.

Whitehall Head Coach Mark Nelson said Johnson's path to the title where he won all four matches by pin in the first period was the most dominant performance he has seen at state since he has been with the program.

"He was focused all the way and was on a mission. It was total domination," Nelson said.

Johnson became the first Trojans wrestler to win an individual champion since Zach Near in 2006.

Johnson was also awarded the Quick Pin Award for the finals, joining his head coach and TJ Nelson as the two other Trojans wrestlers to win the award.

Fellow Trojan Mike Wilkinson finished in fourth place at 132.

It was a great overall year for the Trojans who finished third at the B/C Divisional Tournament in Townsend. Whitehall had three individual champions and qualified nine wrestlers for state.

Johnson won the divisional title at 132 pounds. Johnson won by fall in the quarterfinals over Joe Carlson of Columbus, in the semifinals over Sam Schade of Three Forks and won by fall in the championship match over teammate Mike Wilkinson.

Gaten Wassberg finished first at 170 pounds for Whitehall. After a bye in the quarterfinals, he won his semifinal match by pin over Garrit Weeda of Manhattan. Wassberg won a thrilling match in the finals by fall at the 2:38 mark over Will Lane of Townsend. Cody Best won the Divisional title at 285 pounds. He won by fall in the quarterfinal over Kole Chatirand of Townsend, and by fall in the semifinals over Kade Pendill of Columbus. He won the championship by fall over 30-4 Carter Beer of Columbus.

The Whitehall Little Guys Wrestling team also shined during 2019.

The squad finished in first place out of 14 teams at the Southwest Montana Little Guys State Tournament in Dillon.

Steve Sacry said he has been helping with wrestling in Whitehall since 2004 and while they have placed in the smaller team divisions, this is the first time he is aware that they also beat all the big teams.

Whitehall had a total of 111 points, followed by Belgrade with 98, Helena with 95, and Ennis with 77.

Sacry said the team had nine individual champions, 11 finish in second place, four third-place finishers and two finish in fourth.

State champions for Whitehall were Caedan Lacey, Tucker Witzel, Garret Wagner, Braxton Walker, Joey Beebout, Cassidy Collins, Cutler Edmunson, Ethan Wock and Cinch Cogdill.

It was a tremendous season for the Whitehall High School girls basketball team in 2019.

After picking up 15 wins and finishing the regular season second in the 5B District, Whitehall High School girls basketball Kelly Nieskens is proud of what his team accomplished during the season.

"This was a hardworking group, they did everything I demanded and more. I asked a lot of each of these girls and they gave me their best. I am extremely proud of them. They should feel proud too after the hard work they just put in," Nieskens said.

The Whitehall High School boys basketball teams season with a 50-35 loss to rival Jefferson in the consolation championship of the 5B District Tournament.

Following their last game, head coach Zach McLean discussed what his three seniors Cade Briggs, Clay Wolfe, and Clint Parks meant to the program.

"It is a great group and I am proud of every single one of them. They taught me a lot, it just didn't end the way we wanted it to. It was a tough year with a lot of adversity, but those kids stuck with me. They did everything I asked of them," he said.

After just missing out on a spot at the state tennis tournament as a sophomore, Whitehall High School junior Britney Welker would not be denied in 2019.

Welker finished second at the Southeast Divisional Tournament in Belgrade in May and advanced to the Class B State Tournament.

Lady Trojans head coach Kerry Sacry said Welker had a good tournament and faced a tough challenge in the semifinals where she overcame a 1-5 deficit to win.

Welker would go on to win two matches at state.

Whitehall High School's Katie Whitehurst wrapped up an incredible sophomore season medaling in two events at the Class B State Track meet last May in Kalispell. Whitehurst finished fourth in the 400 meters with a personal best time of 1:00.88. She also finished sixth in the 200 meters with a time 27.01. Sophomore Tegan Robbins tied for eighth in the high jump, senior Colby Smith was 12th in the discus, and senior Cade Briggs was 14th in the long jump.

The Whitehall High School Athletic Hall of Fame elected its fifth class, the Class of 2020.

The class features two girls teams and two female athletes from the last decade. The 2007 Girls Track team and the 2008 Girls Basketball team were both elected into the Hall as State Class B runners-up, with many of the same star athletes on both teams. Track and Basketball stand-outs Cassidy Wendell and Kellee Glaus anchored both teams and were both elected into the Hall this year as individual athletes. Holding the All-State girls triple jump record for many years, as well as a Big Sky Track championship in the triple jump, Kellee Glaus was one of the most dominant athletes in WHS history. A 12-time letterman, Kellee won three state championships in the triple jump event.

Cassidy Wendell, a basketball standout, scored 1,592 points in her basketball career. Her senior year, she made 163 threes and completed her high school career as the best free-throw shooter in the state, converting in more than 77% of her free throw attempts. She led her team to a state runner-up finish as a Junior as well as state 3rd place finish her Senior year. Cassidy was the state champion in the long jump that same season.

The Class of 2020 was selected by a special committee, comprised of former WHS athletes, coaches, administrators, teachers, and community members. This class of inductees will join the first four classes from 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019. All total, the WHS Athletic Hall of Fame has elected 44 members, including four coaches, 24 athletes, three contributors, one administrator, and 16 teams in the first five years. The combined 2016 through 2020 classes represent members who participated in WHS athletics during every decade from the 1930s, through 2010.

A ceremony is being planned for a date in late March of 2020 to induct the members of the combined 2019 and 2020 class. More information will be announced when the date, time and location of the induction ceremony is set.

It was a very successful season for the Whitehall Rodeo Team with a total of six participants who finished in the top 20 in the state.

Evan Wagner was first in team roping (66 points), Jacy Johnson was third in breakaway (60) and seventh in pole bending (54). Garris Robertson was sixth in tie-down roping (60), seventh in cowhorse (18), and 16th in team roping (49).

Brynna Wolfe was 11th in pole bending (42.5), and 19th in barrels, Dalaney Scafani was 17th in pole pending (41.5), and Kassidy Dunagan was 18th in goat tying (44).

Lonna Johnson said the local kids had a great fall season and were very competitive with the rest of the contestants in the state.

According to Johnson, each of the kids competes in their events and receive points, if they place in the top 10 at a rodeo. Each contestant has to have one point to be able to compete at the state finals in the spring. Contestants can take 70 points (max) to state.

Whitehall had three junior high girls competing this fall -- Hope Nieskens, McKenzi Kountz and Julia Hoagland. Johnson said these girls all did very well for their first fall season.

"Each girl improved at each rodeo they completed in. It was fun to see how they all improved and gained confidence at each rodeo," she said.

Everyone on the high school and junior high team has qualified for the state finals in at least one of their events.

The spring rodeo season will start in April.

"It is very exciting to see more kids getting involved this year. Way to go Whitehall Rodeo team!" Johnson said.

The Whitehall High School cross country team wrapped up their 2019 season in a positive fashion at in October at the State Meet at the Eagle Falls Golf Course in Great Falls.

Head Coach Kerry Sacry was pleased with the way the team performed.

"Everyone competed very well. Times were not great, but in a couple of inches of snow our kids competed and took on the challenge. They ended the season on a good note," Sacry said.

Dawson Powers had the top overall finish for Whitehall. The junior finished 44th out of 195 runners with a time of 19:26.56. Hunter Coyle finished with a time of 21:32.79, Dane Hoover finished at 21:44.12, and Tommy Emmerson had a time of 23:03.66.

In the girl's race, senior Madison Loomis wrapped up a great career for the Lady Trojans with a 54th place finish and a time of 23:18.95. Katie Whitehurst finished at 23:39.62, and Macee Patritti had a time of 25:00.93.

It was a season of tremendous growth for the Whitehall High School volleyball team.

The Trojans dropped two hard-fought contests at the 5B District Tournament in Belgrade. Whitehall fell in their opening match to Three Forks (28-26, 14-25, 18-25, 18-25), and in a five-set heartbreaker to Manhattan in the fifth set.

Looking back on the season, head coach Kyla Simon saw plenty of positives.

"They bought into what I was coaching right away in pre-season and they did everything I asked them to do without question. We had some great moments this season that none of us will forget. We had some close games that we fought hard to win and some losses that taught us some really valuable lessons. One of my main goals was to improve all season long until the end and I think we did that," she said.

The Whitehall High School football team picked up three wins on the season and head coach Dan Lacey feels the offseason is pivotal for the team.

With a wealth of returning talent, the upcoming offseason will be pivotal for the Whitehall/Harrison High School football program.

Following a season that ended late last month with a loss to Big Timber, head coach Dan Lacey said the offseason will be a huge point of emphasis for success in 2020.

"We need double-digit kids (to participate) every day throughout the offseason. Overall team speed and strength are some things going into the offseason that will be a main focal point for us," Lacey said.

After winning their first two games of the season against Cut Bank and Shepherd, the Trojans dropped five of their final six with their lone win a 29-6 victory on the road at Three Forks.

While the Trojans were unable to qualify for the Class B playoffs, Lacey was proud of the effort of his team.

"I think our biggest positive to the season was how hard our players contributed to work throughout the season. Effort was never a question and I was extremely proud of that," he said.