GREAT FALLS, Mont. - Paced by a quintet of top-10 finishes, including individual champion Sam Atkin, the Lewis-Clark State men's cross country team reclaimed the Frontier Conference championship on Friday at Hickory Swings Golf Course.
The third-ranked Warriors handily beat Carroll by 22 points to claim the team title for the second time in three seasons. The victory also means the Warriors secured an automatic bid to the NAIA national meet in North Carolina in two weeks.
"We are delighted to win the conference championship," said L-C coach Mike Collins who is in his 19th season. "This has been our goal the entire season and it's exciting to see all the hard work pay off."
The LCSC women, meanwhile, finished second at Friday's meet with 52 points. Carroll, who won the meet with 19 points, captures the automatic bid to Nationals, though the Warriors - who were ranked 15th in the latest NAIA poll - will likely earn an at-large bid.
Atkin, who won this event two years ago to lead the Warriors to their last conference title, put forth an effort his coach and teammates are accustomed to seeing. The senior from Lincolnshire, England, finished the 8-kilometer race with a time of 26 minutes, 12.13 seconds - 12 seconds faster than second-place Lyle Pocha of Carroll
On the women's side, the Warriors' highest finisher was Rachel Cundy, who earned runner-up honors for the second consecutive season, finishing the 5-kilometer race in 19:02.35.
Atkins took home runner of the year honors and Collins was named men's coach of the year.
WOMEN
Team scores - Carroll 19, Lewis-Clark State 52, Great Falls 91, Montana Western 100, Rocky Mountain 132, MSU-Northern 148.
Medalist - Leah Esposito, Carroll, 18:25.38.
Lewis-Clark State individuals - 2, Rachel Cundy, 19:02.35; 9, Katie Strong, 19:50.37; 12, Jessica Peterson, 20:02.23; 14, Kea Paton, 20:13.38; 15, Angela Knishka, 20:19.51; 17, Alyssa Rapovy, 20:34.05; 19, Tia Carnahan, 20:54.66.
MEN
Team scores - Lewis-Clark State 22, Carroll 42, Great Falls 99, Rocky Mountain 103, Montana Western 118, MSU Northern 178.
Medalist - Sam Atkin, Lewis-Clark State, 26:12.13.
Lewis-Clark State individuals - 3, Cody Larson, 26:43.78; 5, Nehemiah Barrett, 26:55.81; 6, Dylan Crevelt, 26:59.59; 7, Nolan Ryan, 27:12.33; 11, Dontae Baker, 27:36.53; 12, Seth Deal, 27:41.16.
WOMEN'S SOCCER
Idaho 3, Moscow 2
MOSCOW - A quick start was enough to propel Idaho past Montana in the semifinals of the Big Sky Conference tournament at Guy Wicks Field on Friday afternoon.
The Vandals (14-4-2) move on to face Northern Colorado in the championship match at noon Sunday.
"I thought our players did a great job of sticking together," UI coach Derek Pittman said. "Credit to Montana, we knew they were a fantastic team and that they weren't going to lay down. They were going to do everything they could to come back and give us everything they had."
Kayla Watanabe scored the opener in the fifth minute, chipping the keeper to put Idaho up 1-0. Olivia Baggerly got on the end of a long throw from Josilyn Daggs just three minutes later, redirecting the cross toward goal.
The Vandals got one more in the first half, with Megan Goo burying a rebound from close range. Again, the play got started with the long throw from Daggs and, after bouncing around in the box, Goo pounced for her first career goal.
The Griz made a comeback in the second half, as Payton Agnew scored off a corner kick in the 49th minute. The Griz added a second in the 88th minute after a scrum in the box to put the pressure on the Vandals, but the Idaho defense closed the final few minutes well to earn the win.
Montana 0 2-2
Idaho 3 0-3
Idaho - Kayla Watanabe (Kavita Battan, Allyssa Lloyd), 4th.
Idaho - Olivia Baggerly (Josilyn Daggs), 7th.
Idaho - Megan Goo (Clara Gomez), 40th.
Montana - Payton Agnew (Mary Gintz), 48th.
Montana - Kaitlin Crowell (Chanelle Pederson), 87th.
Shots - Montana 15, Idaho 16.
Saves - Montana, Kailey Norman 8; Idaho, Amanda Poertner 2.
No. Colorado 3, Sacramento St. 1
MOSCOW - Northern Colorado moved into the championship match of the Big Sky Conference tournament with a win over Sacramento State at Guy Wicks Field.
VOLLEYBALL
WSU falls to No. 19 Arizona
TUCSON, Ariz. - Kyra Holt had season-highs of 22 kills and 17 digs but Washington State fell in four sets at No. 19 Arizona. The scores were 25-14, 27-29, 25-23, 25-22.
The Cougars (14-11 overall, 3-10 Pac-12) got another double-double from setter Haley MacDonald, who notched 39 assists and 17 digs. McKenna Woodford added nine kills amd Kate Sommer led the match with 26 digs.
The Cougars will play at Arizona State on Sunday.
FOOTBALL
Loggers wrap up season today
MOSCOW - While they no longer have a chance at claiming a Northwest Junior College Football league title, the Lewis-Clark Valley Loggers can still tie for second in their conference if they win today's season finale against Central Sound.
The game kicks off at 1 p.m. today at the Kibbie Dome, with tickets costing $10 for adults and $5 for youth and students.
The Loggers lost to Central Sound 23-13 earlier this year, when the team, Loggers director Bob Thorson admitted, was "still working out the kinks."
"Certainly, finishing with three league wins is what we want to see," added Thorson, whose team sits at 2-3 in league and 2-5 overall. "So we're where we want to be, definitely, but we have additional goals."
Among those, Thorson said, is expanding the team's roster, so that injuries won't impact their depth like they did this year.
