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Bella Jones competes at last week's NXR Northwest Regional Championship in Idaho. Photo by Trisha Jones Photography.
Sophomore Jacoby Berg was one of four Three Forks student-athletes who competed at the prestigious event. Photo by Trisha Jones Photography.
Teegan Gifford had another great race at last week's event in Idaho. Photo by Trisha Jones Photography.
Cass Violett had another strong performance for the Three Forks Running Club. Photo by Trisha Jones Photography.
Three Forks Cross Country was well represented, with four high school student-athletes competing at last Saturday’s prestigious NXR (NIKE) Northwest Regional Championships at Eagle Island State Park in Idaho.
According to Coach Matt Robb, the Three Forks Running Club members Cass Violett, Bella Jones, Jacoby Berg, and Teegan Gifford had a successful weekend.
“Each race is pretty packed with runners, so it can be hard to maneuver around the course, and I thought they ran pretty well,” Robb said.
In his first race since capturing the MHSA Class B State Individual Title with a school record time on October 26 in Missoula, senior Cass Violett competed in the Men’s Championship, finishing with a time of 16:31.80.
“Cass was the first runner from Three Forks to ever race in the Men’s Championship against the best teams and individuals from Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Montana, and Wyoming. Four nationally ranked teams and six nationally ranked individuals were in that race, so it was a great opportunity for him and a nice reward for all of his hard work and dedication,” said Robb.” Although his time wasn’t what it was at state, I’m still proud of how he handled that intense environment and ran through until the finish line.”
Sophomore Jacoby Berg competed in the Boys Open Invite 3, finishing with a stellar PR time of 19:59.5.
In the Girl’s Open Invite One, freshman Teegan Gifford had a strong race, finishing with a time of 20:50.6. Senior Bella Jones capped off her stellar high school cross-country career by finishing with a time of 22:56.4. Robb said both Gifford and Jones ran hard against some very fast competition.
“My main goal for these athletes was to just enjoy this meet and enjoy the experience, which I think they all did,” Robb said.
According to TFHS Head Coach Tara Forsberg, Robb coached the Running Club in the races last week in Idaho and will be moving to Arizona next month.
In his final coaching assignment in Three Forks, Robb will take Violett and Gifford to the USATF National Junior Olympic Cross Country Championships on December 14 in Shelbyville, Indiana.
Forsberg praised Robb for what he has meant to the Three Forks Running Club and High School program.
“It has been so beneficial coaching with Matt. Our coaching styles are similar, and I feel that whatever weaknesses one of us has, the other is able to fill in. The success, particularly of the boys in the past few years, is a direct result of how much we both care for our athletes. However, the boys really bonded with Matt, and all had the same love of stats, comparing athletes week to week and studying every possible scenario. These similarities really helped foster a passion for running and competing,” said Forsberg. “I am so thankful to Matt for starting the running club and will continue that as long as I have athletes interested in doing so. Exposing our team to the competition level and the sport outside of Montana has been educational, fun, and extremely beneficial.”
