Looking Back: Great year for Three Forks Athletes

2024 was another banner year for Three Forks High School student-athletes, with plenty of individual and team success.

The Wolves High School programs had three MHSA State Individual Champions over the course of the year: Cole Rogers won a Class A wrestling title in February, Ari Judd won the Class B State Golf title in May, and Cass Violett finished first at the Class B State Cross Country Meet in October in Missoula.

WRESTLING

After winning Class B/C titles as a sophomore and junior, Rogers put an exclamation point on his Wolves career, capturing the Class A 120-pound championship at the state tournament in February at the Metra in Billings.

Rogers not only won his third straight state title but also pinned all four of his opponents in the Magic City.

"It feels great to go out and finish my high school career with a bang. It's always been the goal to pin my way through the tournament, and to do it again felt amazing," Rogers said.

The Three Forks/Ennis High School wrestling finished 12th out of 25 teams in Class A.

Along with Rogers winning the state crown, Emry Veland had a fifth-place finish at 113 pounds.

Veland finished fifth with a 9-2 win over Will Merkel of Miles City.

Eighth-grader Howie Gayle had a win for the Wolves at 103 pounds. Gayle won by fall over Brycin Bugli of Stevensville in 54 seconds.

Jacob Murphy had a win at 126 pounds, winning by technical fall (17-2) over Cash Byrd of Columbia Falls.

Eighth-grader Tatum Todd had won for Three Forks at 132 pounds, defeating Skyler Sias by a 14-4 major decision.

152-pounder Jack Hayder had a victory by medical forfeit over Will James Courville of Ronan.

GOLF

In her final tournament of her high school career, Judd won the state title with rounds of 81 and 78 and also helped her team to a third-place finish at the tournament in May at the

Marias Valley Golf & Country Club in Shelby.

For Judd, it was amazing to see years of hard work pay off.

"I felt like I did everything I could do to prepare. I'm grateful for my family, the best coaches, the best team, and the best community, who have been so supportive and encouraging. I couldn't have done it without them," Judd said.

With a lead going into the last round, Judd knew she would have a good day on the course.

"I was teamed up with some of the best golfers in the State, and the weather was supposed to be amazing. I started off strong with a birdie on hole two and continued to have a great front nine. I had two holes on the back that were a struggle, but it worked out in the end. It was a great day," Judd said.

Claire Van Vleet finished with rounds of 113 and 102, Paige Lien had scores of 107 and 109, Kennedy Rogers shot 123 and 108, and Fallon Cardwell finished with scores of 132 and 137.

On the boys' side, Devon Long earned All-State honors for the Wolves after finishing in a tie for 14th.

CROSS COUNTRY

In the final regular season meet of the season on October 17 in Townsend, Three Forks High School senior Cass Violett set a school record with a time of 15:57. Nine days later, on the biggest stage in the Treasure State, Violett once again broke a school and personal record on his way to winning an individual state championship with a time of 15:54.0 at the Class B State Championships on October 26 at the University of Montana Golf Course in Missoula.

"It feels really awesome. I worked for it all summer. I knew it wasn't going to be easy, so it feels amazing to end my season as a state champion," Violett said after the race.

After setting the school record in Townsend on what Violett described as a really fast course, he said it was great to do it again in Missoula.

"To be able to beat that here was really awesome. It's not an easy course, but I love it," Violett said.

Violett ended his cross country career with an All-American finish at the USATF National Junior Olympic Cross Country Championships on December 13 in Shelbyville, Indiana.

Violett earned the honors after finishing third in his age group and fourth overall at last week's

Violett finished at 16:12.81 in the Boys 15 to 18-year-old 5000 Meter Race at the event held at the Blue River Cross Country Course.

In the girls' race at State, freshman Teegan Gifford earned All-State honors for the second consecutive season, finishing in 12th place with a PR of 20:13.1.

FOOTBALL

For the second consecutive season, the Three Forks High School Football team won an opening-round game in the Class B State Playoffs.

It was a dominant performance in all three phases of the game for the Three Forks High School Football team, who came out of the gates strong and never looked back in a 43-6 Class B Playoffs opening round win on November 2 at Huntley Project.

Moments after the victory, Three Forks Head Coach Connor Sullivan said they put in a game plan for the Red Devils on October 25, and the kids came ready to go all week.

"They executed that game plan and it showed out here today. They were keyed up, they were ready to go, and they followed their assignments," Sullivan said.

It was quite the day for sophomore quarterback Kanon Reichman, who ran the ball 19 times for 165 yards and four touchdowns, was 15 of 20 passing for 167 yards and two touchdowns, and added an interception on defense.

The Three Forks High School Football team's season ended with a 59-36 quarterfinal loss on November 9 at number-one-ranked Malta.

Moments after the game, Wolves Head Coach Connor Sullivan praised the senior class, which has won 15 games over the past two seasons and advanced to the quarterfinals each year.

"They mean a lot. They were the ones who set the bar, were the leaders of our team, and played a lot of football for us. They helped build this thing up with last year's senior class, and I'm just really proud of them. We have to continue to build off of it. They set that standard, and they set that bar. We have to continue to grow off of it," Sullivan said.

VOLLEYBALL

While their season came to an end at the 5B District Tournament, the Three Forks High School Volleyball team had a shining moment with a thrilling five-set come-from-behind victory in the opening round on October 31 against rival Manhattan.

After falling 26-24, 25-16 to the fourth-seeded Tigers in the first two sets, the fifth-seeded Wolves stormed back, winning the final three sets, 25-14, 25-23, 15-7.

After losing in three sets the prior week to Manhattan, Three Forks Head Coach Jodi Sampson said she could not be any prouder of her team for picking up the rivalry victory.

"I love that now, at the end of the season in the tournament is the time we were able to come out on top against Manhattan. It is definitely a goal from the beginning of the season. We played them the very first match and got beat in three (sets) twice by them. I'm very proud, and I know it felt really good to go the distance and finish on top," Sampson said.

Moments after the season's conclusion, Sampson lauded the three seniors of the 2024 team: Natalee Hayder, Kylee Reichman, and Kennedy Rogers.

"I am so proud of them. All three of them have shown really good leadership, and they've all contributed very well," said Sampson. "They are the seniors that are going to help set the standard for years to come and the future because we definitely plan to do some things going forward."

FLAG FOOTBALL

It was quite the inaugural season for the Three Forks High School Girls' Flag Football team.

One week after finishing second at the Divisional Tournament, the Wolves shined on both sides of the ball, including five interceptions on defense, on their way to a 47-0 opening-round State win over Dawson County High School on September 27 at Bobcat Stadium in Bozeman. The win propelled the Wolves into the quarterfinals, where they were eliminated after losing a hard-fought 18-0 game against Kalispell-Glacier, who would go on to win their third straight state title.

After the win at State, Head Coach Maree Hanson praised the team for their play.

"They were phenomenal. Five picks on defense and three by eighth graders. And two pick-sixes early in the first half. You could not ask for a better defense," Hanson said. Coming out for their first year, their natural football knowledge is unprecedented. I couldn't have asked for a better team to have in this first year."

TRACK AND FIELD

Three Forks Head Coach Dillon Gongliewski challenged his team to "leave it all out there" at the season-ending meet at a team meeting the night before the Class B State Track and Field Meet in Laurel in May.

According to the first-year Head Coach, his team answered the call.

"They did amazing. First, we believe this is one of the largest groups of kids Three Forks has sent to the State in a long time. Everyone came to compete. They ran, jumped, and threw their hearts out," he said.

The Wolves ended the two-day meet with eight student-athletes earning All-State honors, finishing in the top six at State.

It was a tremendous finish to the season for the Girls' 4x400 relay team of junior Bella Jones, freshman Julia Kotter, junior Devynn Judd, and freshman Hailey Williams, who earned All-State honors after a third-place finish at 4:12.38.

Gongliewski said the relay team absolutely "killed it" in the season's final race.

"Going into State ranked seventh and to come out third was unreal. They shaved off 10 seconds over the weeks of the postseason, and with two freshmen and two juniors, they are all going to come back next year, and it's going to be exciting from the start," he said.

Junior Kylie Rowan ended the 2024 season in style, finishing third and earning All-State Honors in the shot put with a PR of 38-02.00.

Eight-Grader Teegan Gifford capped off a banner season with All-State honors after finishing fifth in the 3200 with a PR of 12:01.95. Gifford also finished seventh in the 1600 meters with a PR of 5:31.83.

"Teegan Gifford ended a monstrous year for an eighth grader. She had a huge PR in her 1600 and barely missed All-State there getting 7th, but she followed up and ran a very smart 3200m race and took 5th with a 12-second PR. She was so close to breaking 12 minutes as an 8th grader, and we are very happy that we get her for four more years," Gongliewski said.

Cass Violett and senior Bryon Fanning earned All-State honors in the 3200 meters.

Violett finished in the fourth at 9:56.97, and Fanning was fifth at 10:01.64. Violett also finished ninth in the 1600 at 4:41:13.

TENNIS

With a sixth-place finish at May's Class B/C State Tennis Tournament in Missoula, Three Forks junior Malia Eriksson became the first player in program history to medal at State.

Wolves Head Coach Janna Lauver described Eriksson's journey to placement as a thrilling experience that ended the 2024 season on a high note.

The Wolves Tennis team also shined with a second-place finish in the Southeast Divisional Tournament.

The Wolves finished the two-day tournament in second place with 46 points, just behind Broadwater County High School, which had 48.

For the first time in program history, Three Forks had an individual champion at Divisionals in Eriksson, who finished first.

The doubles team of Maddie Griffiths and Karin Williams also excelled in Belgrade, becoming the first squad in school history to finish in second place.

"As a coach, you teach your players how to play tennis, and they work hard to perfect shots, develop strategies, and push through metal walls and physical pain. Our Wolves have worked so hard this year, and they really laid it all out on the court," Head Coach Janna Lauver said following Divisionals.

SOFTBALL

In just the program's second year, the Wolves doubled their win total of 8 in their inaugural season, picking up their 16th win with a 20-3 victory over Thompson Falls to finish third at the Divisional Tournament. One week later, at the Class B/C State Tournament at Stewart Park in Billings in May, Three Forks was able to get win 17.

After falling 12-7 to Conrad in their opening-round game at State, Three Forks bounced back with an impressive 6-5 win over Huntley Project.

The Wolves were eliminated from the tournament after a 23-6 loss to eventual state champion and rival Manhattan.

"State was a great experience for the team. We were able to get our first state win, which is huge for our second season," Head Coach Clay Feliciano said.

Following the season's conclusion, Feliciano credited the three seniors on the team: Fallon Page, Eva Parker, and Sierra Schall.

"The seniors were incredible and really helped set the bar for the future," Feliciano said.

With a talented roster returning in 2025, the future looks very bright for the rising program.

"The team went from winning eight games last year to 17 this season. I am very proud of their accomplishments and excited for the future," Feliciano said.

POWERLIFTING

Before United States Powerlifting 2024 Montana High School State Championships in March in East Helena, Three Forks Coach Stan Provenza said while he knew his team would do well, he just wanted them to compete and feel good about it.

It turns out there were plenty of reasons for the team to feel good about their performance. Competing for the first time as a club, Three Forks left East Helena with 16 state records.

Micah Gather, Josh Delger, Maddie Griffiths, and Eva Parker each set four state records in their age/weight divisions. The four set state records in the bench, squat, deadlift, and combined total of the three events. Dominic Silcox and Noah Murphy also shined for Three Forks at the event on March 9.

BASKETBALL

The Three Forks High School Boys' Basketball team (14-9) had its season come to an end with a dramatic 50-48 elimination game loss to Jefferson (Boulder) on March 1 at the Southern B Divisional Tournament in Billings.

In their opening-round game at Divisionals, the Wolves lost 74-66 to Lodge Grass on February 28.

Three Forks had advanced to the Division with a second-place finish at the 5B District Tournament in February. After opening the 5B District Tournament on February 14 with a convincing 76-44 opening-round win over Townsend, the second-seeded Wolves qualified for Divisionals with a hard-fought 49-46 semifinal win on February 16 over third-seeded Jefferson. Three Forks would fall in finals 55-43 to one-seed Manhattan.

Following the divisional-clinching win over the Panthers, Three Forks Head Coach Terry Hauser said it is awesome to once again make the trip to Billings.

"We've been lucky to get to Divisionals a lot, pretty much every year except my first one. People take it for granted sometimes. There are teams that haven't been there in four or five years. To be able to play in the Metra and have a chance to play at the State Tournament is what it's all about. District Tournaments are hard. Going to the Metra, it feels great," Hauser said.

Following the season's conclusion, Hauser praised Colten Hayder, Sam Tesoro, Caleb Van Vleet, and Shane Williams for their contributions to the program.

"Our seniors played with so much effort and heart and were very coachable. I'm going to miss coaching them. It was a tough way to end the season, especially for those seniors, but it doesn't take away from a great two years with some credible wins and a ton of good memories. They will be missed," Hauser said.

The Three Forks High School Girls' Basketball season ended at February's 5B District Tournament in Churchill.

After losing a 53-51 heartbreaker to fourth-seeded Townsend in the opening round on February 15, the fifth-seed Wolves (8-12) were eliminated from the tournament with a 57-44 loss to Ennis on February 17.

Following the season, Maddie Tesoro was named first-team all-conference for the Lady Wolves.

Before the start of the 2024-25 season, Shayla Stemple, a former all-state player for Three Forks, was named the program's new head coach.

"Coming back to Three Forks and coaching the Girls' Basketball program has been a goal and dream of mine, and to get to do it with my sisters as my assistants is icing on the cake. We are blessed to be able to give back to our school and community in this way, and we are so excited for the season," said Stemple. "Fans can expect to see a disciplined, competitive basketball team that is extremely tough on defense and plays with urgency. We also emphasize getting joy from the game and each other and hope that fans will be able to see this when they watch our games."