There aren't that many students at Sunburst High Schools these days, but the ones they have are excelling in the athletic arena.

Our female athlete of the week for the second time this year is sophomore cross country runner Brooke Holland of Sunburst. Brooke earned all-state status with a ninth-place finish for the second year in a row. Sunburst cross country coach Jeff Nix told us one of the most impressive things about the state meet time of 21:17 was it was done with the exact same split in the second and third ile, a consistency that she had been working hard on. During the regular season, Brooke had two first-place finishes at Shelby and Cut Bank and seconds at Flathead and Harlem. She broke a school and personal record during the season with a 20:25. Coach Nix said Holland is a hard worker who can hopefully continue to improve to down below that twenty-minute mark next season. The winner of the class C girls race, Sariah Maughn of Seely Swan made history with a record time of 19:52. More than one hundred girls competed int he class C race in Missoula.

Meanwhile, halfway across the state, the Sunburst football team secured a third seed playoff spot from the Northern Division. Head coach Dean Lerum says our male athlete of the week, senior Cody Smith was a big factor in the 45-14 win over Denton/Geyser/Stanford. Lerum said his defense came up huge in stifling the Bearcat offense. Smith led the way with an interception return, a fumble recovery and a forced fumble. Smith is a three-year starter for the Refiners and played a big role in what Lerum called "A meaningful win that gave the Refiners a better seed a better chance to move deeper into the playoffs.

Congratulations to our KSEN/K96 Bozeman Trophy Athletes of the week, sophomore Brooke Holland of Sunburst and senior Cody Smith of Sunburst. The athlete of the week is sponsored locally by McDonald's in Cut Bank. McDonald's honors our athletes with two free value meals each.

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