Wiltsie 19th; Sophia Houchin 29th

MISSOULA — The Mining City has its first All-State cross country runner in 14 years.

Butte High senior Camden Houchin pulled off that feat Saturday, running to a fourth-place finish in the Class AA boys’ division of the Montana High School Association State Cross Country Meet on the University of Montana Golf Course. (Results)

Houchin completed the 5-kilometer course in 15 minutes, 59.9 seconds. Bozeman senior Miles Halvorsen won the race with a time of 15:34 Bozeman junior Taylor Neil took second in 15:42, and Helena junior Milo Kauffman finished third in 15:54.

Missoula Hellgate junior Miles Miller was just behind Houchin in 16:01.

The top 15 runners in each race earn All-State honors. The last Butte High boy to stake that claim came in 2011 when Josh Panasuk placed seventh in 2011. The fourth-place finish was the best for Butte High since Ethan Shrader placed second in 2008.

Fellow Butte High senior Levi Wiltsie placed 19th with a time of 16:36, missing All-State honors by just 14 seconds. That would have been the best Butte High finish since 2011 had it not been for Houchin’s great performance. Houchin placed 21st a year ago.

As a team, the Butte High boys placed ninth, and the Bulldogs put together their best team time in the 5K era, beating their second best by almost five minutes.

Bozeman won the team title with 41 points. Helena High took second with 85, and Hellgate placed third at 101. The Bulldogs score 223 points, one point more than eighth-place Gallatin.

“We made a huge leap forward this year with the boys’ team — especially the seniors,” Bulldog coach Guy Wadas said. “We talked about leaving a legacy. Hopefully the younger runners see what’s possible for next year.”

Also for the Butte High boys, senior Lincoln Zell placed 44th with a time of 17:19, senor Charles Killebrew placed 77th 17:55, senior Bridger Luebke took 79th in 17:58 senior Ryan Hanson took 87th in 1817, and sophomore Isaac Zell placed 92rd in 18:22

Freshman Sophia Houchin paced the Butte High girls. She placed 29th with a time of 20:07. That came one year after she placed 40th as an eighth grader.

The last Butte High girl to earn All-State accolades was Keli Dennehy, who placed third in 2008 and 2009

Freshman Ada Thiel of Glacier won the girls’ Class AA race in 18:21. Junior teammate Lauren Bissen took second at 18:22, and Bozeman freshman Phoebe Maixner placed third in 18:27.

Bozeman won the girls’ team title with 49 points. Gallatin was second at 63, followed by Helena High at 88 Butte High finished 11th at 329.

“The girls are young and did a lot of good things this year, too,” Wadas said. “I hope we can build momentum with both the boys and girls through track and into next fall. Everything achieved this year was a team effort. I’m thankful for the team we had and my assistant coaches who got us to this level. “

Freshman Elsa Theiszen placed 54th for Butte High, finishing in 21:06. Sophomore Penelope Luebke took 58th in 21:15, and sophomore Wakely Burleson took 85th in 22:32. Also for the Bulldogs, senior Kellie Jo Carpenter finished in 23:53, sophomore Adalaide Thomson finished in 24:14, and sophomore Cambree O’Neill crossed in 25:45.

Two runners competed for Butte Central’s boys in the Class A race. Junior Jack Holmes crossed in 22:12, and classmate Joe Bradshaw finished in 22:57.