Bigfork High School athletes named all-conference, state

By FAITH MOLDAN - Bigfork Eagle

Eight Bigfork High School student-athletes were honored for their hard work and efforts during the fall sports season in recent weeks.

The only sport that had not announced its all-conference and all-state athletes as of press time was football.

Kayla Carlson, Logun Koch, Charlene Miller, Roland Benedict, Bobby Denning, Carson Harris, Alyssa Fierro and Avery Vogel were the BHS athletes honored.

It was up to the athletes in both cross country and golf to decide their own fate. Carlson and Harris both earned all-conference honors, while Carlson was also all-state.

Harris earned her all-conference placement after finishing the Divisional Golf Tournament in eighth place.

"She's very deserving," BHS coach Steve Hullett said of Harris' all-conference honor. "She had a good year."

She shot a 106 to earn her second trip to the state tournament.

"I was doing good on the front nine," Harris said. "My shots were coming together well." She did not hit as well on the back nine, but was able to putt well. "I was looking forward to the green. I knew my putts would save me."

Harris finished her golf season with a 102 on the opening day of the state tournament and a 95 the second day. She placed 24th at the tournament.

"Ninety-five is the best score I've had in my life," she said. "I was hoping to be in the top 20, but shooting 95 is kind of better.

Carlson's all-conference and all-state probably doesn't seem like a surprise to anyone who followed her running this fall. Carlson said she didn't have any expectations of being named all-conference or all-state, she just wanted to run hard and do well in her first cross country season.

She placed first in two junior varsity races and three varsity races, including the Northwest A Conference Meet. She finished that race in a time of 19:08. She placed third, ninth and 13th as well during the season.

"She kept improving all season," BHS coach Sue Loeffler said of Carlson. "Nothing surprised me at the end. She has a hard work ethic."

Of her all-conference and all-state honors, Carlson said they will push her further and help motivate her. She added that being named all-conference and all-state is definitely a goal of hers next season.

Both the boys' and girls' soccer teams received one all-state mention and one all-conference honor.

Logun Koch and Charlene Miller represented the Vals on the pitch. This was the first time either has been named all-conference and all-state in soccer.

"I was excited," Koch said about when she found out she had been named all-state. "As a sophomore, not a lot of players get this award."

BHS coach Steve Koch said Logun was recognized for her defensive skills.

"It raises expectations next year," Logun said. "But I'm going to try for it my junior and senior years too."

Coach Koch said both Logun and Miller were deserving of the honor, as Miller was recognized for her leadership skills and improvement in the box as the Vals' keeper this year.

"It's wonderful they were recognized for their efforts," Viking soccer coach Keith Koslosky said of seniors Bobby Denning and Roland Benedict. Denning was named all-conference and Benedict was all-state.

Denning played for the Vikes all four years of high school, and this marked his first year being named all-conference. He said that receiving the honor was a goal that he had but thought might be unreachable. He lettered all four years in soccer, another goal of his that he worked hard toward.

After high school, Denning hopes to attend Pacific Lutheran University and possibly play intramural soccer and join the crew team.

BHS seniors Avery Vogel and Alyssa Fierro were most recently named all-conference and all-state, respectively.

"I was excited," Vogel said. "Alyssa actually told me. It's an honor to be one of the best in the conference and be recognized for how hard I worked."

Vogel was all-conference honorable mention last year. She finished the season second in the conference in serving percent with 95.27 percent on 148 attempts. She had six aces. Vogel was also eighth in the conference in set assists per game and hitting percent. She tallied 113 assists in 46 games and had 50 kills in 46 games.

"Avery is a huge team leader," Bigfork coach Kelsey Jensen said. "She's an all-around team player."

Fierro also topped a number of categories in the Northwest A Conference. She was first in blocks per game with a 1.32 average. She also led the conference in hitting percent. Fierro had 177 kills in 47 games for an average of 3.77 kills per game.

"They worked really hard all season," Jensen said. "Alyssa stepped up at the end of the season and had a great divisional tournament. It's hard to pick just four all-state players in such a tough conference."