George Ferguson Column: 2015 was great for many, but it was spectacular for the Orange and Black

When each year draws to a close, many of us start to reflect on what has happened in the last 365 days. We think about what we’ve done, what we’ve seen, maybe even what we didn’t do that we wish we’d had.

Of course, when every year comes to an end, at least from a professional standpoint, I like to reflect on what I’ve seen, what I’ve written about and reported on, and even what I should have done better as a journalist.

And when I look back at the last year in sports, I know I’ve seen a lot. If you saw our top local sports stories for 2015, it’s easy to see just how magical our area is for sports, and if I wanted to write columns about all that has happened this past year, I could write for days on end. In fact, sports are so much fun in our area, it would take me well into the new year just to reflect on the last year.

However, when I really looked back, really thought about all that has happened in the last year, I have to admit one school, one name, kept popping up, over and over again. Well, many school’s names kept popping up, school’s like Havre High and Montana State University-Northern, both of which have amazing athletics programs right now.

But, at the end of the day, and at the end of the year, a school 21 miles to the east continued to dominate the headlines, season after season, and sport after sport.

In other words, the last year at Chinook High School has been something really, really special.

While the fall of 2014 may even have ended in a rough way for Chinook sports, as the football team lost in the Class C state championship game at Wibaux, and the volleyball team was upset at the Northern C Divisional tournament, the winter of 2015 was a great starting point for what would be an incredible year of trophies and triumphs for the Sugarbeeters.

Back in February, Chinook captured the Class C state championship in wrestling, and, the Beeters got an individual state championship from then sophomore Tate Niederegger. Chinook is always one of the premier wrestling powerhouses in Class B-C, but the Beeters had lost their wrestling in crown in 2014, and they got it back in a big way last winter. Fast forward to December, and Chinook is currently ranked No. 1 in Class C, and the Beeters have six wrestlers who are ranked as well.

The Chinook basketball teams didn’t get quite the hardware the wrestling team did last winter, but they were both successful nonetheless. The Chinook girls lost just once in the regular season, before being upset in the 9C semifinals. Still, the Beeters bounced back and made a spectacular run at the Northern C Divisional tournament.

In Great Falls, the talented Beeters would play six games in three days, finish third and come within four points of beating Cascade in a Saturday night challenge game to reach the state tournament.

What the Chinook girls did in basketball at the Northern C was nothing short of incredible.

The Chinook boys were pretty good, too. The Beeters finished third at the 9C tournament, after losing a gut-wrenching semifinal to Hays-Lodge Pole. And, Chinook represented the 9C well at the Northern C a week later, too.

Yes, it was a fruitful winter for Chinook sports, but the Beeters were nowhere near done racking up hardware in 2015, and that’s because, Chinook was really good in spring sports this past year.

The Chinook girls tennis team captured its second straight B-C state championship, on the heels of an individual singles title from senior Mariah Swank, while on the golf course, the Chinook boys earned a third-place trophy at the state meet in Shelby, and Lane Seymour was runner-up for medalist honors in the individual event.

Chinook was tough on the track in the spring, too, especially the girls. The Beeters won the 9C championship, and went on to see Britney Nelson win a state championship in the shot put, while placing in all three throwing events.

Of course, state track was the end of the school year, but in the calendar year, the Beeters picked up right where they left off.

In the fall, the Chinook volleyball team posted its second straight undefeated regular season, won the 9C championship and advanced to the state tournament in November in Bozeman.

But, nothing would top what the Chinook football team did in the fall. Behind an incredible senior class, and some great players below them, head coach Scott Friede’s team avenged their loss to Wibaux in a big way.

An undefeated season, a Northern C championship, and a dominant performance in the playoffs led Chinook to its second Class C state championship in five years, and, it capped an incredible 365 days of sports for the Orange and Black.

Yes, as noted, there were some incredible teams, some incredible individuals and some amazing performances all over the Hi-Line in 2015. Just about every school, from Northern to Turner had a hand in a magical year in sports.

But, it’s hard to argue the kind of consistent success the Sugarbeeters had in 2015. Boys sports, girls sports, winter sports, spring sports, it didn’t seem to matter. Chinook was good and relevant in every sport the school competes in. And in this day and age, an age of specialization, that kind of sustained success is rare.

So, congratulations to the Beeters on an incredible 2015. I’m sure the trophy cases in the halls of Chinook High are over full right now.

And, here’s wishing all of you out there a happy and prosperous new year.