Stimac, Crist lead CMR boys’ tennis to state championship
BOZEMAN – The C.M. Russell High boys’ tennis team picked up its third state trophy in three years on Friday.
And this time, the Rustlers stood alone at the top of the mountain.
CMR tandem Josh Stimac and Eli Crist earned the state doubles title to lead the way to a team championship following up a co-champion season with Bozeman in 2022 and runner-up showing last spring.
Stimac and Crist downed Sam Engellant and Will Rudback of Kalispell Glacier 6-0, 6-2 in the final, a rematch of the Northern AA title tilt last weekend.
“(Stimac and Crist) were amazing,” CMR boys’ tennis coach Byron Boyd said in a phone call with the Tribune. “The way they won the final was just dominant. I couldn’t be prouder of them. The whole team, really. It takes everybody to get the team title.”
Stimac, a senior, said winning alongside his good friend Crist made the run all the more special.
“It feels great,” Stimac said. “It’s kind of surreal at the moment. I’m super energized and glad I got to do it my senior year. I couldn’t ask for a better partner. We’re the best of friends and this has brought us closer.”
Stimac and Crist didn’t lose a set over four matches on Thursday and Friday and took two tight frames in the semis in a 7-5, 7-5 triumph over Bozeman’s Collin Gross and Oliver Ward.
“Honestly, Josh and I have gotten closer and closer with every match,” the sophomore Crist said. “We’re going to be able to always have this moment of us taking state and it’s never going to die.”
The Rustler boys finished with 28 team points, eight ahead of Bozeman High and Bozeman Gallatin, which tied for second.
Freshman Fleming Daniel earned fourth place, battling back from a semifinal loss, while Aeden Bingham and Conner Sherman finished sixth in doubles. Fleming's twin brother Howard Daniel also won a match for the Rustlers.
The CMR girls of coach Val Scheevel finished fourth, led by Olivia Buckingham and Ryann Walker’s fourth-place showing in doubles. Marianne Hawley and Quincy Weymouth were also All-State with a sixth-place finish.
With a healthy contingent of athletes set to return next season, the future of CMR tennis remains bright, Boyd said.
"It’s a lot of work and it just proves that hard work pays off," Boyd said. "We’re proud of what we’ve built and we want to keep it going. It’s just special."
This article originally appeared on Great Falls Tribune: Stimac, Crist lead CMR boys’ tennis to state championship
