FORT SHAW — The Montana Coaches Association announced its 2018 high school graduate scholarship recipients this week, where Dillon’s Brynley Fitzgerald and Forsyth’s Cade Johnstone were awarded the prestigious Ralph Halverson Scholarship in the amount of $1,300 each.
Fitzgerald, who committed to the Montana State women’s basketball team in November 2017, was among Class A’s top basketball players the past few seasons. She averaged 18.8 points and 6.9 rebounds per game during the regular season as a senior, leading the Beavers to the Western A divisional, where the team fell to Browning in the semifinals. Dillon was eliminated from the postseason by Columbia Falls.
Fitzgerald was selected for various all-star tournaments, including the Hi-Line Invitational and last weekend’s Midland Roundtable Montana-Wyoming series, where the Treasure State girls swept the Cowboy State, taking a commanding 31-13 lead in the series.
Johnstone was a multi-sport standout at Forsyth, helping pace the Dogies to the 8-Man state football championship game against Drummond-Philipsburg, where Johnstone and Forsyth fell 44-30. The Dogies captured the Class B state track and field championship last month, with Johnstone added an individual title in the 400-meter dash, clocking a time of 49.39 seconds, a personal best. He also finished runner-up in the 100 (11.40 seconds), 200 (22.54) and 400-meter relay. The Dogies won the 1,600-meter relay.
Johnstone and his twin brother, Paul, will attend the University of Montana on track and field scholarships beginning this fall.
The Montana Coaches Association also announced the winners of its MCA Scholarships, worth $750 each. Kalispell Glacier’s Caden Harkins, Havre’s Trey Murphy, Bigfork’s Logan Taylor and Fairview’s Jae Kloker were the four recipients.
Butte’s Steven “Bo” Mortensen and Shelby’s TJ Reynolds were also awarded $750 scholarships, from the Frontier Conference and MCA.
The full list of scholarship recipients can be found below.
Ralph Halverson Scholarship ($1,300)
Brynley Fitzgerald, Dillon
Cade Johnstone, Forsyth
MCA Scholarships ($750)
Class AA — Caden Harkins, Kalispell Glacier
Class A — Trey Murphy, Havre
Class B — Logan Taylor, Bigfork
Class C — Jae Kloker, Fairview
Frontier Conference/MCA Scholarships ($750)
Steven “Bo” Mortensen, Butte
TJ Reynolds, Shelby
