BILLINGS — Caden Moore has been playing tennis most of his life.
“I’ve been doing it a while, since I was young,” said Moore. “I’ve made varsity all four years. Well, three. Hopefully next year.”
Ragan Cosgrove, meanwhile, is newer to the game.
“It’s only my second year,” the senior said. “I used to play soccer, but I ended up tearing two ACLs, so we thought we should go for a less-contact sport.”
Both enjoy it, but neither are defined by it. That takes a much longer list.
“I can’t just sit there, I have to be doing something,” Cosgrove said. “I’ve done soccer since I was 4, picked up tennis, I used to golf.”
“Lots of music,” Moore chimed in. “Violin and piano mostly.”
“I’ve been playing the violin for nine years, and I’ve been playing the piano for 14 years,” Cosgrove added.
“I have a 4.4 GPA,” Moore, just a junior, said sheepishly. “I don’t mean to brag. I’m also really into cars. I’ve been building this car … with my brother for a couple of months now. It’s my most recent project.”
Moore actually drove the car to the Eastern AA tennis divisional last week at Pioneer Park. But that wasn’t enough, of course, so he and his brother are rebuilding a Cessna 182, which Moore plans to use to get his pilot’s license this summer. For now, though, music definitely takes the cake for both.
“Caden and I are both in philharmonic orchestra at West High,” said Cosgrove. “We love that. We both played in districts and got superior ratings, and we both made it to state, which was awesome.”
“Music, in general, is just phenomenal,” said Moore. “It’s a vessel which allows you to express emotions and creativity, and that’s why I love it.”
If these two are starting to sound like siblings, you’d almost be right. They’re cousins, though much closer than most.
“He’s so fun to be around,” Cosgrove said of her younger cousin, “and we’re just super-close family.”
“It’s nice to have her alongside me, because she’s such an amazing person,” Moore said of Cosgrove.
As if her resumé wasn’t long enough, Cosgrove was also named West’s prom queen this year.
“It was such a shock,” the senior said. “I was nominated for top 15 and I thought, ‘This is cool.’ And then it got down to the top five, and I was like, ‘Whoa, this is cool!’ You get your picture up at West High, and then I went to prom just like any other dance, and I was like, ‘Oh, holy cow! I won prom queen!’ Oh my gosh, it was so fun.”
Those resumés will serve both well in college, where each seems to have chosen a path.
“I feel like the car hobby is going to win out,” Moore said. “I’m going to go into engineering. I’m thinking I’m going to major in engineering and minor in music.”
“I’m pursuing a nursing career in pediatrics,” said Cosgrove. “I’ve been around nurses since I was little, and I just know that they’re so comforting. I’m having another surgery in a couple of weeks, and I really look toward those nurses for support to get you through it.”
Both will also likely find another hobby or three along the way.
Cosgrove will attend MSU Billings in the fall and then transfer to Montana State University in Bozeman to finish her degree. Moore, meanwhile, is taking a trip back east this summer to visit his No. 1 college choice, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
