The first vote has closed for the Greatest of All Time (GOAT) athlete polls for Great Falls High and C.M. Russell High, narrowing down the top 10 to three for each school.
The top fan vote recipients for both of our high schools were likely not a surprise, with Dave Dickenson earning the most for the Rustlers and Bill Zadick for the Bison.
But others also saw their share of healthy support, with Lindsey (Graham) Gustafson and Josh Huestis earning the second and third most votes, respectively, among the CMR contingent, and Rob Schulte and Mike Guon filling out the top three for Great Falls High.
The fan vote to narrow down the top three to one GOAT for both Great Falls High and CMR will stay open through 11:59 p.m. on Friday, leading to the vote next week between the two winners.
While the remaining top threes need no introduction in the Electric City, here’s a quick rundown of their credentials.
Who is the GOAT for CMR?
Dave Dickenson, football: Led the Rustlers to back-to-back undefeated state football championships at quarterback in 1989-1990 before a legendary career at the University of Montana, winning the Walter Payton Award (the FCS Heisman) while leading the Griz to the program’s first national championship in 1995. Has since gone on to win championships as a player and coach in the CFL.
Lindsey (Graham) Gustafson, softball/volleyball: Member of two state volleyball champion teams and led Rustlers to four state softball titles as a pitcher, throwing a perfect game in the 2000 state championship game. Was a three-time Div. II NCAA All-American at North Dakota State and a hall of famer at the school as its all-time strikeout leader.
Josh Huestis, basketball: Two-time Gatorade Player of the Year as CMR won back-to-back state titles in 2009 and 2010. Played college ball at Stanford where he was a multiple all-Pac 12 defender before spending several seasons in the Oklahoma City Thunder organization and was drafted late in the first round of the NBA draft.
Who is the GOAT for Great Falls High?
Bill Zadick, wrestling: Won four high school state championships with the Bison before becoming an NCAA All-American and individual and team national champion at Iowa. Won a World Championship in 2006 before moving on to coaching, where he’s led Team USA to three world titles.
Rob Schulte, football: After rushing for nearly 1400 yards at 5.6 per clip in his junior season, Schulte led the state as a senior with 1754 yards – also a school season record – and was named the Class AA Offensive MVP and Montana Gatorade Player of the Year in 2003. He racked up 2186 all-purpose yards and 180 points scored. Went on to a successful career at receiver and kick returner for the University of Montana, where he ended his tenure as the all-time kick return yards leader with 2,129.
Mike Guon, track/basketball: The 1977 graduate was a six-time track champion with wins in all three sprints in back-to-back years, leading the Bison to two team titles while setting the 440-yard state record. Guon was also a first-team All-State basketball player and was the 1977 state tournament MVP.
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