XC wins en route to state
The Whitefish girls cross country team continued their strong season taking the team title at the Western A Classic meet Saturday at Fairmont Hot Springs.
The Lady Dogs won with a total score of 51 points. The boys team finished in fourth place.
The girls team was led by top 10 finishes from Ella Greenberg in seventh with a time of 20:43; Braya Hobson took eighth with 20:44; and Jessica Henson earned 10th clocking a time of 20:46. Josephine Vardell and Jessica McCoy also finished strong, taking 13th and 14th with times of 21:06 and 21:10. All five girls earned All Conference awards for the season.
Head coach Richard Menicke said the team ran in a tight pack, with the lowest gap of the season. The time between the first and fifth scoring runners was only 27 seconds.
Menicke said he likes the team’s confidence as they head into the state championship race Saturday at Rebecca Farm in Kalispell.
“We are one of the top few teams in the state and the girls sure seem to love the competition, so we’ll see what happens,” he said.
The boys team finished in fourth place behind Corvallis, Frenchtown and Columbia Falls. Senior All Conference runner Ethan Potthoff led Whitefish runners with a time of 17:36 to earn 13th place. Josh Weller and Bridger Gaertner followed behind in 21st and 24th place with times of 17:59 and 18:11.
“The boys are looking forward to running one more fast race next week,” Menicke said. “We continue to improve week by week and their confidence has grown tremendously.”
The girls team will race at 1:45 p.m. on Saturday at Rebecca Farm, and the boys team will follow at 2:50 p.m.
Western A Classic
Fairmont Hot Springs
Boys
Team Totals
1, Corvallis 35; 2, Frenchtown 45; 3, Columbia Falls 92; 4, Whitefish 115; 5, Hamilton 126; 6, Polson 143; 7, Dillon 163. No score: Butte Central, Stevensville.
Top 15 Individuals
1, Sage Wanner, CF, 16:24.1; 2, Carson Jessop, Cor, 16:31.1; 3, Brock Rugg, Ftwn, 16:43.0; 4, Matt Wilson, Ham, 16:46.2; 5, Jaiden Rowe, Ftwn, 16:51.7; 6, Andrew Jessop, Cor, 16:51.7; 7, Anders Watt, Cor, 17:01.2; 8, Joren Nabozney, Ftwn, 17:05.5; 9, Joel Haas, Cor, 17:15.6; 10, Quin Stewart, Pol, 17:23.8; 11, Jake Jessop, Cor, 17:28.3; 12, Gabe Knudsen, CF, 17:34.8; 13, Ethan Potthoff, Wfsh, 17:36.5; 14, Frank Dean, Ftwn, 17:37.9; 15, Casey Jones, Ftwn, 17:43.2.
Girls
Team Totals
1, Whitefish 51; 2, Corvallis 65; 3, Columbia Falls 78; 4, Hamilton 96; 5, Polson 114; 6, Dillon 117; 7, Frenchtown 167; 8, Stevensville 205. No score: Butte Central.
Top 15 Individual
1, Jaycie Schmalz, Ham, 19:25.4; 2, Kimberly Peacock, CF, 19:28.8; 3, Sarah Passey, Ham, 19:34.0; 4, Bree Lewis, Cor, 20:22.8; 5, Molly Sitter, Pol, 20:23.2; 6, Albany Jessop, Cor, 20:35.6; 7, Ella Greenberg, Wfsh, 20:43.0; 8, Braya Hobson, Wfsh, 20:44.8; 9, Jessica Henson, Wfsh, 20:46.3; 10, Ti’el Lochridge, Dillon, 20:57.0; 11, Heidi Nisly, Cor, 20:57.6; 12, Sarah Griffin, Dillon, 21:02.0; 13, Josephine Vardell, Wfsh, 21:06.6; 14, Jessica McCoy, Wfsh, 21:10.4; 15, Genevieve Delorme, CF, 21:10.5.