Bulldogs named All-Sports Champions
The Lady Bulldog track and field team takes its celebratory firetruck ride downtown after winning the Class A State title. (Daniel McKay/Whitefish Pilot)
The Whitefish Bulldog girls tennis team takes a victory lap on a Whitefish Fire Department truck to celebrate their Class A state title. (Heidi Desch/Whitefish Pilot)
The Whitefish Bulldogs are the Class A All-Sports Champions.
Whitefish snuck into the lead with a pair of Class A state titles in the final days of the spring season, as the girls track team and girls tennis teams both ended their seasons as champions.
The all-sports champions are determined by MontanaSports.com and calculated by adding team finishes in each sport throughout the season, with 10 points for first, seven for second, and on until one point for an eighth place finish.
Whitefish ended the season ahead of Billings Central by 11.5 points.
WHS Activities Director Aric Harris said being all-sports champs was a welcome surprise.
“We’ve had a great year with four state championships and a number of runner-ups and other high team placings,” he said. “I’m really proud of our coaches and our student athletes and our entire community. It’s a really awesome thing for our kids to experience.”
Along with girls track and tennis, the Dogs also won boys soccer and girls swimming titles this year.
Heading into the spring season, Whitefish sat behind both Billings Central and Laurel, but the 20 points from the girls championships, along with the seven points from the boys tennis team and two-and-a-half from the boys track team, put them into first.
Columbia Falls placed in the most sports at 14, but finished fifth.
Harris said the recognition shows both how far the Bulldogs have come and potentially how far they can go.
“I think that we’re on the rise for sure. There’s been a lot of hard work by our student athletes and our coaches. We have a great support system with our Bulldog booster club and our community,” he said. “The hard work is really starting to pay off. We want to continue to build, we’re not satisfied by any means with where we’re at. It’s always a continuing process and we’re already looking forward to next year.”
2018-19 Class A all-sports final standings
From MontanaSports.com
1. Whitefish – 77.5
2. Billings Central – 66
3. Laurel – 60
4. Hardin – 59.5
5. Columbia Falls – 54.5
6. Corvallis – 42
7. Hamilton – 38
8. Polson – 37
9. Havre – 36.5
10. Frenchtown – 32.5
11. Belgrade – 32
12. Dillon – 29
13. Sidney – 20
T14. Lewistown – 16.5
T14. Miles City – 16.5
16. Livingston – 14.5
17. Butte Central – 8.5
18. Stevensville – 7.5
19. Browning – 7
20. Libby – 6.5
21. Glendive – 4
22. Ronan – 1.5