Whitefish cross country boys 2nd, girls 4th at Western A Fall Classic

The Whitefish cross country teams competed well at the Western A divisional race on Saturday in Dillon.

The boys team took second to the Class A-favorite for state, the Hamilton boys. Whitefish had three boys run to all-conference honors including senior Jacob Henson, sophomore Mason Genovese and sophomore Landon Brown. Genovese placed the highest for Whitefish at seventh, running the course in 17:35.1; Henson was just two seconds behind him for eighth place. Brown ran the race in 18:15 to sneak into 15th place.

Whitefish’s Barrett Garcia and Reudi Steiner were the fourth and fifth fastest runners for the Bulldogs on the day and Nate Ingelfinger was Whitefish’s No. 6.

“Those boys ran well and pulled all six to finish in the front half of the field,” Whitefish coach Richard Menicke said. “The solid effort from our No. 4-5 guys, Barrett and Reudi, was really key to the team result. Landon Brown is really coming on and ran an incredible third mile to earn the all-conference spot.”

Whitefish’s Jack McDaniel ran well in the junior varsity race and due to his effort will also compete at state with the varsity athletes.

Also Whitefish sophomore Deneb Linton, who has been a top runner this season, had an unfortunate injury prior to leaving for the meet and it will end his season early, Menicke noted.

On the girls side senior Paetra Cooke earned an all-conference spot with her ninth place finish and ran the course in 21:10.9.

“Paetra Cooke continues to run like a veteran who is both fit and gaining confidence with each outing, her training has been so strong of late,” Menicke said. “Morgan, Hazel and Paetra are working well together in training, really pushing each other.”

Morgan Grube was Whitefish’s second fastest girl of the day and Hazel Gawe finished as the team’s No. 3. Grube took 17th and Gawe was 19th.

Raiya McCutcheon took 22nd and Maggie Pulsifer and Alie Simpson came in 27th and 28th respectively to round out the varsity girls team result.

“We had four varsity kids (girls) run season-best times: Hazel, Raiya, Maggie and Alie,” Menicke said. “As a coach, you hope your kids start to peak now, and it seems we are on target.”

Whitefish has the State A meet coming up this week and Menicke believes the Whitefish boys are ready to be a real contender for a top-3 place.

“The boys remain hungry and ready for state,” Menicke says. “Losing Deneb is huge, each boy now has a job to do to help the cause — I’m excited to see who steps up and how they all do.”

He added that the teams know the course in Missoula and it will come down to managing energy levels while staying within striking range.

“We talk a lot about getting comfortable with pushing your red-line,” he added. “State will test how the boys have done in understanding their limit while still having a closing gear to the tape. A trophy is still in sight, but will take seven incredible races.”

Whitefish will compete at the All-Class State Cross Country Championship on Saturday at the University of Montana Golf Course. The boys will race at 11:30 a.m. and the girls at 12:35 p.m.

Western A Fall Classic

Dillon

Saturday

BOYS

Team results:

1. Hamilton 20; 2. Whitefish 72; 3. Columbia Falls 98; 4. Corvallis 101; 5. Beaverhead County 132; 6. Polson 134; 7. Browning 158; 8. Libby 213; 9. Ronan 242; 10. Stevensville 300.

Whitefish Individual results:

1. Mason Genovese 17:35.1 Whitefish; 8. Jacob Henson 17:37.0 Whitefish; 15. Landon Brown 18:15.0 Whitefish; 19. Barrett Garcia 18:29.6 Whitefish; 23. Ruedi Steiner 18:40.7 Whitefish; 31. Nate Ingelfinger 19:04.3 Whitefish.

GIRLS

Team results:

1. Corvallis 51; 2. Columbia Falls 61; 3. Hamilton 79; 4. Whitefish 89; 5. Polson 102; 6. Beaverhead County 165; 7. Browning 174; 8. Frenchtown 180; 9. Libby 250.

Whitefish individual results:

1. Paetra Cooke 21:10.9; 17. Morgan Grube 22:05.0; 19. Hazel Gawe 22:09.6; 22. Raiya McCutcheon 22:35.1; 27. Maggie Pulsifer 23:21.7; 28. Alie Simpson 23:24.6; 36. Rachel Wilmot 24:13.0.