Whitefish girls win Polson ABC title, boys come in fifth

With divisionals approaching this weekend, the Whitefish girls track team is coming off a big team win in Polson at the Nelson-Thomas ABC Meet on Saturday.

In the meet, the Lady Bulldogs crushed the competition winning several events.

Freshman Rachel Wilmot set a new PR in the 400 meter run with a time of 1:00.65 and sophomore Isabelle Cooke ran to a season-best in the 800 meters (1:00.65).

“[Wilmot] has been trying to qualify for state all season long and she did it and won the 400; she’s just a freshman so that was super exciting to see,” Whitefish girls track coach Kelliann Blackburn said.

“[Cooke] continues to get her personal best every time she runs that (800),” the coach added.

Whitefish also came out on top in the sprints and relays with sophomore sprinters Brooke Zetooney and Hailey Ells finishing first in the 100 meter and 200, respectively. Zeetoney ran 12.99 in the 100 and Ells hit a new personal best with 26.35 in the 200 which is also the best in Class A; Zeetoney came in second in the 200.

In the long jump senior Erin Wilde hit a new PR, clearing 17 feet, 8.5 inches. That is the best long jump among Class A girls and a new school record.

Whitefish swept both the long and short relays as well. The 4X100 team consisting of Wilmot, Ells, Wilde and Zetooney ran 50.07 and in the long relay, Whitefish set a new season record of 4:06.63 to take first. Zetooney had an impressive split on the third leg of the relay as well.

“Another highlight that you don’t see in the statistics was Brooke Zetooney… she ran a leg of the mile relay and ran it in 58 seconds, so that was super exciting to see that kind of a split on a relay,” Blackburn recalled.

Ells took first in the 300 hurdles as well, while teammate Maeve Ingelfinger came in second with a new best of 48.42; Ingelfinger also took second in the 100 meter hurdles.

Whitefish’s Maddie Young leaped to a new personal record of 30-11 in the triple jump to place fourth.

The Whitefish girls scored 121 points, Corvallis came in second with 108 and Columbia Falls had 92 for third.

“Overall I think this meet was really good for my girls and their mental fortitude because they know that they’re ready for postseason,” Blackburn said.

On the boys side, Whitefish senior Bodie Smith won the 110 meter hurdles in 16.58. Fellow senior Talon Holmquist took first in the shot put again with a mark of 53 feet, 4 inches; he was also second in the discus event.

Bulldog Morgan Kyle placed fourth in the high jump, clearing 5 feet, 6 inches, and was fifth in long jump. Nate Ingelfinger ran to a fourth-place finish in the 800 meter with a time of 2:02.90 while Gabe Lund placed fifth in the 400.

Whitefish sophomore Deneb Linton PR’d in the 1600 meter event with a time of 4:38.63 for third place. Sophomore Mason Genovese and freshmen Simon Douglas and Ethan Amick all recorded personal best times in the same event, coming in sixth through eighth place.

“There were a lot of young personal bests on Saturday, which is really nice because their season typically ends that day,” Whitefish boys track coach Willie Roche said. “To see them compete at that level and get their best of the entire year when they need to was cool, it kind of acts like momentum for the next year, its something to build on.”

The Whitefish boys team scored 56 points for fifth place, finishing behind Hamilton in first place, then Frenchtown, Corvallis and Columbia Falls.

Though the boys team didn’t finish as high in the team rankings as they have earlier this season, Roche was not concerned. Saying the team is consistent and ready to perform their best in the postseason.

“We perform best when it really matters, which is divisionals and state,” he said. “I’m super glad that we’re flying under the radar and we’re not on anybody’s big boards of the top finishers… I want our kids to be hungry, to be looking to upset almost.”

Earlier in the week Whitefish hosted a triangular meet with Flathead and Browning.

Race times were unofficial, but Flathead won for both the boys and girls teams. Whitefish boys scored 35 points for second place and the girls were second to the Bravettes, 92-58.

Holmquist had another impressive day with a win in both discus and shot put.

And for the girls Zetooney continued her prowess in the 100 meter dash, running the sprint in 12.83. Maeve Ingelfinger also swept both hurdles races.

Full results for the triangular and the Polson ABC meet are available on athletic.net.

Whitefish is now preparing for the Western A Divisional meet this weekend. Divisionals create one more opportunity for athletes to qualify for state as if they finish in the top 10 of any event they automatically qualify for the Class A State Track meet.

“I think all of our coaching staff is just really ready to see the performance that we’re about to put on,” Roche said.

The Western A Divisional meet will be in Hamilton on Friday and Saturday with start times to be determined.

Polson ABC Meet

Saturday

BOYS

Team scores — Hamilton 124, Frenchtown 90, Corvallis 81, Columbia Falls 58, Whitefish 56, Ronan 39, Libby 31, Stevensville 18, Browning 18, Polson 12.

Whitefish top individual results:

400 — 5, Gabe Lund, Wf, 53.92.

800 — 4, Nate Ingelfinger, Wf, 2:02.90; 6, Barrett Garcia, Wf, 2:04.38.

1,600 — 3, Deneb Linton, Wf, 4:38.63; 6, Mason Genovese, Wf, 4:44.35.

110 hurdles — 1, Bodie Smith, Wf, 16.58.

400 relay — 5, Whitefish (Ryder Barinowski, Scott Dalen, Morgan Kyle, Azure Stolte), 48.15.

1,600 relay — 4, Whitefish (Azure Stolte, Barrett Garcia, Gabe Lund, Mason Genovese), 3:36.88.

Shot put — 1, Talon Holmquist, Wf, 53-4.

Discus — 2, Talon Holmquist, Wf, 136-2.

High jump — 4, Morgan Kyle, Wf, 5-6.

Pole vault — 6, Bowdrie Krack, Wf, 10-6.

Long jump — 5, Morgan Kyle, Wf, 19-2.5.

Triple jump — 6, Carson Krack, Wf, 38-5.

*Personal record; ^ Season record

GIRLS

Team scores — Whitefish 121, Corvallis 108, Columbia Falls 92, Hamilton, 50, Frenchtown 48, Libby 35, Stevensville, 36, Polson 20, Ronan 18, Browning 9.

Whitefish top individual results:

100 — 1, Brooke Zetooney, Wh, 12.99.

200 — 1, Hailey Ells, Wf, 26.35; 2, Brooke Zetooney, Wf, 26.50.

400 — 1, Rachael Wilmot, Wf, 1:00.65*; 5, Madison Ward, Wf, 1:08.04.

800 —- 1, Isabelle Cooke, Wf, 2:27.34^; 2, Kellie Klepper, Wf, 2:30.13.

1,600 — 6, Morgan Grube, Wf, 5:48.86.

100 hurdles — 2, Maeve Ingelfinger, Wf, 16.56.

300 hurdles — 1, Hailey Ells, Wf, 47.14; 2, Maeve Ingelfinger, Wf, 48.42.

400 relay — 1, Whitefish (Rachael Wilmot, Hailey Ells, Erin Wilde, Brooke Zetooney), 50.07.

1,600 relay — 1, Whitefish (Rachael Wilmot, Isabelle Cooke, Brooke Zetooney, Hailey Ells), 4:06.63.

Long jump — 1, Erin Wilde, Wf, 17.8.5*.

Triple jump — 4, Maddie Young, Wf, 30-11*; 5, Norah Schmidt, Wf, 30-10.5.

*Personal record; ^ Season record