Bulldog cross country boys first, girls third in Cut Bank
Whitefish High School’s cross country teams competed on Friday in the Mike Reynolds Time Trials in Cut Bank. The boys team won the race and the girls captured third place in the team scores.
The Bulldogs’ winning score of 51, edged out Great Falls with 63 and Charles M. Russell with 64. Columbia Falls claimed fourth place with 91 and Browning cinched fifth place with 106.
“The boys team had a team win, which is a nice reward for some hard training the past couple of weeks,” Whitefish Coach Richard Menicke said. “We are almost at full strength, all but one guy eligible.”
The individual boys winner was Ryan Harrington of Great Falls with a time of 16:46:31. Whitefish’s Deneb Linton had another great showing taking second place with a time of 17:15:91 while teammate Mason Genovese finished in third place with 17:16:29.
Whitefish’s Nate Ingelfinger took sixth and Ruedi Steiner ran to 15th place. To get a good team result, the Bulldogs needed good finishes from all their runners.
“One of the keys in Cut Bank was our number five and six finishers: Azure Stolte (40th) and Zachary Chiarito (46th),” Menicke said. “The top-five finishers determine our team score and while we have some fast guys leading the team, it's these two that are going to be so important to the team's success later in the season. Nice to see them grit out a tough day and compete well enough to help the team win.”
On the girls side, Columbia Falls’ team score was the best at 30. Charles M. Russell took second with 54 and Whitefish finished in third place with 94. Great Falls and North Toole County took home fourth and fifth places with 114 and 143, respectively.
“The girls team placed third as a team, led again by junior Morgan Grube (ninth place) and senior Maggie Pulsifer; really happy for Maggie — our captain — to produce a great result in her first race,” said Menicke.
Aizalyn Flaten from Charles M. Russell was the individual winner with a time of 20:29:29. Siri Erickson of Columbia Falls was second with 20:47:32.
Bulldog Morgan Grube finished in 22:04:60 for ninth place and teammate Maggie Pulsifer placed 16th in 23:41:86; Hazel Gawe clocked a 24:56:06, Maci Brennan finished in 25:24:97 and Kellie Klepper ran 25:34:77.
“Hazel Gawe was super strong as our number three finisher, despite still being challenged with some health issues,” Menicke said. “Excellent results for our number four and five finishers, freshman Maci Brennan (26th) and sophomore Kellie Klepper (28th) - both in their first ever high school cross country race.”
While the girls team was missing two athletes in Cut Bank, they expect to field a full team for their next race in Kalispell.
“I'm excited to see the energy the girls get from finally having numbers,” said Menicke.
The cross country teams will compete at Rebecca Farm in Kalispell on Friday starting at 1 p.m.
Cut Bank Time Trials
BOYS
Top-5 team results:
- Whitefish 61; 2. Great Falls 63; 3. Charles M. Russell 64; 4. Columbia Falls 91; 5. Browning 106
Individual Whitefish results:
- Deneb Linton 17:15:91.
- Mason Genovese 17:16:29
- Nate Ingelfinger 18:11:40
- Ruedi Steiner 18:45:95
- Azure Stolte 20:45:50
- Zachary Chiarito 20:56:23
- Henry Seigmund 22:52:86
- Bowdrie Krack 23:51:44
- Logan Green 24:30:05
- Koru Larimore 25:38:10
GIRLS
Top-5 team results: 1. Columbia Falls 30; 2. Charles M. Russell 54; 3. Whitefish 94; 4. Great Falls 114; 5. North Toole Country 143
Individual Whitefish results:
- Morgan Grube 22:01:60
- Maggie Pulsifer 23:41:86
- Hazel Gawe 24:56:06
- Maci Brennan 25:24:97
- Kellie Klepper 25:34:77
- Raiya McCutcheon 28:03:45
- Lillian Nelson 29:37:42