Track teams look forward to opportunity to defend state trophies

Last season was a historical one for the Whitefish track and field team.

At the Class A State Track meet, the Whitefish girls pulled away on the second day for a massive team win, securing the State A title. Meanwhile, the boys team surprised the state by sneaking onto the podium in third place.

This year, coming off results like that could set expectations high for the teams, but the coaches agree they’ll approach the season as usual with the goal of making it back to the state meet.

The Whitefish girls team has a new head coach, Matt Beckwith, this season. Though new to being at the helm, Beckwith has been coaching the Whitefish track and field team as the throwing coach for 12 years.

Beckwith says he is happy to step into the role and continue to create a competitive team.

“It’s a program I’ve been a part of for a long time and something that I take pride in,” Beckwith said. “It’s been a great program and great coaching staff… and really some awesome kids. I just felt like I could offer that leadership role and continue the strong tradition Whitefish track has had.”

Two state point-scoring returners include juniors Brooke Zetooney and Hailey Ells. Zetooney is a sprinter known for dominating the 100 and 200-meter dashes as well as contributing to winning relay teams. Ells is a multifaceted runner who does well in several events from the 200-meter dash to the hurdles events and is also a member of both the long and short relays.

Both are captains this year and look forward to leading the team back to the state meet despite having a younger squad.

“It feels really good (coming off a state championship). We see some new faces, we see some new potential…” Ells said. “There are surprises and I think it's really exciting for us both to see what our (personal) potential can be and to reach new goals, but also to bring other people along with us.”

Zetooney agreed, adding, “It’s exciting, a little nervewracking too to keep up that state potential, but I think it’s going to be good. We definitely have a solid core so far.”

Zetooney and Ells are at the center of the returners, but there are others who could make a splash. Rachel Wilcox performed well in the 400-meter run and Maeve Ingelfinger, also a talented Nordic skier, competed well in the hurdles last year. Both could potentially be on the 4X400 relays for the team this year as well.

The relays are important for scoring team points and Zetooney and Ells hope they can form excellent teams as they did last year.

“I think the two of us create a really good base for both events,” Ells said. “Knowing Brooke for so long, she’s so welcoming and it's great to have that energy on our team…”

Both captains say there is a lot of potential in the younger girls, especially in the sprints. They are excited to lead the team and see where they can go.

“It’s a little bit of pressure now as an upperclassman, you’ve got to lead by example, but also it’s something to push you as well,” Zetooney said.

FOR THE BOYS team, Whitefish is expecting to be competitive again, especially in distance running. Though, they have major holes to fill after graduating all but one of their point scorers from the state meet last season.

“Every single year I think it’s either match where we were or better. And that’s kind of the goal,” Bulldog boys head coach Willie Roche said. “It’s going to be tough this year, we definitely have some ground to catch with losing Bodie Smith, Talon Holmquist and Gabe Menicke, they were our majority point scorers.”

One returning point-scorer is distance runner Deneb Linton, who took third in State A in the 3200. All the distance runners are sure to make a difference for the boys team this year as the Bulldog cross country team placed second in state last fall — several of those runners on that team are on the track team as well, including Linton, Mason Genovese, Nate Ingelfinger, Ethan Amick and Rudei Steiner.

“They’re such a tight-knit group, the distance guys, they’re going to score some big points for us this year. So that’s exciting,” Roche said.

He also mentioned Carson Krack has improved as an athlete and will step up in the jumping events, specifically the triple jump. Also, senior Kitar Olsen is coming back in the throwing events.

The Bulldog track and field team was scheduled to compete on Tuesday after press time in Kalispell. Then Whitefish will compete at the Bigfork Invite on Saturday beginning at 10 a.m. Per usual, the Bulldogs will host the Whitefish A.R.M. on Saturday, April 29 which is their first home meet.