Sports Rundown: Looking back at significant moments in Whitefish sports from 2022

Voisin’s Olympic performance

Whitefish native Maggie Voisin qualified for her third olympics in January and the next month headed to the 2022 Beijing Olympics. Voisin skied to a fifth place finish in the women’s ski slopestyle finals, just missing out on some Olympic hardware. The 23-year-old dialed up a 74.28 in her second run, a high mark that was good enough to hold third place after two rounds. But she was bumped to fourth just prior to her final run and didn’t increase her score on her last time down.

She also competed in the women’s ski big air competition.

In the summer, she was recognized with the Buddy Werner Award, in honor of her caring attitude and sportsmanship.

Track podium finish

At the 2022 State Track meet, the Lady Bulldogs ran away with first place while the Bulldog boys held strong to secure the third place trophy.

Every athlete contributed to the Whitefish girls' State A title, but the effort was led by sophomores Brooke Zetooney and Hailey Ells, and senior Erin Wilde.

Zetooney nailed down individual titles in both the 100 and 200 meter sprints. Ells was especially impressive as she competed in seven different events. Ells’ best individual result came in the 200 meter where she took second to Zetooney, but she placed in several events.

Wilde finished out her senior season with an individual state title in the high jump being the only girl to clear 5-03. In the long and short relays, Whitefish took first in both.

Whitefish boys head coach Willie Roche said they shocked Class A with the podium finish. The Bulldog boys were led by three seniors — Gabe Menicke, Talon Holmquist and Bodie Smith.

Menicke finished first in the triple jump. Holmquist dominated the shot put and came up just shy of beating the Class A record with his throw of 57 feet, 8.5 inches. That was a personal best for him and secured his individual state title while breaking the school record.

Smith earned second place in the 300 hurdles with a PR of 40.70; he took third in the 110 hurdles and helped Whitefish’s mile relay to a fourth place finish which secured the team third-place trophy.

Ingelfinger skis to top

Whitefish High School junior Maeve Ingelfinger stood on the podium twice at Junior Nationals.

In mid-March, she went into the national nordic ski championships and came away with both second and third place in the classic sprint and classic mass start distance race, respectively. No one from the Glacier Nordic Club has placed at Junior Nationals in several years.

Ingelfinger also ran for the Bulldogs’ cross country team and was a strong asset on the soccer team that finished second in the state.

OT thrillers

Whitefish girls soccer strung together an amazing postseason streak in late October. The girls finished the regular season with a record of 10-1-1, seeded No. 1 out of the North.

In the Lady Bulldogs first-round playoff game, Whitefish defeated Laurel, the defending state champs, in a 3-3 (3-2) OT win that needed a penalty kick shootout shootout to determine the winner. Whitefish keeper Norah Schmidt stopped three PKs in a row to help knock off Laurel. The next week, Whitefish played a semifinal game that included overtime again. The Bulldogs beat the Hamilton Broncs, 5-3, to secure a spot in the state championship game. Olivia Genovese scored twice in extra time, while completing a hat trick.

In the final, Whitefish played even with Billing Central, but lost 2-1 after the Rams scored with just a few minutes remaining in the game. The loss was a heartbreaker for the Dawgs who had a stellar season.

For the boys, Whitefish’s only regular season losses came from Columbia Falls, the eventual state champions. The Bulldog boys had a 2-1 win over Hamilton in the quarterfinal, but fell in the semifinals to Park.

Chad Ross retires - football

After 24 years with the Whitefish Bulldog football program, the last 12 of those spent as head coach, Chad Ross retired from coaching early in 2022.

In his 12 years at the helm, Ross’s teams compiled a 62-53 record. Highlighting his career as head coach was the 2015 State A championship team that went 11-1. The championship was the team’s first since 1979.

Wrestling young guns

The Bulldogs had four wrestlers qualify for the state tournament in February, three were freshmen and one was a sophomore.

Whitefish freshman Landree Aurand finished his inaugural high school season on the podium at the All-Class State wrestling tournament in Billings. Wrestling at 120 pounds, Aurand stayed undefeated throughout the first day of competition to set up a tough match with Miles City’s Isaac Beardsley in the championship match. Beardsley caught ended up pinning Aurand in 1:42.

The others to qualify were freshmen Caleb Flemming and Logan Heyne and sophomore Henry Bennetts. All four of Whitefish’s state qualifiers placed fifth at the 2022 Western A Divisional Tournament.

Speech and debate

Whitefish speech and debate team competed well at state, coming away with a fourth-place finish.

Whitefish senior Emma Trieweiler won the state championship in humorous interpretation to lead the Bulldogs. She also took fourth in extemporaneous speaking. The team of Gavin Carmichael and Alex Losee were runner-up state champions in policy debate. Gabby Pickert placed third in dramatic interpretation and senior Adrienne Healy was fourth in informative.

Swim champs

Whitefish’s Ada Qunell and Logan Botner both sealed their high school careers with state titles at the 2022 All-Class State swim meet in Great Falls in February.

Qunell defended her title in both the 200 IM and the 500 yard freestyle race. She won the 200 IM race every year of her high school swim career and after the 2022 championships secured back-to-back titles in the 500 free as well.

Botner finished first in the 100 yard backstroke; he also won this event his sophomore year. Botner was also barely edged out of another title in the 100 yard freestyle event.

Whitefish’s Sydney Macintyre took second place in the girls 200 yard freestyle event and senior Nia Hanson nabbed second place in the 500 free. Jack McDaniel had a nice day in the pool as well, taking a second-place finish in the boys 100 yard butterfly race.

In the team scoring, the Whitefish boys and girls teams both came in second place behind Billings Central.

State hockey tourney

A weekend capped with double state championships for Flathead Fusion hockey in the girls division was one that will go down in history.

Both the 14U and the 19U teams fought hard through a series of games over two days in order to take the Treasure State League State Championship. For the 19U team, it was the girls’ first-ever championship; it was also the first time both girls teams representing the Flathead captured titles in both age groups.

Additionally, the Glacier Hockey Association’s PeeWee (12U) team won the PeeWee B State Championship of Montana Amateur Hockey Association in 2022.

The tournament weekend culminated in a perfect 4-0 record at the state finals in Missoula in early March. Glacier Avalanche Peewees finished the regular season with a 13-1-2 overall record in league play.

Tennis soars to success

Bulldog tennis saw regular and postseason success in 2022. The boys team tied for the Class A State Title with Billings Central, and prior to that both the Whitefish girls and boys teams finished on top at the Northwest A Divisionals.

For the boys, Whitefish’s doubles championship win, from the team of Aaron Dicks and Mason Kelch, helped them to take the divisional title. The Bulldogs qualified five players for state.

All five of the Bulldogs’ state-qualified players found themselves in the consolation bracket early in the tournament and the situation wasn’t looking up for a spot on the podium. However, Whitefish’s No. 1 singles Joe Brandt and No. 1 doubles team never stopped fighting through the tournament. Brandt placed fourth and the team of Dicks and Kelch finished third.

At divisionals, the girls were led by the championship win of doubles team Emma Trieweiler and Tallory Workman. In the championship match, they won a battle over Ronan’s Aaliyah Decker and Alyssa Pretty On Top, 6-4, 6-4. In singles play Whitefish’s Anyah Cripe lost a three-set battle to Polson’s Clara Todd, but Cripe and Lauren Brown both qualified for state.

Twins runner-up

In the West A District Legion baseball tournament, the Glacier Twins fought until the end to make the championship game. Unfortunately, the Twins eventually succumbed to the Bitterroot Red Sox after falling behind early. The 13-1 defeat landed the team comprised of players from Whitefish and Columbia Falls in second place in the district tournament.

Glacier had lost on Saturday which set up a must-win game Sunday morning against the Bitterroot Bucs. Glacier put up runs in every inning played in the close game, winning 14-11. This qualified the Twins for the championship game, but unfortunately their offense never got going in the final game.

Grattan wins Montana Seniors

Brad Grattan became the 67th Montana State Seniors champion in the summer. The 57-year-old Whitefish High graduate fired a final round 70 to overtake Eagle Bend golfer Jeff Niesen, who began the day seven strokes ahead.

The final foursome was Grattan, Niesen, defending champion Bill Dunn of Missoula and Gene Walsh of Whitefish. Grattan’s three-day total was 215, 1-under par. This was his second State Seniors; he finished 10th in 2021.

Cross Country boys 2nd state

In the state championships this fall, the Whitefish boys cross country team ran to second place just behind Livingston, while the Whitefish girls team secured 11th place.

Whitefish Bulldog Coach Richard Menicke said that nine of the 14 Whitefish runners who raced at state ran season-best times. He called it a fantastic result when it counted the most.

“Deneb (7th) and Mason (11th) did their job leading the team, both earning All State honors,” he said.

Menicke also was selected as the Class A Cross Country Coach of the Year for his effort helping the boys team to its highest finish at state in several years.

Football playoff win

A powerful defense carried the Bulldogs to their first Class A playoff win in seven years as they got a 17-7 win over Havre in late October. Though the Dogs made it to the playoffs in recent years they had quickly been eliminated, this year had a different outcome for a team that Coach Brett Bollweg said showed up ready to win.

The win over Havre also meant the Bulldogs got to bring home the BNSF Trophy, a signal of the historic series between the two teams that dates back over 20 years.

The win then sent Whitefish to play the defending state champions, Hamilton, in the Class A state quarterfinal. Whitefish lost to the Broncsl, but not without a fight. Whitefish mounted a comeback that fell just short as Hamilton took the 34-20 win.