Harriers put in strong effort at tough Mountain West

The Thompson Falls Invitational was held on Sept. 19 at the Rivers Bend Golf Course and was the first of three races in eight days for the Bulldogs.

On Saturday, they traveled to Missoula for the Mountain West Invite and on Tuesday, Sept. 26, the hosted the Whitefish Invite.

The top girl in Thompson Falls was Lila Adair of Darby who ran the course in 20:31.7. Morgan Grube, the top Bulldog in the race, coming in fifth place, was only 20 seconds behind the winner.

The Whitefish girls team took home second place behind a speedy Columbia Falls crew.

“The girls' team had a strong showing placing second, with most girls running their fastest of the season,” said Coach Richard Menicke.

For the boys, the top runner was Jerdan Crawford of Browning who ran a 17:04.21. Fellow Browning runner, Preston Iron Heart claimed second place, just 12 seconds behind Crawford. Bulldog Ethan Amick finished in fourth place with a time of 17:23.18.

The Whitefish team landed in fifth place while Columbia Falls took first and Browning, second. Coach Menicke said that despite a lot of injuries and illnesses, the boys team performed well.

“The entire team continues to work hard and is improving,” Menicke said. “That is what we look for as October approaches.”

The Bulldogs put in a good effort for the Mountain West Classic at the University of Montana Golf Course in Missoula on Saturday.

Logan Hofstee from East Valley in Spokane ran a blistering 17:44 to win the girls' varsity race while the girls' team from Gallatin took home first place.

The Whitefish girls ran well, including the two runners in the junior varsity race. Hazel Gawe was the top Bulldog, running a 21:42.5. Charlotte Wallace crossed the line a mere three seconds later, while the rest of the varsity Bulldogs finished within 90 seconds of Gawe.

“The freshmen girls again ran fabulous, but today's story was Hazel and Charlotte running so well to lead the team,” said Coach Richard Menicke. “Maren did a great job in varsity, grouping with Sierra and Sophie to form a great three-person pack, and those girls are getting closer to our top three, which is powerful towards team scoring.”

Injury and illness have been challenging Bulldogs as Ingelfinger remains out and Grube was sick for the Missoula race.

“Hopefully, everyone gets well as we get into the last weeks of the season,” Menicke said.

Nathan Neil from Bozeman was the top runner in the boys' race, finishing in 15:09. The winning boys' team came from Coeur d’Alene.

For the Whitefish boys, times were good with a couple reaching remarkable times. Ethank Amick ran a 17:04.4 and Mason Genovese ran a 17:06.8.

“We had a good effort from our varsity boys in a highly competitive field, led by Ethan Amick and Mason Genovese,” Menicke said. “Koru had a lifetime best race in his first-ever varsity start and Zach Chiarito had a season-best in the JV race.

“We're still working on closing the gap from our first 2 finishers to 3, 4 and 5. If we get those three guys closer to #2 good things will happen,” Menicke added.

Menicke said the team is missing Deneb Linton and the hope is that his injury heals enough to rejoin the team by mid-October.

The team races Sept. 26 at home in the Whitefish Invite.

Results:

Thompson Falls Invite:

Boys Team: 1. Columbia Falls 45, 2. Browning 85, 3. Libby 95, 4. Ronan 96, 5. Whitefish 202

Whitefish Boys: 4. Ethan Amick 17:23.18, 13. Simon Douglas 18:07.69, 32. Azure Stolte 19:06.30, 70. Zachary Chiarito 22:21.06, 83. Jack Flink 24:27.23

Girls Team: 1. Columbia Falls 29, 2. Whitefish 68, 3. Plains 121, 4. Frenchtown 134, 5.Browning 137

Whitefish Girls: 5. Morgan Grube 20:51.8, 11. Hazel Gawe 21:35.0, 15. Grace Inabnit 22:23.8, 18. Sierra Gibb 22:37.1, 19. Sophie Douglas 22:39.0, 26. Charlotte Wallace 22:56.7

Mountain West Classic:

Boys Team: 1. Cœur d'Alene 45, 2. Bozeman 75, 3. Billings West 159, 4. Helena 172, 5. Great Falls 195, 28. Whitefish 874

Whitefish Boys: 63. Ethan Amick 17:04.4, 71. Mason Genovese 17:06.8, 172. Simon Douglas 18:07.3, 251 Azure Stolte 19:05.9 - JV 256. Zachary Chiarito 21:41.3, 384. Koru Larimore 21:02.4

Girls Team: 1. Gallatin 123, 2. Bozeman 131, 3. Hardin 136, 4. Preston 165, 5. Hellgate 169, 30. Whitefish 811

Whitefish Girls: 129. Hazel Gawe 21:42.5, 134. Charlotte Wallace 21:44.6, 187. Grace Inabnit 22:38.5, 219. Sophie Douglas 23:08.4, 220. Sierra Gibb 23:08.4, 223 Maren Cromie 23:12.9, JV 262. Lillian Nelson 28:14.7, 325. Astir Pulsifer 30:45.2.