Sports year in review: Girls soccer wins first championship in 17 years, Ingelfinger skis to Junior Nationals champion

Whitefish sports, from Whitefish High School sports teams to freeride skiing, saw a thrilling year of competition in 2023. The Bulldog soccer teams both won state championships, Glacier Nordic Club athlete, and WHS junior, Maeve Ingelfinger became a Junior National champion in nordic skiing and Whitefish High School baseball finished its inaugural season at the state championship. Here are the most memorable highlights from sports in 2023.

WINTER

Local big mountain freeskiers got their first-ever opportunity to compete in an IFSA Junior Competition at their home mountain, Whitefish Mountain Resort. Kyle Taylor, the head coach and visionary of the Flathead Freeride Club was thrilled to be able to host an IFSA Junior competition in just the second year of the club’s founding. The Flathead Freeride Club (FFC) had two athletes, Katie Hersom of Whitefish and Findley Dezzani from Columbia Falls, qualify for the North American (NOR-AM) Junior Championship. 

Glacier Nordic Club athlete and Whitefish High junior Maeve Ingelfinger raced to become a Junior National champion when she won the U18 Girls Skate Sprint race at Junior Nationals in Alaska in March. Ingelfinger had qualified for Junior Nationals the year prior and skied well, but this time took the championship. 

For most of the race she was nearly in last place but as she skied the final hill, she kicked into high gear near the top and began passing the other finalist athletes in the competition. The course leveled just before the finish and Ingelfinger pushed past the leading athlete to finish the race in 3:34 and become a Junior National champion.

GNC athlete Findley Dezzani from Columbia Falls, also qualified and skied at Junior Nationals. 

The FVSEF ski racing club placed second in the division in season-end standings, which totals all the results for the season for ages U14 and older by team. Parker Retz of Whitefish was third overall among the U16 boys. Several athletes finished out the season the Youth Ski League (YSL) Championships in Big Sky, Montana. FVSEF athletes found the podium several times and ended up as the third-place Youth Ski League team in the Northern Division. 

The Whitefish High School speech and debate team turned on the heat in the second half of the season and finished its run with a second-place finish in Class A at the State Tournament in Sidney. They came in second to Columbia Falls. Overall the Bulldogs had 12 students place at state with several second-place finishes. 

Bulldog wrestlers had seven placers at the Western A Divisional that qualified for state. Senior Kadin Brown led the way with a third-place finish in the 113-pound division. Whitefish’s only female wrestler at the time, Sam Bennetts, a freshman, placed fourth in her weight class to represent Whitefish in the girls competition. At State, senior Kai Nash wrestled well to take sixth at 205 pounds. 

WHS swimmer Jack McDaniel closed out his high school career with a repeat state championship win in the 200 yard butterfly event. McDaniel secured the title with a time of 55.04, more than five seconds faster than the next finisher. Bulldog freshman Gavin Sibson also impressed with a second-place finish in both the boys 200 yard freestyle and the 500 free. 

The Flathead Lady Fusion 19U girls hockey team won back-to-back Montana Amateur Hockey Association (MAHA) 19U Girls State Championships. The team finished the season with a record of 25-2-1. They also took first place in Sun Valley, Idaho and third place in the Bozeman Cup. 

SPRING 

The Whitefish Bulldogs competed in the inaugural Montana high school baseball season after the Montana High School Association added baseball as a sport last year. Twenty-one teams began the MHSA’s inaugural baseball season and eight made it to Butte for the state tournament. The Bulldogs made it all the way to the MHSA All Class State Baseball Championship. Whitefish took second to Polson in the championship. The Bulldogs finished their first season 18-3.  

The Lady Bulldogs entered the Montana State A track and field meet as champions and competed like it. The top teams on both the boys and girls sides were all decided by less than one point including the Whitefish girls who took second place to Corvallis in the team battle 84-83. The girls were led by champion sprinter Brooke Zetooney who tied the State A record in the 100 meters, clocking 12.24, in the preliminary race. She took state titles in the 100 and 200 meter races, and second in the 400. Whitefish girls had another state champion in junior Maeve Ingelfinger who ran a speedy 800 for the title. 

In tennis, Whitefish qualified three doubles teams to compete in the state tournament — its top two boys teams and No. 1 girls team. The best performance of the two-day state tournament came from the boys No. 1 doubles team of juniors Mason Kelch and Dane Hunt, who took first in the Northwest A Divisional Tournament the week prior. The duo battled their way to third place at state. 

SUMMER 

Because of the inaugural MHSA baseball season, for which Columbia Falls and Whitefish High School both had programs this year, the Glacier Twins season was off to a delayed start. Despite the delay, the local Legion Baseball team went 24-8 on the season. The Twins won the West A District Legion Championship in August. Mikey Glass, Tristan Butts and Jake McIntyre all homered, and the Twins rallied from a 7-5 deficit before holding off Mission Valley 11-10 in the championship game.  

A new North Valley Travel Baseball program, Badrock Baseball, started up over the summer and saw success in its first season. The Badrock Baseball 14U team won three tournaments — Mother’s Day Tournament, Father’s Day Tournament and the Fourth of July Tournament. The team ended its inaugural season with a 34-6 record. 

As part of a new track club — Stumptown Track Club — a relay team of some of the fastest female athletes from the Flathead Valley qualified for the USATF Junior Olympic Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon. The team of Ally Sempf of Columbia Falls, Brooke Zetooney and Hailey Ells of Whitefish and Alivia Reinhart of Kalispell Flathead won the Junior Olympic Regional competition in Pocatello, Idaho. Not only did the girls win the race, they set a new regional record for the event. 

FALL 

The Whitefish girls soccer team had a season to remember as they earned its first State A title in 17 years with a 3-1 victory over rival Columbia Falls in late October.  "It felt like it was a titanium wall we were trying to get through," Whitefish head coach Roland Benedict said after the win. “...since I've been the coach here, every single class we've had has laid the foundation for the team to play the way that they played today and be able to win this game." 

To start the playoffs, Whitefish avenged losing to Billings Central in the previous year’s Class A Championship match with a 4-0 victory. Then the Lady Bulldogs won 5-2 against Lockwood in the semis. The Bulldogs played in both the 2020 and 2022 state championship games and came up short in both, making the 2023 State A title even sweeter.  

The Bulldog boys soccer team won its fifth Class A State Championship in six years. The 2023 team went undefeated, 15-0, and capped the season with a 1-0 win over Billings Central on the road to take the title. Preston McPherson's lone goal off an assist by goalkeeper Ethan Bourque was enough for the Dogs to hold on for the win. This was Whitefish’s 10th state championship and the Bulldogs are now tied with the Billings Central girls for the most total titles in state history.  

Whitefish volleyball had an incredible season, finishing with a 25-11 overall record, improving on a 13-14 campaign in 2022. The Lady Bulldogs were 11-1 in Northwest A Conference and secured the No. 1 seed for the Western A Divisional Tournament. Whitefish then was successful at divisionals, taking third place and earning a trip to the state tournament. Although they didn’t win at state, the team celebrated its season-long success.  

Whitefish football picked up its first win of the season over its rival Columbia Falls in an overtime thriller. CFalls had defeated the Bulldogs by four points the season before, but the Dogs came away with the 20-14 win in September. Through the season, the Bulldogs battled back from an 0-3 start to earn a berth in the state playoffs for the second straight year. In the first round, the Bulldogs lost to Columbia Falls. 

    WHS junior and Glacier Nordic Club athlete Maeve Ingelfinger competes in the 2023 Junior Nationals Skate Sprint races at Birch Hill Recreation Area in Fairbanks, Alaska Tuesday, March 14. (Photo courtesy of Eric Engman)
  

    Bulldog first baseman Josiah Ruther makes a play to record an out against Corvallis on Thursday in Whitefish. (Whitney England/Whitefish Pilot)
  

    Katie Hersom does a spread eagle off a feature at the Lake Louise National Qualifier. (Photo courtesy of Travis Rousseau/Lake Louise event organizer)
  

    Maggie Mercer makes a dig for the Bulldogs for Whitefish’s Senior Night on Tuesday, Oct. 24. (Avery Howe photo)
 Avery Howe   

    Whitefish senior Jacob Polumbus ends the game on the mound against the Wildcats on Friday at home. (JP Edge photo)