Whitefish Pilot

The Whitefish Bulldog boys and girls cross-country teams are “rolling right along,” according to head coach Bill Brist.

The Whitefish girls placed three top-10 runners on their way to a 43-point score at the Libby Invitational cross-country meet on Friday to capture first place.

The Ronan girls placed second with 75, followed by Flathead at 79.

The Lady Bulldogs were without their top runner, Beth Donovan, who was sidelined with the stomach flu.

“I felt that our young ladies had a pretty good chance to do well,” Brist said. “They’re a strong group with a good mix of talent. Their performance didn’t surprise me. I figured that would run as fast as they did, but I don’t think I was prepared to see so many gold jerseys near the front at the end of the race.”

“We were anxious for an opportunity to see where we stack up against the rest of the division,” said Brist. “Although we lost 10 senior boys and 10 senior girls from last year’s squads, we felt that we may actually be a bit stronger this season.”

That may be saying a lot considering that last year’s squads swept the Northwest A conference meet, and placed third at the state A championship race.

The Whitefish boys finished third overall with 90 points. Flathead High School captured first place with a 37 point total, followed by Glacier High School with 78.

“It was a great day to be a Bulldog XC fan as they gave us a lot to cheer about.” Brist said.

The Bulldog runners travel to Kalispell on Saturday.

Girls Team Totals

Whitefish 43, Ronan 75, Flathead 79, Bonners Ferry 80, Glacier 85, Polson 202, Timberlake, Idaho 229, Libby 258.

Girls top 25

Meadow Braden, Bonners Ferry, Idaho (19:10:49)

T. McCready, Ronan (19:33:66)

S. McMillian, Ronan (19:40:56)

Loni Hanson, Whitefish (19:52:52)

Heather Fraley, Glacier

Lauren Kuennen, Whitefish

Tera Klein, Flathead

Clare miller, Whitefish

A. Turbin, Thompson Falls

Hilary Heskett, Glacier

Kathleen Barth, Flathead

Kelly beiser, Whitefish

Stella Holt, Whitefish

Angela Kleist, Flathead

S Hiatt, Bonners Ferry

Bri Ori, Flathead

M. Sandaker, Bonners Ferry

Kayla Byle, Glacier

Bailey Eaton, Whitefish

H. Valerio, Mullan, Idaho

K. Benson, Ronan

A. Anderson, Ronan

E. Hiatt. Bonners Ferry

M. McClintock, Bonners Ferry

Stacey Pitt, Glacier

Boys Team Totals

Flathead 37, Glacier 78, Whitefish 90, Thompson Falls 150, Polson 164, Kellogg, Idaho 207, Ronan 213, Libby 227, Plains 233, Bonners Ferry, Idaho, 268.

Boys top 25

Seth Svennungsen, Flathead (16:01:32)

S. Donaldson, Thompson Falls (16:10:07)

Drew Coco, Whitefish (16:12:81)

L. Torgison, Polson

Justin Barth, Flathead

Alec Surynt, Glacier

Matt madieros, Flathead

Dan Burfeind, Glacier

R. Sacksteder, Timberlake

Erik Anderson, Whitefish

J. Mitchell, Timberlake, Idaho

K. Stuart, Kellogg, Idaho

Casey Bardwell, Flathead

Shawn Whitman, Columbia Falls

Tripp Gimbell, Columbia Falls

Patric Jessat, Columbia Falls

Garrett Foot, Glacier

S. Wright, Libby

Pat McGunagle, Whitefish

R. Sol, Thompson Falls

B. Puckett, Libby

Matt harrison, Whitefish

Zach Heskett, Flathead