The Whitefish cross country teams opened up the season with promising performances at the Libby Invitational held at J. Neils Park on Saturday.

The boys were able to come away with a strong second place performance, while the Lady Bulldog team finished in fourth place.

Seven teams participated in the event.

“We were happy with our results,” said head coach Sara Brist. “We’ve had only two weeks of practice, so we were not at full strength. Typically, we would have another week of practice prior to our first meet. I’m pleased that we were able to have so many athletes able to participate at such an early competition. It shows their dedication to their sport.”

Rules state that athletes must participate in a minimum of 10 practices prior to their first competition of the season. Twenty-six of the 52 members of the team were able to compete in Libby.

The Bulldog boys were led by solid efforts from senior Thomas Henson, junior Keaton Grove, senior EJ Havens and sophomore Ethan Lannaghan.

“Thomas and Keaton did a great job of leading with their top five finishes,” Brist said. “EJ had a fantastic race for it being his first attempt. He’s a nice addition to our team.”

Brist said Lannaghan has improved and is running with the confidence of a veteran.

The Lady Bulldogs were led by Sarah Latcham with her second place run of 19:51 on the three mile course.

“Sarah looked under control for her first race of the season,” Brist said. “She looked very confident. She’s a great leader for our team.”

Junior Peyton Twete, and seniors Sloan Ellis and Maya Gordon also had fine performances.

“Every one of our girls improved upon their time trial times from last week for the same distance,” Brist said. “We have a lot of young, inexperienced runners that will continue to improve as we continue with our schedule. It will be fun for coaches and parents to watch these young ladies continue to improve this season.”

The next event for the Bulldog cross country teams will be in Athol, Idaho, for the Coaster Cross Invitational held at the Silverwood Theme Park on Saturday.

Boys results

Individual Results:

3. Thomas Henson 17:13

5. Keaton Grove 17:15

8. EJ Havens 17:27

16. Ethan Lannaghan 18:03

27. Holden Roberts 19:25

30. Keaton Nicholson 19:43

35. Santos Parra 20:36

Girls results

2. Sarah Latcham 19:51

17. Payton Twete 22:22

19. Sloan Ellis 22:40

22. Maya Gordon 23:25

27. Sara Perez 25:54

28. Kenna Fuller 25:57

29. Adia Saurey 25:58