Whitefish cross country runners are gearing up for the State Cross Country Meet in Helena on Saturday following a successful outing at the Western A Classic.

Whitefish’s Ella Greenberg landed in the top 10 in the girls competition to lead the team to the overall title, taking sixth with a time of 19:55.5. The trio of Jessica Henson (20:22.59), Katie Arterburn (20:36) and Josephine Vardell (20:38) rounded out places 13 through 16 for Whitefish. Braya Hobson (21:18) finished at 24th as well.

“I feel really good about our team,” head coach Richard Menicke said. “The girls ran by far their best race of the season in Frenchtown, which tells me we have a little bit of gas in the tank. We’re in a good position, we’ve been a little off the radar this season, and the way the girls are running we could really have a good day at state.”

The boys took eighth overall at the Classic.

Miles Vrentas was the highest-placing Whitefish runner at 15th place, with a time of 17:21.

Bridger Gaertner (17:42) finished behind at 23rd and Josh Weller took 34th with a time of 18:02.

Menicke said the boys have also been racking up some of their best performances late in the season, and he’s excited to see how that comes together at state.

“They’re not competing for a trophy, per se, but they too are peaking at the right time,” he said. “We ran our fastest cumulative time of the season, and the top five runners are all close to each other.”

“I like their chances to jump up a few places.”

Individual Results

Western A Classic

At Frenchtown

BOYS —

15. Miles Vrentas 17:21

23. Bridger Gaertner 17:42.3

34. Josh Weller 18:02.59

43. Chris Sheehan 18:19.5

44. Eric Holdhusen 18:25.2

57. Brandon Monday 18:56.7

58. Josiah Holien 19:01.09

GIRLS —

6. Ella Greenberg 19:55.5

13. Jessica Henson 20:22.59

14. Katie Arterburn 20:36

15. Josephine Vardell 20:38

24. Braya Hobson 21:18.8

28. Jade Greenberg 21:35.5

45. Annie Robertson 22:54