The Whitefish cross-country team had a brilliant showing at the Western A Fall Classic at the King’s Ranch Golf Course in Frenchtown on Saturday.

Five of eight Bulldog athletes ran season-best times. The boys team finished in third place and the Whitefish girls team took fourth place with a gritty team performance.

Browning and Columbia Falls are powerhouses on the boys side, coming in first and second in the Classic. Corvallis, Columbia Falls and Hamilton took the top three spots for the girls teams.

“Our athletes competed hard and really left it out there,” said Whitefish Coach Richard Menicke. “Our conference is extremely talented and deep. CFalls boys and Browning boys are legit title contenders next week. Corvallis is right there as well.”

The boys Bulldog team ran their fastest race of the season and celebrated three All-Conference athletes, Mason Genovese, Simon Douglas and Deneb Linton, who finished in seventh, eighth and tenth place, respectively.

“Simon absolutely crushed it today,” Menicke said. “He continues to wrap his head around how hard he can really go.”

Even with the stellar performances, Menicke said the team was disappointed.

“That's ok so long as we can channel that frustration into a productive last week of training, getting our heads right and then competing hard and hope for the best team race of the year at state,” he added.

A notable thing about the girls team’s fourth place finish was that only ten points separated fourth from seventh place. Menicke said the great finishes from Gibb, Douglas, and Cromie sealed the team’s place at the top.

“The team had its second fastest team race of the year and our #1-#5 gap was 1:06, which is great,” Menicke said.

Charlotte Wallace, known as Charley, was the breakout star for the team and earned All-Conference honors. Wallace and Inabnit each ran season-best times.

“The youngsters ran really well. Shout out to Grace who stepped out of her comfort zone early in the race and moved up in the pack to finish 25th,” Coach said. “We're excited to get Maeve (Inglefinger) back from injury. She'll certainly add some spice to the team.”

Menicke said the team’s goals for the upcoming state tournament are to continue to improve and hope for more PRs. The boys intend to finish anywhere in the top five and the girls, in the top six.

The cross country All Class State Meet is Oct. 21 at Rebecca Farm in Kalispell.

Results

Boys Team: 1. Browning 61. 2. Columbia Falls 70. 3. Whitefish 103. 4. Corvallis 114. 5. Polson 144.

Whitefish Boys: 7. Mason Genovese 16:47.49. 8. Simon Douglas 16:48.69. 10. Deneb Linton 16:54.55. 25. Ethan Amick 17:44.52. 53. Azure Stolte 18:55.56. 74. Koru Larimore 20:06.35. 80. Zachary Chiarito 21:31.09. JV61. Jack Flink 23:56.87.

Girls Team: 1. Corvallis 43. 2. Columbia Falls 83. 3. Hamilton 88. 4. Whitefish 120. 5. Beaverhead Country 123.

Whitefish Girls: 15. Charlotte Wallace 21:16.89. 23. Morgan Grube 21:56.79. 25. Grace Inabnit 21:59.23. 29. Sophie Douglas 22:21.67. 30. Maren Cromie 22:22.78. 36. Sierra Gibb 22:40.58. JV11. Eva Thomas 26:28.03. 13. Lillian Nelson 27:49.64.