Whitefish senior Simon Douglas finished third at the Western A Classic meet on Friday, Oct. 18. Douglas clocked a time of 16:27.19, just a bit off his personal best.

“The dream is always to peak and run your best race at State,” Whitefish Head Coach Richard Menicke said. “The team kind of did that last week at conference (fastest team races of the season for both boys and girls), but I think this group has one more in them. Both teams are ranked mid-pack, so there's no pressure and the kids can just go compete. 

His teammate Ethan Amick was 39th (18:10.94), and Logan Hyland was 43rd (18:22.04). Freshmen Jake Shors was 60th (19:41.36), and fellow freshman Mason Loeffler was 63rd (19:47.30)

Meanwhile, in the girls race, Grace Inabnit finished 19th (21:08.35) while Kellie Klepper was 25th (21:28.15).

Sierra Gibb wasn’t far behind in 32nd (21:37.43) and Sophie Douglas was 42nd (22:46.95). 

“The team in general has been getting progressively better and faster; some individuals are really figuring it out and making big gains,” Meinicke said. “We have a very young team, so every race is such valuable experience and the cool thing is they have a good time sharing the competition experiences.”

The MHSA State Cross County Meet is next Saturday, Oct. 26 at the University of Montana Golf Course in Missoula.

“The goal is for each to run their best possible race, leveraging accumulated experience through the season and on this particular course,” Meinicke said. “There is a considerable hill climb in the second half of the race and we have been training well for this situation. I am excited for our seniors to have fun and hopefully feel successful while the younger kids accomplish something that fuels their desire to come back next year and work even harder.”

    On the right, senior Simon Douglas charges at the Western A Fall Classic in Libby on Oct. 18. (Scott Shindledecker/The Western News)
  

    Sophomore Grace Inabnit drops nearly a minute off of her previous best time to lead the Lady Bulldogs at the Western A Fall Classic in Libby on Friday. (Matt Weller photo)