THOMPSON FALLS, Mont. — Junior Paul Kent finished second overall out of 84 runners, Kai Budensiek and Wyatt Lemon were the meet’s top two freshman, and the Sandpoint boys’ cross country team defeated 16 Montana-based teams to take home the team title at the Thompson Falls Invite held Saturday at the Rivers Bend Golf Course.

Kent’s 5,000-meter time of 16 minutes and 35 seconds paced the Bulldogs, while Budensiek was seventh in 17 minutes and 10 seconds and Lemon 12th in 17 minutes and 27 seconds. Sophomore Trace Evans was 27th in 18 minutes and 11 seconds while senior Fletcher Barrett rounded out Sandpoint’s top five in 43rd with a time of 18 minutes and 56 seconds. 

The Bulldogs finished with 91 points, 23 ahead of Columbia Falls, which finished second.

On the girls’ side, the Lady Bulldogs finished second out of 11 scoring teams. Sophomore Elizabeth Storms (21 minutes and 23 seconds) and freshman Gracie Maltby (21 minutes and 27 seconds) finished back-to-back in 11th and 12th. Sophomore Sienna Todd-Murray (22 minutes and eight seconds) and junior Hannah Ricks (22 minutes and 13 seconds) were back-to-back in 19th and 20th. Freshman Katelyn Duke rounded out Sandpoint’s top five in 23rd with a new personal best time of 22 minutes and 20 seconds. 

The Lady Bulldogs finished behind Columbia Falls, which won the meet with 34 points. 

Sandpoint competes next on Sept. 28 at the Mountain West Classic in Missoula. 

BOYS 

TEAM SCORES — 1, Sandpoint 91. 2, Columbia Falls 114. 3, Browning 121. 4, Ronan 146; 5, Florence-Carlton 180; 6, Plains 184; 7, Bigfork 186; 8, Polson 202; 9, Loyola-Sacred Heart 213; 10, Lincoln County 280; 11, Stevensville 322; 12, Darby 335; 13, St. Ignatius 354; 14, Two Eagle River 395; 15, Thompson Falls 397; 16, Arlee 439; 17, Powell County 541. 

TOP 20 — 1, Kyler Harris, Florence-Carlton, 16:26.51; 2, Paul Kent, Sandpoint, 16:35.39; 3, Simon Douglas, Whitefish, 16:44.26; 4, David DiGiallonardo, Polson, 16:47.43; 5, River Racine, Browning, 17:02.90; 6, Jackson Bontadelli, Polson, 17:09.12; 7, Kai Budensiek, Sandpoint, 17:10.03; 8, CJ Pijanowski, Florence-Carlton, 17:11.16; 9, Harlon Leishman, St. Ignatius, 17:21.41; 10, Jacob Piapot, Ronan, 17:23.16; 11, Ben Martin, Darby, 17:24.06; 12, Wyatt Lemon, Sandpoint, 17:27.02; 13, Caleb Donham, Loyola-Sacred Heart, 17:39.60; 14, Sean Cotman, Bigfork, 17:40.20; 15, Oliver Kress, Columbia Falls, 17:45.49; 16, Tayen Edmo, Ronan, 17:48.05; 17., John Owen Jermyn, Plains, 17:49.02; 18, Cord Greer, Plains, 17:50.71; 19, Koen Calf Robe, Browning, 17:51.03; 20, Lucas Peterson, Columbia Falls, 17:52.80. 

GIRLS 

TEAM SCORES — 1, Columbia Falls 34. 2, Sandpoint 85. 3, Browning 130. 4, Plains 140. 5, Whitefish 152. 6, Thompson Falls 179. 7, Bonners Ferry 183. 8, Polson 193. 9, Ronan 274. 10, Lincoln County 305; 11, Bigfork 311. 

TOP 20 — 1, Marina Tulloch, Plains, 18:43.96; 2, Morgan Delaney, Polson, 18:54.32; 3, Kimora Scott, Polson, 20:15.60; 4, Cora Hannan, Columbia Falls, 20:49.60; 5., Mya Badger, Columbia Falls, 20:50.68; 6, Marissa Schaeffer, Columbia Falls, 21:03.05; 7, Peyton Eaglefeathers, Browning, 21:08.49; 8, Anola Naugle, Arlee, 21:10.85; 9, Chloe Savoy, Columbia Falls, 21:14.01; 10, Ashley Andrews, Columbia Falls, 21:19.09; 11, Elizabeth Storms, Sandpoint, 21:23.37; 12, Gracie Maltby, Sandpoint, 21:27.59; 13, Sydney Beckle, Bonners Ferry, 21:27.91; 14, Sara Spring, Powell County, 21:39.87; 15, Lily Adair, Darby, 21:50.73; 16, Shaia Webber, Browning, 21:52.77; 17, Audrey Fairbank, Thompson Falls, 22:05.83; 18, Kylie Calderone, Bonners Ferry, 22:07.40; 19, Siena Todd-Murray, Sandpoint, 22:08.22; 20, Hannah Ricks, Sandpoint, 22:13.36.