LIBBY, Mont. — Jack Lovin started off his junior cross country campaign right where he left off last season.

The Sandpoint High distance runner placed sixth out of 98 competitors with a new personal best time of 16 minutes, 21 seconds as the Bulldogs defeated 12 other teams to capture the Libby Invitational team title Friday at Cabinet View Golf Club.

Kai Budensiek was the meet's second fastest sophomore, finishing 10th with a new personal best time of 16 minutes, 26 seconds. Sophomore Wyatt Lemon (15th, 16:44), sophomore Hobbes Conley (19th, 17:06), junior Trace Evans (22nd, 17:17) and Cy Marshall (29th, 17:33), the meet's top freshman, all ran to new personal bests of their own in the winning effort. With such a tight pack, Sandpoint was able to post a team score of 70, beating out Glacier High and Flathead High by eight points.

"We did really well considering we were short-handed," Sandpoint High head coach Mike Ehredt said. "The boys ran exactly how we told them to and the junior varsity boys won too. It was a fun course."

For the girls, sophomore Ruthie Laughridge finished 15th amongst an 88-runner field with a new personal best time of 20 minutes, 52 seconds. Freshman Sophie Brubaker (23rd, 21:19) and sophomore Sienna Szabo (31st, 22:02) also posted new personal bests as the second and third finishers for the Lady Bulldogs, which placed fourth out of 12 scoring teams. Junior Elizabeth Storms (32nd, 22:12) and freshman Vivian Schuck (35th, 22:25) rounded out Sandpoint's scorers on the day. 

Sandpoint will compete next on Saturday, Sept. 6 at the Timberlake Farragut Invitational — a meet that coach Ehredt says will be next level as it continues to grow in both size and competition year-over-year.

BOYS

TEAM SCORES — 1, Sandpoint 70. 2, Glacier 78. 3, Flathead 78. 4, Timberlake 114. 5, Columbia Falls 140. 6, Post Falls 200. 7, Lakeland 204. 8, Lewiston 221. 9, Browning 226. 10, Bonners Ferry 251. 11, Polson 275. 12, Lincoln County 280. 13, Libby 283.

(Top 10, locals)

1, Owen Thiel, Glacier, 15:34.80; 2, David DiGiallonardo, Polson, 15:55.13; 3, Caleb Royce, Timberlake, 16:09.36; 4, Frank Mccarthy, Lakeland, 16:15.91; 5, Jonathan Barnhart, Timberlake, 16:16.48; 6, Jack Lovin, Sandpoint, 16:21.86; 7, Carson Thorne, Flathead, 16:22.28; 8, River Blazejewski, Columbia Falls, 16:22.80; 9, Jude Sparkman, Glacier, 16:24.90; 10, Kai Budensiek, Sandpoint, 16:26.97; 15, Wyatt Lemon, Sandpoint, 16:44.31; 19, Hobbes Conley, Sandpoint, 17:06.91; 22, Trace Evans, Sandpoint, 17:17.05; 29, Cy Marshall, Sandpoint, 17:33.11.

GIRLS

TEAM SCORES — 1, Glacier 56. 2, Post Falls 99. 3, Timberlake 103. 4, Sandpoint 131. 5, Columbia Falls 142. 6, Flathead 153. 7, Lakeland 160. 8, Polson 169. 9, Libby 213. 10, Browning 215. 11, Lewiston 274. 12, Bonners Ferry 278. 13, Lincoln County 364.

(Top 10, locals)

1, Lauren Bissen, Glacier, 18:39.78; 2, Ada Thiel, Glacier, 19:01.98; 3, Talia Bonville, Post Falls, 19:05.21; 4, Capri Farmer, Libby, 19:28.56; 5, Quinn Delaney, Polson, 19:33.96; 6, Dacia Benkleman, Glacier, 20:06.77; 7, Lola Eggleston, Timberlake, 20:10.84; 8, Olivia Meredith, Lakeland, 20:20.57; 9, Everett Holland, Flathead, 20:21.14; 10, Vanessa McLachlan, Timberlake, 20:27.69; 15, Ruthie Laughridge, Sandpoint, 20:52.70; 23, Sophie Brubaker, Sandpoint, 21:19.17; 31, Sienna Szabo, Sandpoint, 22:02.39; 32, Elizabeth Storms, Sandpoint, 22:12.21; 35, Vivian Schuck, Sandpoint, 22:25.78; 39, Siena Todd-Murray, Sandpoint, 22:44.50; 49, Abby Eldore, Sandpoint, 23:29.47.