Whitefish shows depth at home, packs up at River Bend
Whitefish Pilot | UPDATED 10 months, 2 weeks AGO
The start of the girls race at the Whitefish cross country invitational on Sept. 23. (Kelsey Evans/Whitefish Pilot)
Senior, Logan Hyland, eyes the finish line at the Whitefish home meet. (Matt Weller)
Sylvia Blair runs at the home inviate Sept. 23. (Kelsey Evans/Whitefish Pilot)
James Hazen, sophomore, runs a personal best at the home meet. (Matt Weller photo)
Grace Inabnit runs at the home cross country meet last week. (Kelsey Evans/Whitefish Pilot)
Lillian Nelson runs through the north course of the Whitefish Lake Golf Club during the cross country home meet on Sept. 23. (Kelsey Evans/Whitefish Pilot)
Sierra Gibb dashes through the 5k course at the home cross country meet last week. (Kelsey Evans/Whitefish Pilot)
The Whitefish Bulldogs turned in a solid showing on their home course at the Whitefish Invite on Sept. 23, with both the boys’ and girls’ teams placing multiple runners inside the top 30 against strong competition.
On the boys’ side, Mason Loeffler led Whitefish with a personal-best 18:50, good for 23rd place overall. He was closely followed by Koru Larimore (33rd, 19:38) and Logan Hyland (34th, 19:50). Freshman Henry Boysen impressed with a 19:53 time for 36th, while Carver Brown (41st, 20:10), Noah Oaks (43rd, 20:15), and Ean Flynn (49th, 20:42) rounded out the Bulldog pack.
In the girls’ race, Whitefish’s depth was on full display. Freshman Kendall Dye cracked the top 10 with an eighth-place finish in 21:03, leading the Bulldogs. She was joined in the top 30 by Sierra Gibb (21st, 22:38), Maren Cromie (22nd, 22:39), Sophie Douglas (28th, 23:35), and Kalina Bruckerhoff (29th, 23:40). Ninth-grader Norah Morrell crossed in 24:03 for 30th, giving Whitefish a full scoring group in the front half of the field.
Whitefish delivered balanced efforts in both races at Friday’s Thompson Falls Invite, leaning on tight packs and late-race surges on the rolling River Bend Golf Course.
For the girls, Whitefish stacked five inside the top 33. Kendall Dye paced the Bulldogs in 13th at 22:01.56, with Sierra Gibb close behind in 17th (22:13.76). The depth continued with Sophie Douglas 29th (23:35.49), Kalina Bruckerhoff 32nd (23:47.70) and Grace Inabnit 39th (24:13.66). Sylvia Blair (40th, 24:13.91) and Mackenzie Grant (43rd, 24:32.22) provided valuable displacement in a field headlined by Polson and Columbia Falls.
The boys mirrored that pack-first template. Mason Loeffler led Whitefish in 59th at 19:51.09, followed by a tight trio: Logan Hyland 66th (20:10.27), Noah Oaks 72nd (20:21.81) and Henry Boysen 73rd (20:23.02). Freshman Carver Brown crossed 79th (20:35.50) and Nathan Sibson rounded out scoring in 86th (20:54.44).
With larger programs flooding the front, Whitefish’s ability to keep gaps small proved encouraging. The Bulldogs now pivot to October invites with a clear identity: run together, close hard, and keep compressing that 1–5 spread.
Senior, Logan Hyland, eyes the finish line at the Whitefish home meet. (Matt Weller)
Sylvia Blair runs at the home inviate Sept. 23. (Kelsey Evans/Whitefish Pilot)
James Hazen, sophomore, runs a personal best at the home meet. (Matt Weller photo)
Grace Inabnit runs at the home cross country meet last week. (Kelsey Evans/Whitefish Pilot)
Lillian Nelson runs through the north course of the Whitefish Lake Golf Club during the cross country home meet on Sept. 23. (Kelsey Evans/Whitefish Pilot)
Sierra Gibb dashes through the 5k course at the home cross country meet last week. (Kelsey Evans/Whitefish Pilot)