The pride and excitement for Whitefish cross country’s annual home invite is amplified by homecoming week, said Coach Richard Menicke.  

The Whitefish Invite at the Whitefish Lake Golf Course on Tuesday, Sept. 29 was the Bulldogs’ third meet in less than two weeks, challenging runners before they ease up as the end of the season nears.  

“There’s a lot of trepidation because we had just raced at Thompson Falls a few days earlier,” Menicke said. “It’s kind of jigsaw puzzle to get them to be open to feeling good and having a good race.” 

Despite the quick turnaround, about a third of the team still notched personal and season bests, while many were just on the cusp of their best performances. Also impressive is that the race took off on the south course of the golf course, making for quite a few hills to tackle.  

Two freshman girls, Marin Gignoux and Elsie Snipes, smashed their personal bests.  

“Just the way these younger kids have been improving has taken us from deep in the middle of the pack, to the girls are now ranked eighth in Class A,” Menicke said.  

The boys have quickly improving freshman. Cooper Connelly’s personal best of 19:29.6 earned 30th on Tuesday’s invite.  

“That’s a really encouraging sign,” Menicke said.  

Senior captions Sierra Gibb and Sophie Douglas have continued to create a positive atmosphere through their leadership.  

“They have done a really good job creating that environment that they love, that the young girls feel comfortable in, to develop as athletes,” Menicke said. 

Only the top five boys and girls will go to the 7x7 Helena meet next week. Four of the 10 will be freshman. Those who don’t race in Helena will head to Pablo for the Mission Shadow Duels, a fun course hosted by Polson with hay bales and other obstacles.  

Results from Whitefish Invite Sept. 29 

Whitefish boys individuals  

2. Porter Shehan - 16:16.2, Yr. 9, +2 pts 

25. Peter Schram - 19:15.7, Yr. 11, +24 pts 

29. Alexander Keim - 19:28.1, Yr. 11, PB, +28 pts 

30. Cooper Connelly - 19:29.6, Yr. 9, PB, +29 pts 

58. Ean Flynn - 21:11.0, Yr. 12, +54 pts 

61. Logan Covey - 21:22.3, Yr. 12, +57 pts 

69. Mason Loeffler - 22:05.9, Yr. 11, +63 pts 

Whitefish girls individuals 

4. Kendall Dye - 20:33.2, Yr. 10, +3 pts  

12. Marin Gignoux - 21:44.6, Yr. 9, PB, +11 pts  

17. Sophie Douglas - 22:10.0, Yr. 12, SB, +15 pts  

18. Elsie Snipes - 22:14.6, Yr. 9, PB, +16 pts  

25. Sierra Gibb - 22:53.2, Yr. 12, +22 pts 

27. K Boyd - 22:56.7, Yr. 9, +24 pts  

30. Ellie Ward - 23:18.3, Yr. 9, PB, +26 pts  

Girls team scores 

1. Glacier - 38 

 2. Libby - 63 

 3. Whitefish - 67 

 4. Browning - 88 

 5. Cut Bank - 129 

 6. Frenchtown - 133 

 7. Lincoln County - 212 

Boys team scores  

1. Glacier - 60 

 2. Flathead - 92 

 3. Libby - 94 

 4. Browning - 120 

 5. Whitefish - 137 

 6. Lincoln County - 158 

 7. Thompson Falls - 180 

 8. Plains - 192 

 9. Frenchtown - 205 

 10. Two Eagle River - 227 

 11. Cut Bank - 241 

    Sierra Gibb sprints to the finish at the Whitefish Invite on Sept. 29. (Kelsey Evans/Whitefish Pilot)
  

    Freshman Elsie Snipes runs to a personal best at the Whitefish Invite Sept. 29. (Kelsey Evans/Whitefish Pilot)