The Whitefish varsity cross-country teams had great efforts at the state meet in Billings on Saturday, with across-the-board personal best performances showcasing tremendous team improvements.  

"So proud of this team and their growth in the second half of the season," said Coach Richard Menicke. "They executed and then believed in their training and really threw down some amazing performances in Billings." 

Both Whitefish boys and girls teams had their fastest team race. Based on the cumulative time of the top five scoring runners, the girls were 5:10 faster, which means each athlete ran a minute faster. The boys were 3:23 faster.  

"It's kind of ridiculous, but all the other teams had the same experience....so we ended up mid-pack in the team standings," Menicke said. "Ten years ago, the girls would have been in the top six teams. Class A has gotten extremely competitive." 

Hardin senior Ben Bird won the boys individual title in 15 minutes, 19. 9 seconds. He opened with a 4:36 mile and created a gap in the chase pack that shrank through the race but was not relinquished. 

Freshman Bulldog Porter Shehan turned in an outstanding race, placing third overall in 15:34.1 and recording a personal best time. Shehan dueled with David Curry from Fergus but was edged by the elder athlete by 1 second. Shehan's time is the second fastest in Whitefish program history.  

"The kid's racing IQ is ridiculous; he just makes all the right moves, as he has all season," Menicke said.  

The Whitefish boys finished 12th in the team standings with 329 points. All seven Bulldogs posted personal best times. Peter Schram was 57th in 18:05.6 with a massive one-minute personal record. He was followed by Ean Flynn in 83rd (18:42.6), Cooper Connelly in 90th (18:57.3), Marcus Mercer in 96th (19:07.9), Alexander Keim in 97th (19:08.2) and Logan Covey in 108th (19:34.8). ] 

Whitefish girls placed 12th as well with 273 points. All team members earned personal or season best times. Kendall Dye paced the Bulldogs with a 29th place finish in 20:07.0. Sierra Gibb followed in 46th at 20:53.6, Marin Gignoux was 59th in 21:12.6, Elsie Snipes took 60th in 21:13.4 and Sophie Douglas finished 79th in 21:47.4 to round out the team's scoring runners. Ellie Ward (84th, 21:55.5) and Emelia Bryant (85th, 22:02.0) also raced as the team's 6-7 positions notching massive personal bests.  

The team graduates seniors Ean Flynn, Logan Covey, Sierra Gibb and Sophie Douglas.  

    Whitefish sophomore, Kendall Dye, recorded a personal best time of 20:07 to lead the lady Bulldogs at the state cross country championship in Billings on Saturday. (Matt Weller photo)
  

    Junior Marcus Mercer recorded a personal best time of 19:07 in Billings on Saturday. (Matt Weller photo)
  

    Porter Shehan caps his freshman season with a personal best of 15:34. That performance earned him third overall at the state cross country championship in Billings on Saturday. (Matt Weller photo)
  

    Freshman Marin Gignoux (left) and Senior Sierra Gibb (right) compete at the state cross country meet in Billings. Both would go on to record personal best times. (Matt Weller photo)
  

    Freshman Elsie Snipes recorded a personal best time of 21:13 at the state cross country meet on Saturday. (Matt Weller photo)