Frantic finish for Svennungsen

Whitefish girls, Hellgate boys claim team titles at Flathead Invitational

It was a mad dash in the chute, which directs runners to the finish line, for Flathead's Seth Svennungsen Saturday afternoon at the Flathead Invitational cross country meet at Kidsports Complex.

Svennungsen and Jake Roske of Missoula Hellgate were locked in an exciting side-by-side battle royal, matching step for step as the finish line got closer and closer.

Svennungsen had just enough stamina and willpower in the end to get the lean and win the boys' title by the slimmest of margins. It was a classic ending for this prestigious event, which featured more than 20 teams and 800 athletes.

"Gutsy, gutsy runner," said Flathead coach Paul Jorgensen of his star athlete.

"It was about as close (a finish) as I've ever seen in any boys' race here, or any race."

Svennungsen's effort, although valiant, was not enough to help Flathead repeat as the boys' champion. Hellgate secured that honor, edging the Braves by a single point for the team trophy.

Hellgate, with runners finishing 2-11-20-21-29, totaled 83 points. Flathead's runners placed 1-4-12-30-37 for 84 points. Missoula Sentinel finished third and Missoula Big Sky was fourth, both with 138 points. Sentinel won the tie-breaker.

The Whitefish girls used a tight pack to easily top the field with 73 points. Missoula Big Sky was second, 110, and Great Falls C.M. Russell third, 128.

The Bulldogs had four runners in the top 15 and their fifth runner placed 28th.

"They started out in a good pack and kept it (going)," said WHS coach Sarah Brist.

"There was a lot of gold (WHS uniforms) up front. It was nice to see that."

WHS was led by Lauren Kuennen, eighth, 20:19, and Loni Hanson, ninth, 20:23.

"It was fun for them," Brist said of the Bulldogs.

"They were excited winning today, especially beating those big teams."

Svennungsen seemed to be well on his way to winning this event for the first time until Roske put together a determined push for the final 200 yards.

"He's got a great kick," Svennungsen said.

"I was worried about him."

Svennungsen's time, 16:14, was a personal best on the course.

"We enjoyed the finish, it was fun," he said.

"It made the crowd more excited. I like that.

"I've been running against him since my freshman year," Svennungsen continued.

"I usually win in cross country. He usually beats me in track."

Sentinel's Robbie Brooks finished third, 16:23, Flathead's Justin Barth was fourth, 16:34, and Thompson Falls' Shane Donaldson was fifth, 16:38.

"He was up there most of the way," Jorgensen said of Barth.

"He pretty much held his position once he got up there.

"He's definitely improved," Jorgensen continued.

"He had kind of a down year last year. He's been working hard this year. He's starting to find his running legs."

The Braves were missing their No. 3 runner, Matt Madieros. He was out with a pulled calf muscle.

Svennungsen finished 15th here last year with a time of 17:05.

"My goal was to get under that," he said of 15:50, which is the course record.

"I wanted to run three 5:15 miles."

Svennungsen covered the first mile in a quick 5:09, then posted a 5:20 for the second. So, he was still on pace to get the record.

"Coming down the last hill, I hit a spectator, a little kid," he said.

"It totally threw my rhythm off."

Svennungsen said he was lucky he didn't fall.

"I had to push him to the side," Svennungsen said of the course intruder.

"I have a certain type of breathing I do. It forced me to take a big inhale, which totally changed my last mile."

It may have also prevented him from getting the record.

"I guess I have to be (satisfied with my time) on this course," he said.

"It's a tough course. I improved from last year."

Although he didn't get the course mark, his goal of going undefeated this fall is still in place.

"We'll have to wait and see (how that plays out)," he said.

"There is a kid from Bozeman, his name is Alex Brekke. I'm pretty worried about him."

Keely West of C.M. Russell, just a sophomore, defended her meet title with another dominating effort.

She breezed through the course with a time of 18:24, which was a 57-second improvement over last year.

"I was pretty surprised," she said of her time.

"Having someone (Caitlin Stone of Missoula Sentinel) behind me (this year) helped push me.

"She beat me in track, both the mile and two mile. I knew she was going to be here. I wanted to beat her, defend my title."

Last year West wasn't challenged and won by 23 seconds.

This year, her victory margin was seven seconds. And her strategy of taking on the big hill twice worked to her advantage, giving her some distance on Stone.

"I like hills," West said.

"I wanted to go hard up the hills because I've been training pretty hard in practice."

Heather Fraley, a freshman from Glacier, had an impressive outing. She finished third, 19:30.

"Not at all," said Glacier coach Mike McLean of Fraley's performance being a surprise.

"I think it will shock people what they will see from her in her future. She ran a smart race, very well paced."

Tera Klein of Flathead placed fourth, 19:44, with Terinee McCready of Ronan fifth, 19:51.

The Flathead girls finished fifth.

Klein was fifth last year in 20:04.

Glacier wound up seventh in the boys' and girls' standings.

The Wolfpack had another top-10 finisher in sophomore Alec Surynt. He was ninth in 16:50.

"I'm happy with that," McLean said of his team's placings.

"We had a good week of practice. We have a lot more work to do and they know it."

Flathead Invitational

Boys

Team Total

Missoula Hellgate 83, Flathead 84, Missoula Sentinel 138, Missoula Big Sky 138, Browning 142, Hamilton 142, Glacier 170, Thompson Falls 194, Whitefish 205, Great Falls C.M. Russell 232, Polson 278, Loyola Sacred Heart 323, Dillon 331, Ronan 368, Plains 409, Great Falls High 477, Cut Bank 513

Top 25

Seth Svennungsen, Flathead 16:14

Jake Roske, Hellgate 16:14

Robbie Brooks, Sentinel 16:23

Justin Barth, Flathead 16:34

Shane Donaldson, Thompson Falls 16:38

Logan Torgison, Polson 16:41

Ben Jessop, Hamilton 16:41

Drew Coco, Whitefish 16:43

Alec Surynt, Glacier 16:50

Logun Norris, Dillon 16:51

Jay Barlow, Hellgate 16:55

Leif Carsten, Flathead 16:59

Daniel Hamilton, Sentinel 17:01

Cody Lund, Big Sky 17:06

Tanner Johnson, Big Sky 17 :09

Jacob Naegeli, Thompson Falls 17:11

Dan Burfeind, Glacier 17:13

Jake Jessop, Hamilton 17:15

DJ Fish, Browning 17:19

Thomas Everett, Hellgate 17:26

John Craig, Hellgate 17:27

Matt Wheeler, Big Sky 17:27

Dylan DesRosier, Browning 17:31

Dan Howell, Glacier 17:35

Josh Hamilton, Sentinel 17:38

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Also

Whitefish - 28. Erik Anderson, 17:43; 56. Pat McGunagle, 18:27; 60. Nick Donovan, 18:34; 62. Michael Samdahl, 18:36; 68. Byron Bard, 18:48; 99. Wes Beogher, 19:42.

Columbia Falls - 29. Shawn Whitman, 17:44; 34. Patric Jessat, 17:55; 38. Tripp Gimbel, 18:00.

Flathead - 31. Casey Bardwell, 17:52; 40. Andy Wilson, 18:05; 61. Zac Heskett, 18:34; 66. Shawn Lau, 18:45.

Polson - 43. Kenny Swope, 18:08; 72. Ray Dalke, 18:51; 86. Calvin Swope, 19:11; 87. Nathan Poukish, 19:12; 98. Sam Boyle, 19:38; 105. Scott Taylor, 20:00.

Ronan - 45. Danny Beavers, 18:11; 59. Levi Maughan, 18:33; 80. Justin Dusty Bull, 19:00; 102. Kevin Wreblewski, 19:51; 104. Justin Grandon, 19:54; 109. Ryan Hardy, 20:34.

Glacier - 52. Rich Boyer, 18:25; 74. Garrett Foot, 18:54; 83. Derek Mitchell, 19:08; 85. Bobby Conners, 19:10.

Bigfork - 77. Phillip Sandry, 18:58.

Eureka - 103. Matteus Hartley, 19:53; 118. Corey Graham, 21:44; 122. Lucas Hofstee, 23:02; 129. James Mepham, 26:00.

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Girls

Team Totals

Whitefish 73, Missoula Big Sky 110, Great Falls C.M. Russell 128, Missoula Hellgate 152, Flathead 164, Ronan 173, Glacier 188, Hamilton 219, Missoula Sentinel 234, Dillon 236, Polson 237, Great Falls High 238, Cut Bank 285, Belt 330, Thompson Falls 346

Top 25

Keely West, CMR 18:24

Caitlin Stone, Sentinel 18:31

Heather Fraley, Glacier 19:30

Tera Klein, Flathead 19:44

Terinee McCready, Ronan 19:51

Heidi Windauer, Flathead 20:08

Talitha Smith, Dillon 20:12

Lauren Kuennen, Whitefish 20:19

Loni Hanson, Whitefish 20:23

Sadie McMillan, Ronan 20:26

Kori Thornock, Big Sky 20:27

Sara Coonce, Big Sky 20:30

Clare Miller, Whitefish 20:49

Maureen Palmersheim, Hamilton 21:03

Stella Holt, Whitefish 21:03

Danica Loucks, Hamilton 21:04

Amanda Barringer, CMR 21:05

Mariah Gondeiro, Belt 21:05

Kate Reese, Big Sky 21:08

Summer Weasel, Big Sky 21:10

Kristen Myre, CMR 21:11

Mari Sullivan, Hellgate 21:12

Alex Noble, Polson 21:15

Jordan Kennedy, Cut Bank 21:18

Kathleen Barth, Flathead 21:24

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Also

Whitefish - 28. Beth Donovan, 21:35; 35. Kelly Beiser, 21:49; 43. Bailey Eaton, 22:04.

Glacier - 30. Kayla Byle, 21:39; 54. Makayla Mitchell, 22:25; 56. Stacey Pitt, 22:31; 57. Hilary Heskett, 22:33.

Ronan - 34. Kaneesha Benson, 21:43; 66. Ali Anderson, 23:07; 72. Kelsey Salomon, 23:16.

Eureka - 38. Catherine Hall, 21:54; 62. Bailey Malecha, 22:39; 107. Nora Hodsdon, 25:52; 113. Annesse Burris, 32:08.

Polson - 39. Sierra Pete, 21:54; 41. Mesa Starkey, 21:56; 65. Kali Cook, 22:44; 87. Mariah Swan, 23:44; 93. Mary Wiedrich, 23:53; 100. Erika Nunlist, 24:56.

Columbia Falls - 59. Nicole Mickelson, 22:35; 74. Anna Downen, 23:19; 94. Addie Houle, 23:58.

Flathead - 68. Angela Kleist, 23:10; 76. Rose Byrne, 23:23; 83. Caitlin Brown, 23:32; 88. Hannah Anderson, 23:44.