Whitefish, Polson garner top honors in Northwestern A divisional cross country
FRENCHTOWN — Whitefish and Polson both had the top individuals and also claimed team titles on Saturday at the Northwestern A divisional cross country meet.
Whitefish’s Jace Kalbfleisch posted the top time for boys, 15:28.1, edging teammate Fischer Gangemi, 15:28.4, for first place.
“Jace led the whole race,” Whitefish coach Sara Brist said.
“It was a sprint at the finish and Jace held him off.”
Whitefish dominated with six individuals in the top 10 to run off with the team trophy with a 22-point total.
“They ran well,” Brist said.
“A lot of them ran their fastest times of the season.”
Polson (58) was second and was led by Travis Hayes, who finished fourth, 16:09.
Columbia Falls (70) finished third. Zayne Brunz led the Wildcats, placing seventh, 16:44.
“He’s taking chunks of time off every week and really starting to peak,” Columbia Falls coach Richard Menicke said of Brunz.
“That’s perfect with state next weekend.
“A great effort across the board from the boys,” Menicke added.
“They had a strong pack. Four of the five boys had lifetime PRs (personal record times).”
The WHS boys were defending divisional champs.
“They ran well,” Brist said.
“A lot of them ran their fastest times of the season.”
The Polson girls, with a 39 score, edged Columbia Falls (43) for the team trophy.
Polson’s Claudia Hewston broke 19 minutes with her winning time of 18:57.
Samantha Mundel was the top runner for Columbia Falls, placing third overall with a time of 19:26.
“The girls had a tremendous outing,” Menicke said.
“Three of the top five ran lifetime PRs.
“I want to give a compliment to Samantha Mundel, who was third overall. We also had a tremendous effort from Tori Price and Carlee Brown. They had big PRs finishing as our third and fourth (runners).”
Third-place Whitefish (57) was led by Sarah Latcham, fourth in 19:49.
“The girls ran better,” Brist said.
“The other teams just ran better.”
Individuals finishing in the top 10 earn all-conference honors.
The regular season winds up Saturday in Helena with the Class A state meet.
Northwestern A divisional
At Frenchtown
Saturday
BOYS
Team Totals
Whitefish 22, Polson 58, Columbia Falls 70, Frenchtown 90. Also competing: Libby.
Top 20 Individuals
1, Jace Kalbfleisch, Whitefish, 15:28.1; 2, Fischer Gangemi, Whitefish, 15:28.4; 3, Gunnar Nabozney, Frenchtown, 15:59; 4, Travis Hayes, Polson, 16:09; 5, Caleb Knox, Whitefish, 16:24; 6, Keaton Grove, Whitefish, 16:33; 7, Zayne Brunz, Columbia Falls, 16:44; 8, Waylon Roberts, Whitefish, 16:50; 9, Thomas Henson, Whitefish, 16:54; 10, Tel Motichka, Polson, 16:58;
11, Elias Taylor, Whitefish, 16:59; 12, Seth McCall, Columbia Falls, 17:14; 13, Chaz Brewer, Polson, 17:28; 14, Shonn Roberts, Columbia Falls, 17:36; 15, Jimmy Bjorge, Polson, 17:46; 16, Jared Rubel, Polson, 17:54; 17, Jayce Fagerland, Columbia Falls, 17:56; 18, Colten Coty, Frenchtown, 17:59; 19, Michael Ness, Frenchtown, 18:06; 20, Zac Fry, Columbia Falls, 18:11.
GIRLS
Team Totals
Polson 39, Columbia Falls 43, Whitefish 57, Frenchtown 97. Also competing: Libby.
Top 20 Individuals
1, Claudia Hewston, Polson, 18:57; 2, Eliska Kulhava, Frenchtown, 19:21; 3, Samantha Mundel, Columbia Falls, 19:26; 4, Sarah Latcham, Whitefish, 19:49; 5, Sandra Crossett, Polson, 19:53; 6, Meredith Stolte, Columbia Falls, 19:56; 7, Tegan Bauer, Polson, 19:57.4; 8, Tori Price, Columbia Falls, 19:57.8; 9, Carlee Brown, Columbia Falls, 19:58.3; 10, Hallie Hovenkotter, Polson, 19:58.5;
11, Peyton Twete, Whitefish, 20:11; 12, Krysten Mossburg, Libby, 20:18; 13, Barrett Gray, Whitefish, 20:25; 14, Sloan Ellis, Whitefish, 20:41; 15, Autumn Fisher, Whitefish, 20:45; 16, Amanda Stobie, Polson, 20:48; 17, Brittany Swartz, Columbia Falls, 21:14; 18, Emma Marchetti, Whitefish, 21:19; 19, Samantha Eason, Whitefish, 21:20; 20, Maja Holmquist, Frenchtown, 21:45.