Bulldog runners rule Invitational
WHITEFISH — The Whitefish cross country boys and girls dominated their home invitational meet in the last regular season run of the season, winning both team titles on Saturday at Whitefish High School.
The Bulldogs’ Sarah Latcham finished the race in a personal best 18 minutes, 44.98 seconds to win the girls half of the meet, and the Whitefish girls were just six points from a perfect score. Sloan Ellis was fifth in 20:17.57, Peyton Twete sixth in 20:20.85, Katie Smith eighth in 20:23.73 and Sarah Perez ninth in 20:39.5.
Columbia Falls’ Samantha Mundel finished second in 18:56.36 and Eureka’s Alex Bartmess was third in 19:54.70.
Whitefish’s boys were almost as dominant as the girls, placing six runners in the top eight of the race. Caleb Knox led a tight pack of Bulldogs at the front, finishing second in 16:16.89, right in front of teammates Keaton Grove in third (16:17.86) and E.J. Havens (16:28.19), the first time Whitefish has had three runners finish in the low 16-minute range.
The Bulldogs’ Thomas Henson finished sixth in 16:40.95, Keaton Nicholson in seventh in 17:05.83 and Ethan Lannaghan in eighth in 17:06.38.
Plains’ Russell Kujala won the race in 16:14.48 and Thompson Falls’ Logan Naegeli was fifth in 16:31.42.
“To see them — each race — improve their times and packing well together is good,” Whitefish coach Sara Brist said. “We’re moving along like we should be ... For them both to win (team titles) today that’s always a fun thing for them.”
Whitefish will host the Northwestern A divisional meet next week at Whitefish Lake Golf Club, with the state meet the following week in Missoula.
Whitefish Cross Country
Invitational
Whitefish High School
Saturday
BOYS
Team Scores — Whitefish 22, Thompson Falls 75, Frenchtown 80, Columbia Falls 103, Ronan 133, Plains 155, Eureka 191, Libby 198
Top 25 Individuals
1 Russell Kujala Plains 16:14.48 2 Caleb Knox Whitefish 16:16.89 3 Keaton Grove Whitefish 16:17.86
4 E.J. Havens Whitefish 16:28.19
5 Logan Naegeli Thompson Falls 16:31.42
6 Thomas Henson Whitefish 16:40.95
7 Keaton Nicholson Whitefish 17:05.83
8 Ethan Lannaghan Whitefish 17:06.38
9 Zayne Brunz Columbia Falls 17:19.10
10 Josh Wulfekuhle Thompson Falls 17:19.35
11 Will Vanhuss Thompson Falls 17:24.88
12 Glenn Morden Columbia Falls 17:39.56
13 Ethan Potthoff Whitefish 17:43.21
14 Frank Dean Frenchtown 17:47.39
15 Gabe Demmons Frenchtown 17:50.24
16 Coty Colten Frenchtown 17:50.55
17 Tyler Touchstone Frenchtown 17:53.05
18 Joren Nabozney Frenchtown 17:54.30
19 Christian Newby Whitefish 17:54.80 20 Henry Holt Whitefish 17:55.15
21 Anders Holmquist Frenchtown 17:55.57
22 Bradley Gerner Whitefish 17:56.87 23 Daniel Koehler Ronan 18:00.66
24 Winfield West Columbia Falls 18:02.89
25 Jackson Duffey Ronan 18:03.78
GIRLS
Team Scores — Whitefish 21, Columbia Falls 45, Ronan 81, Frenchtown 108, Libby 124
Top 25 Individuals
1 Sarah Latcham Whitefish 18:44.98
2 Samantha Mundel Columbia Falls 18:56.36
3 Alex Bartmess Eureka 19:54.70
4 Demi Horton Plains 19:56.42
5 Sloan Ellis Whitefish 20:17.57
6 Peyton Twete Whitefish 20:20.85
7 Meredith Stolte Columbia Falls 20:23.44
8 Katie Smith Whitefish 20:23.73
9 Sarah Perez Whitefish 20:39.50
10 Kiana Howell Ronan 20:44.92
11 Annika Gordon Whitefish 20:45.53
12 Maja Holmquist Frenchtown 21:11.85
13 Allie Folks Columbia Falls 21:32.82
14 Jade Grey Ronan 21:38.05
15 Kendra Cahoon Columbia Falls 21:45.38
16 Miranda Livingston C-Falls 21:55.39
17 Alee Julson Libby 22:02.47
18 Kennah Fuller Whitefish 22:04.30
19 Maya Gordon Whitefish 22:06.02
20 Aicia Curran Thompson Falls 22:08.66
21 Shannon Dimond Plains 22:14.88
22 Angela Piegan Ronan 22:16.14
23 Sadie Panasuk Columbia Falls 22:22.94
24 Morgan Christianson C-Falls 22:39.47
25 Greta Roberts Whitefish 23:03.86