Ells and Rumsey Eash win Flathead Quad crowns
Glacier’s Sam Ells and Flathead’s Lilli Rumsey Eash won individual titles while powerful Missoula Hellgate swept the team titles at the Flathead Quad cross country meet Saturday at Rebecca Farm.
Flathead was second in both team races.
Ells ran his personal best while winning the boys’ race in 16 minutes, 18.23 seconds. Hellgate, led by Ignatius Fitzgerald (16:55.57), took the next three spots and five of the top seven.
Jeff Lillard of Glacier also ran his personal best – 17:06.07 – while finishing sixth. Ells now ranks fifth in Class AA this season; Lillard sits 17th.
The Braves’ Reilly Johson (17:26.4) and Gabriel Felton (17:31.0) also lowered their best times while going 7-8. Seth Trume, Caden Masa and Kesler Hughes finished 13-14-16 for Flathead.
Rumsey Eash’s time of 19:23.10 was above her season-best of 19:14, but the Flathead freshman still bested Hellgate’s Kensey May by six seconds. May had the third-best time in AA coming in, and Rumsey Eash sits fifth.
Flathead teammate Kya Wood finished fourth Saturday and lowered her season best to 19:50.6.
Hellgate finished 2-3-5-6-7 to score 23 points.
Behind Rumsey Eash and Wood, Flathead’s Tori Noland-Gillespie, Lark Olson and Sierra Vickrey went 9-10-15.
Glacier’s Bailey Gable was eighth at 20:43.99.
Flathead Quad
Saturday
Rebecca Farm
BOYS
Team scores – Missoula Hellgate 23, Flathead 63, Glacier 66, Big Sky 88.
Individual results
1, Sam Ells, Glacier, 16:18.23; 2, Ignatius Fitzgerald, Hellgate, 16:55.57; 3, Finneas Colescott, Hellgate, 19:59.68; 4, Colten Graham, Hellgate, 17:03.74; 5, Jeff Lillard, Glacier, 17:06.61; 6, Renn Stearns, Hellgate, 17:12.61; 7, Reilly Johnson, Flathead, 17:26.34; 8, Gabriel Felton 17:31.0; 9, Jackson Triepke, Hellgate, 17:40.51; 10, Nathaniel Gale, Big Sky, 17:41.68; 11, Nico Petrini, Hellgate, 17:45.91; 12, Daniel Wiltse, Hellgate, 17:52.65; 13, Seth Trumm, Flathead, 17:58.20; 14, Caden Masa, Flathead, 18:11.19; 15, Oliver Simianer, Big Sky, 18:16.75; 15, Kesler Hughes, Flathead, 18:26.69.
FLATHEAD – 7, Johnson; 8, Felton; 13, Trumm; 14, Masa; 16, Hughes; 17, Peter Wilson, 18:28.98; 18, Kyle Miller, 18:43.75; 23, Connor Wride, 19:19.54.
GLACIER – 1, Ells; 5, Lillard; 20, Logan Schwaller, 19:01.70; 21, Andrew Turner, 19:17.07; 22, Henry Smith, 19:19.10.
GIRLS
Team scores – Missoula Hellgate 23, Flathead 37, Glacier 88, Missoula Big Sky 94.
Individual results
1, Lilli Rumsey Eash, Flathead, 19:23.10; 2, Kensey May, Hellgate, 19:29.96; 3, Abby Kendrick, Hellgate, 19:39.41; 4, Kya Wood, Flathead, 19:50.56; 5, Izzy Munro, Hellgate, 20:08.80; 6, Stella Diaz, Hellgate, 20:1193; 7, Annika Kendrick, Hellgate, 20:17.11; 8, Bailey Gable, Glacier 20:43.99; 9, Tori Noland-Gillespie, Flathead, 20:50.54; 10, Nora Iams, Flathead, 21:06.60; 11, Emmaline Derry, Hellgate, 21:15.48; 12, Clare Castleberry, Hellgate, 21:15.66; 13, Lark Olson, Flathead, 21:42.40; 13, Isabella Lane, Glacier, 21:46.62; 15, Sierra Vickrey, Flathead, 21:52.37.
FLATHEAD – 1, Rumsey Eash; 4, Wood; 9, Noland-Gillespie; 10, Iams; 13, Olson; 15, Vickrey; 20, Aurora Baker, 23:26.01.
GLACIER (placing points for top 5) – 9, Gable; 12, Lane; 21, Nicole Mitchell 23:36.08; 22, Zephy Hanson, 24:19.60; 23, Sabrina McDonnell, 24:23.61; 27, Lauren Wilson 27:34.99.