Bulldog cross-country team has high hopes

Last year, the cross-country team's mantra was, "Next year we'll be able to compete," said Whitefish High School cross-country coach Bill Brist.

Now that time has come.

At the Green/Gold Time Trials in Whitefish on Aug. 25, Brist, who is in his third year as head coach, watched 39 runners show off what they have done this summer on the three-mile high school course.

"If the results of the annual cross-country time trial are an indication of what this year's season has in store, then 2006 is going to be a record-breaking campaign," Brist said in an e-mail to the Pilot.

This year, the Bulldogs are looking to improve upon the girls' fifth place finish and the boys' eighth place finish at state; both teams finished second in the Northwestern Conference.

The 'Dogs have the numbers and the depth to make that a reality.

This year, 50 athletes turned out for the cross-country team, up from 37 runners in 2005.

"That's a lot," Brist said of the turnout, which is broken down to 27 boys and 23 girls on the team.

Of those, 30 runners have experience from last year, with 12 girls and 18 boys returning.

"When I came in three years ago, I started with a lot of young athletes," Brist said. "They were unsure what cross country was all about. The kids that stuck around and had fun with it — they brought their friends around and it got bigger. As the team got bigger, it got more competitive. It's more fun."

The boys team, which is broken down into nine seniors, 10 juniors, five sophomores and three freshman, is led by senior captains Joseph Alexander, Jacob Fern and Ian Mallams. All-state runner Mallams and all-conference runner Drew Coco are the front runners of the boys squad, Brist said.

At the time trials last week, Mallams came within seven seconds of the school record held by former Bulldog track standout Ed Heider, and Coco finished two seconds off his best from last season.

"I would expect Drew to give Ian a run for his money by the second half of the season," Brist said.

He said the team's real strength lies far beyond the front runners.

"We have 12 kids who aren't that far back from them," Brist said. "I can't tell you who is going to be the top five or top seven. They're all so talented."

Fern, Michael Harrison and Alexander all ran personal bests in the trial, Brist said.

"Jacob's run just about brought him into the sixteens, which is a huge goal for any high school distance runner," he said. "Michael's run was a personal best by over a minute and a half. Joseph ran a strong race as well, running 17:46 to round out the top five."

The final spots for the upcoming top-seven race in Libby will go to Patrick McGunagle and Blake Bjornson.

"These two fought it out down the stretch to record times of 18:00," Brist said. "Last season, we had to wait until the divisional championship race for our top seven to be at 18:00 or under. This year, we begin the season with our top seven there."

Brist said he's looking to newcomer Michael Samdahl to help the boys team out this season, and he expects the same from Nick Donovan and Dylan Rice.

Brist said he's also looking forward to when Erik Anderson, Tanner Hosak, Byron Bard and Kellen Bodily return to the line-up later in the season. Those four, along with Jon Cameron, Jared Barton and Will Erikson, were unable to participate in the time trial due to other commitments, he said.

There were quite a few other runners who really stood out as well, Brist said.

Shane Hanson improved his time by three minutes from last year's time trial, newcomer Wes Beougher nearly broke 20 minutes in his first three-mile race, and Daniel Gibbs ran a personal best of 21:14.

The girls team, which includes 10 seniors, four juniors, four sophomores and five freshman, will be just as competitive as the boys team.

"We have a lot of depth," Brist said, noting that 11 to 12 of the girls are capable of running at varsity level. The girls will be led by captains Anne Danczyk, Holly Cullen, Danielle Rogers, Jana Rozar and Cassie Schell. The front runners are senior Danczyk and sophomore Beth Donovan, who finished ninth at the state meet last year.

"Those two can run with any runners in the state," he said.

At the time trials, Donovan took the top slot, while Dan-czyk came within seconds of breaking into the 19-minute mark with her second-place finish.

Brist said the next three runners at the time trials — Lauren Kuennen, Rozar, and Clare Miller — will add a lot of depth to the girls' roster this season.

"They're quite a bit faster than they were last season," he said.

Brist will also be looking towards his younger runners, like Natalie Kearns, Loni Hanson, Kelly Beiser and Megan Shaver, to earn points for the 'Dogs.

"It's really nice that these four are so young," Brist said. "They have huge potential, and all four could end up improving quite a bit by the end of the season."

Brist said he was impressed with co-captain Rogers' performance at the time trials, where she improved her time by four minutes from last year's race.

Brist said Emily Loesch and Kim Aldinger showed their inner strength by finishing the three-mile race in their first cross-country season. He noted that Mary Kohnstamm did not give an inch all the way to the finish line.

"With a typical progression in front of us, with the harder workouts that we will be doing this season, I fully expect that our top five will all be under 20 minutes by the second half of the season," Brist said.

"This certainly gives us a chance at running for the team championship this fall, along with Ronan, Havre, Lewiston and Miles City. It seems to be crowded at the top, but I think our team fits in really well this season," he said.

The Bulldogs next meet is at Libby on Friday at 1 p.m.

Three-mile Green/Gold run

Girls Results:

1. Beth Donovan, Green, 19:30. 2. Anne Danczyk, Gold, 20:05. 3. Lauren Kuennen, Gold, 20:37. 4. Janna Rozar, Gold, 20:44. 5. Clare Miller, Green, 20:44. 6. Natalie Kearns, Green, 22:12. 7. Loni Hanson, Green, 22:21. 8. Kelly Beiser, Green, 22:25. 9. Megan Shaver, Gold, 23:14. 10. Marni Hale, Gold, 24:03. 11. Emily Jones, Gold 24:06. 12. Loie Russell-Templeton, Green, 24:33. 13. Hannah Weaver, 9, Gold 25:18. 14. Katie McGunagle, Gold, 25:31. 15. Jade Gephardt, Green, 25:36. 16. Danielle Rogers, Green, 25:38. 17. Mary Kohnstamm, Gold, 27:35. 18. Emily Loesch, Green, 30:28. 19. Kim Aldinger, Gold, 31:23. Girls Team Results, 1. WHS Green Team 27 points. 2. WHS Gold Team 28 points.

Boys Results:

1. Ian Mallams, Green, 15:50. 2. Drew Coco, Gold 16:29. 3. Jacob Fern, Green, 17:07. 4. Michael Harrison, Gold, 17:20. 5. Joseph Alexander, Green, 17:46. 6. Patrick McGunagle, Gold, 18:00. 7. Blake Bjornson, Gold, 18:00. 8. Michael Samdahl, Green, 18:34. 9. Nick Donovan, 11, Green, 18:47. 10. Dylan Rice, Gold, 19:04. 11. Wes Beougher, Gold, 20:03. 12. Joe Guerri, Green, 20:26. 13. David Teeples, Gold, 20:32. 14. Shane Hanson, Green, 20:40. 15. Dan Gibbs, Green, 21:14. 16. Luke Knight, Gold, 21:25. 17. Jamie MacNamara, Green, 23:33. 18. Gentry Darkenwald, Green, 23:51. 19. Ryan Rice, Gold, 23:54. 20. Chris MacNamara, Gold, 27:35. Boys Team Results, 1. WHS Green Team, 26 points. 2. WHS Gold Team, 29 points.