Harriers place third at State

The Whitefish girls and boys cross-country teams both ran to third place finishes at the state cross-country meet in Helena last weekend.

The girls ended with 132 points and finished third behind the defending state champion team, the Ronan Maidens, 91, and the Dillon Beavers, 110.

While the Bulldogs didn't get a first-place trophy to put in the display case, the Bulldogs accomplished something they haven't done before — finish in the top three.

Whitefish's Beth Donovan sprinted past seven runners in the final 400-meter stretch to nab an all-state eighth place finish with a time of 19:36.

"Having Beth finish up front really helped out in the team score," Bulldog head coach Bill Brist said.

Four other Bulldog runners finished in the top-35 positions to help the team earn the third-place team trophy.

Clare Miller (25th, 20:30), Lauren Kuennen (30th, 20:43), Anne Danczyk (33rd, 20:46) and Loni Hanson (35th, 20:51) rounded out the Bulldog runners.

Brist said the group ran as a pack in the race, which was evident as they all finished within 21 seconds of each other.

"This team packing gave the team the boost it needed to come out with a score of 132 points," Brist said.

Brist said the girls would have liked to take home the championship trophy, but are still satisfied with finishing in the top three.

"We went in with the possibility of winning it all," Brist said. "I don't think that we were that far out of reaching our goal."

Brist said there's still room for improvement.

"I think this will set the tone for next season," he said. "The runners from this group who will return feel that they have earned the experience to come back and improve upon what was started."

The Bulldogs had beaten the number-one team in the divisionals last week, but Ronan's first-place performance was tough to beat. The Maidens had two top-five finishers — Terinee McCready (2nd, 18:39) and Sadie McMillan (4th, 18:18).

On the boys side, White-fish senior Ian Mallams finished fourth overall and led the squad to a third-place finish. Mallams was named all-state for a second straight season.

"He finished fast and just missed taking third by a few inches," Brist said. "Ian has had a fabulous career in our cross-country program. It was great seeing him finish so well in such an important event. He's really done a lot to give our team credibility as a competitive team."

Jacob Fern (17th, 16:48) and Erik Anderson (18th, 16:49) also placed in the top-20 to help the Bulldog team earn third place in the meet, while Blake Bjornson (29th, 17:09) and Nick Donovan (39th, 17:22) rounded out the team scoring.

"It was really close for the third-place trophy," Brist said. "We were able to just slip past Laurel by a single point."

Brist said the team had some setbacks this year.

"We didn't have a lot of luck this season, as we lost two of our top runners to injuries," he said. "For us to do this well is really a credit to our entire team. Their performance matched the best finish ever by a Whitefish cross-country team at the state meet, matching that of the 2001 team."

Brist said this is the first year he will be losing athletes — 10 seniors from the boys and 10 seniors from the girls.

"Most of them have been with the program since I began coaching in 2004," Brist said. "It will be tough coming back next season without them."

Brist said those athletes helped make the team what it is.

"I'm thankful there is still the track season in the spring to work with them, as they will be greatly missed," he said. "On the other hand, we will have a very capable group of young runners looking for their opportunity to continue the tradition that this group has begun with their efforts this fall."

Girls Team Scores:

1. Ronan 91; 2. Dillon 110; 3. Whitefish 132; 4. Hardin 140; 5. Lewistown 178; 6. Miles City 231; 7. Sidney 242; 8. Hamilton 252; 9. Havre 258; 10. Frenchtown 274; 11. Polson 282; 12. Glendive 283; 13. Laurel 302; 14. Browning 333; 15. Billings Central 344; 16. Columbia Falls 384; 17. Belgrade 401; 18. Libby 559; 19. Corvallis 599; Anaconda no score; Bigfork no score; Butte Central no score; Eureka no score; Livingston no score.

Girls Individual Results:

8. Beth Donovan, 19:36 All State; 25. Clare Miller, 20:30; 31. Lauren Kuennen, 20:43; 33. Anne Danczyk, 20:46; 35. Loni Hanson, 20:41; 58. Jana Rozar, 21:27; 60. Kelly Beiser, 21:33.

Boys Team Scores:

1. Dillon 73; 2. Browning 74; 3. Whitefish 107; 4. Laurel 108; 5. Hamilton 135; 6. Havre 151; 7. Columbia Falls 214; 8. Hardin 214; 9. Polson 267; 10. Belgrade 309; 11. Frenchtown 316; 12. Ronan 321; 13. Libby 380; 14. Billings Central 423; 15. Bigfork 430; 16. Corvallis 460; 17. Anaconda 533; 18. Livingston 588; Butte Central no score; Glendive no score; Eureka no score; Stevensville no score.

Boys Individual Results:

4. Ian Mallams, 15:59 All State; 17. Jacob Fern, 16:48; 18. Erik Anderson, 16:49; 29. Blake Bjornson, 17:09; 39. Nick Donovan, 17:22; 61. Joseph Alexander, 18:02; 66. Patrick McGunagle, 18:06.