Whitefish blanks Wildkats, 1-0
Kate Anderson, right, of Columbia Falls heads a corner kick over a Kylee Smith of Whitefish on Tuesday.<br>Chris Peterson photo
By CHRIS PETERSON
Hungry Horse News
The Columbia Falls girls soccer team had a rough week, losing to rival Whitefish 1-0 Tuesday night after tying Libby 2-2 on Saturday.
Against the Dogs the Kats were outshot 16-5 in a physical game that had 16 fouls, 10 for Whitefish and six for Columbia Falls.
The Dogs' lone goal came when Teal Gayner stuck in a shot after an assist by Katlyn Sleichter at the 12:50 mark.
They had plenty of chances after that, but the Kats defense held pretty well and keeper Colyne Hislop had a great night with 16 saves.
"The main thing is they won more balls than us," said Kats coach Greg Trenerry. "We're (also) having trouble clearing the ball."
Trenerry wasn't making an excuse for the Kats thin bench, as he had only two subs.
"I thought they outplayed us," he said. "We need to do the little things a little faster."
He said the girls played better in the second half and had a better effort.
But the team has a generation gap of sorts. There's a lot of seniors and then a lot of freshman playing. That doesn't always amount to great team continuity, as the frosh are, sometimes literally, still finding their feet.
Against Libby on Saturday, the Kats only mustered three shots on goal, but they made the most of them, scoring on two. Libby actually led the game after scoring at the 7-minute mark by Jamie Gilden. Frosh Elena Potter answered with a goal at the 24-minute mark to make it 1-1. Gilden then scored at the 58-minute mark on a penalty kick. But the Kats rallied with just a couple minutes remaining as Jamie Valov stuck in a goal at the 78-minute mark to tie the game on an assist from Kassi Hebert.
Hislop had six saves. Libby actually outshot the Kats, 7-3.
The girls play Bigfork at home Saturday, Sept. 15. Game time is 11 a.m.
Harriers have good showing at Flathead, but Elek injured
By CHRIS PETERSON
Hungry Horse News
The Columbia Falls cross country team had some solid finishes at the Flathead Invitational on Saturday.
Top runner for the Cats was Shawn Whitman, who placed 29th with a time of 17:44. He was followed by teammates Patric Jessat at 34th place with a time of 17:55 and Tripp Gimbel at 38th in 18 minutes even.
On the girls side, the Kats' fastest runners actually ran the JV race.
Nicki Moser and Tessa Cowen were the top runners for the girls. Moser placed sixth and Cowen was seventh in JV. Moser's time of 22:21 was the fastest Wildkat time of the season so far. Cowen was close behind in the Kats' third fastest time of the season of 22:24. Placing 13th was Madison Stolte and Alexas Young was 18th in JV competition.
"This was a pretty big meet and placing in the top 20 was a terrific accomplishment for these four freshmen girls. They will be having a very strong impact on our varsity team when we get to the second half of our season," coach Steve Gasche said.
On the girls varsity side, Nikki Elek, the Kats' top runner, had to drop out of the race because of a leg injury. Gasche said she'll be seeing a doctor this week to have it checked out. She might be able to return in the second half of the season.
Top varsity runner for the girls was Nicole Mickelson, who took 59th with a time of 22:35. She was followed by Anna Downen, who took 74th with a time of 23:19 and Addie Houle who came in 94th in 23:58.
On the boys JV side, Pascal Jessat was the top runner — placing 20th in a time of 19:24, followed by Kodiak Gimbel in 38th and Michael Pachnik in 45th.
The CFHS teams travel to Ronan today (Thursday). Races will begin at 2 p.m. Running varsity for the boys will be Whitman, Patric Jessat and Gimbel. For the girls, Nicole Mickelson, Anna Downen and Addie Houle will run in the varsity race.