Harriers sweep meet in Eureka

The Whitefish High School boys and girls cross-country teams came away with team titles at the Eureka Invitational meet on Sept. 11. Four teams participated in the event.

The boys finished in first place with 32 points to outdistance the host Eureka squad, which finished with 49 points. The girls finished with 20 points to easily outdistance Thompson Falls, second with 44 points.

"It was nice to see the boys come away with the victory," coach Bill Brist said. "I think that it does show that this group can be competitive. With so many young runners on the boys team, it's always fun how they respond to success. They did a really nice job with this competition."

The boys were led by Nathan Knox, who placed third overall with a time of 18:24. Jace Kalbfleisch and Baxter Graham finished close behind in fifth and sixth positions. Will Holdhusen, eighth, and Chris Reyna, 10th, rounded out the team scorers for the Bulldogs.

"Nathan is doing a great job with leading this young team," Brist said. "We still have a few more runners to fit into the lineup, but this group has done a great job of taking advantage of their opportunities so far this season. I feel confident that with more experience and confidence this group can do great things."

The girls pretty much had their way with the field. Strong front-running sealed the victory for the Lady Bulldogs, as Bailey Eaton, Jessica Sagen, Loni Hanson and Hannah Weaver swept the top-four places. Liz Stevenson finished in 10th to finish the team scoring.

"Our top-three runners are pretty tough on any course," Brist said. "Bailey is running with a lot of confidence. It will be fun to see her as she moves into our stronger meets coming up on the schedule. Jess and Loni are not that far behind, and both have space to improve, so I feel pretty good about these three."

Hannah Weaver has been a real surprise so far this season, Brist said.

"She ran fantastic — she finished only one minute behind Loni, which is a huge performance for her," Brist said. "That's the kind of run that could put her into the top-20 in Class A, and I think that she's only beginning to show us what she can do. It's exciting to watch her run."

The Whitefish teams head to the Ronan Invitational this weekend. It will be a good test for both teams as they will compete against strong teams, including Flathead High School.

"We're looking forward to the Ronan meet," Brist said. "We're very familiar with the course, and we seem to compete well there. Our girls will have a great test with a young Flathead team that performed very well at the Flathead Invitational. The boys field will be loaded, as both Flathead and Columbia Falls are both contenders for state titles in their respective classes this season."

Brist notes that several runners who haven't competed yet will get their first chance to race.

"Having Jackie Cassidy, Carly Schwickert and Dietrich Perchy running again will be a huge boost for us, as we look forward to the Mountain West Classic in a couple of weeks," Brist said. "We'd like to be at full strength by that mid season meet."

Eureka Invitational

Indian Springs Golf Course

Girls varsity

1. Whitefish 20

2. Thompson Falls 44

3. Eureka no score

4. Plains no score

Individual results

1. Bailey Eaton, 20:02

2. Loni Hanson, 20:18

3. Jessica Sagen, 20:20

4. Hannah Weaver, 21:20

10. Liz Stevenson, 22:53

12. Anne Miller, 24:15

14. Nicole Birk, 24:49

Girls JV

20. Justine Dugdale, 31:53

Boys varsity

1. Whitefish 32

2. Eureka 49

3. Thompson Falls 73

4. Plains no score

Individual results

3. Nathan Knox, 18:24

5. Jace Kalbfleisch, 18:59

6. Baxter Graham, 19:09

8. Will Holdhusen, 19:59

10. Chris Reyna, 20:13

18. Matt Guitterez, 22:30

23. Spencer Hale, 24:10

Boys JV

6. Jon Jacobs, 23:37

7. Peter Seymour, 23:38

9. Matt Kennedy, 23:58