Boys grab top spot in T-Falls XC meet
The Whitefish High School boys and girls cross country teams returned from the Thompson Falls Invitational with a better view of where they stand in the Northwestern Montana running scene.
The boys came away with a win in the nine-team competition, defeating Northwestern A foes Columbia Falls and Libby.
Fischer Gangemi, a sophomore, led the Bulldog runners with his fifth-place finish. He was closely followed by teammates Mathias Komarek (6th), Jace Kalbfleisch (7th) and Nathan Knox (8th). Will Holdhusen rounded out the teams scoring with his 13th-place finish.
Freshman Tanner Brock had a breakthrough race to just edge out senior teammate Dietrich Perchy. They finished in 18th and 19th, respectively.
“To have our top-seven runners all finish in the top-20 was quite a feat,” Bulldog coach Bill Brist said. “We really wanted to race well against Frenchtown and Columbia Falls, and we were able to do that. We’ve been able to fly under the radar this season. If we have too many of these types of team performances, some of the other teams may realize that we’re a bit stronger than they may have realized. I think we’ll continue to quietly perform until it comes time for conference and state. Hopefully, by then we should be ready to make some noise.”
The Lady Bulldogs also returned with a victory, claiming five of the top-eight spots to win with a low score of 22 points.
Bailey Eaton led the team with her individual victory. Teammate Jessica Sagen finished close behind for second place, while Carly Schwicket (5th), Jackie Cassidy (6th) and Stella Holt (8th) sealed the team win with their strong performances. Anne Gustenhoff (15th) and Emma Marchetti (17th) also finished in the top twenty for the bulldogs.
“It was another strong performance by our young ladies,” Brist said. “There were a couple of strong individuals in the race, especially Emily Schall of Frenchtown and Jinise Osborne of Columbia Falls. Emily was fourth at state last season, and Jinise was tough all last spring in track, so it was nice to see our girls pressed to the line. Bailey went out hard and was able to keep the pressure on until the finish tape. I’ll give her credit for being a gutsy runner, that’s for sure. I don’t think many would want to have those other fast young ladies breathing down their neck for three miles of a race. She did a fantastic job of leading our team.”
Brist said Sagen continues to show her strength as she closed hard to finish second, while Schwickert and Cassidy both had very nice races.
“It was sure nice to have Stella back with us again,” Brist said. “We let her have last week’s meet off to help her recover from some lower leg soreness, and she seems to have come back like she was never gone. With these five all running healthy, they are quite a handful.”
Anne Gustenhoff, an exchange student from Denmark, is coming on nicely, Brist noted.
“She had a fine race, as well,” he said. “As she continues to improve, along with teammates Emma Marchetti, Maya Gordon and Torrey Coe. We have a very capable group to back our scoring five up. It’s always nice to be prepared for any occasion. Sometimes having five isn’t enough. Having nine is much better.”
The Bulldog teams will be back in action as they host their own home invitational meet to be held on the Whitefish High School campus on Saturday morning with the middle school race beginning at 10 a.m., and the High School races beginning at 11 a.m. Eight schools will be in attendance including Frechtown, Columbia Falls, Libby, and Ronan.