Bulldogs sweep conference XC meet

The Bulldog boys cross-country team surprised favorite Columbia Falls to win the conference championship Saturday, while the Lady Bulldogs easily wrapped up their unprecedented fifth-straight division title. The divisional meet was held at the Cabinet View Country Club in Libby.

The boys were led by Nathan Knox and Fischer Gangemi. They finished in 3rd and 4th positions with personal-best times of 16:22 and 16:25, respectively.

Also finishing in the top-10 were Jace Kalbfleisch in 9th (19:34) and Mathias Komarek in 10th (19:36). These four runners earned All Conference honors for their finishes.

Jeffrey Heinrichs (14th), Will Holdhusen (18th) and Dietrich Perchy (21st) rounded out the team. All three finished with personal-best times for the 3-mile distance.

“This boys team has come a long way in a short time,” Bulldog coach Bill Brist said. “It’s amazing to think of what they have accomplished so far this season. I don’t think many people gave them much of a chance to win our conference meet at the beginning of the season. We’ve had a ton of improvement by the whole team, from runner No. 1 to runner No. 22. It will be interesting to see what they can accomplish at the state meet.”

Brist said there are some strong teams in Class A this season, including Corvallis and Belgrade.

“I also wouldn’t count out Columbia Falls,” Brist said. “They’ve been tough all season. I’d say that there are six or seven teams that could place in the top-three at state. We happen to be one of them.”

Whitefish placed third at state in 2006 and in 2007.

“I know that our boys would love to keep up with the level of success that they have had so far this season,” he said.

Elias Taylor and Tanner Brock will be traveling with the team as state alternates. The two young runners have earned their positions to step up in case of an illness or injury, Brist noted.

The Lady Bulldog team was led by individual champion, Jessica Sagen. She ran a time of 18:08 to win the race with a new school record.

Carly Schwickert finished fourth with a personal-best time of 18:44, while Bailey Eaton (5th in 19:09), Stella Holt (6th in 19:18) and Jackie Cassidy (8th in 19:39) were all named to the All Conference team with their top-10 finishes.

It was the fourth straight year that Eaton has received All Conference honors, while it was the third time for teammates Holt and Sagen. Schwickert and Cassidy have each earned the honor twice.

Anne Gustenhoff (16th), Maya Gordon (19th) and Emma Marchetti (20th) all had great races, as well.

“There were a lot of great runners at this meet,” Brist said. “I thought that our young ladies did a great job of defending their conference title. Jessica was amazing. We’ve had quite a few great runners in recent years, and she gave us an indication with this performance that she’s at a whole new level.

“Carly had a great race, as well. Running in the 18s for three miles is quite an accomplishment. I’m extremely happy for both of them. We had a very good day.”

Brist noted that Whitefish will take an extremely experienced team to Helena for the state meet coming up on Saturday. It will be Eaton’s fourth state meet. Sagen, Schwickert, Cassidy and Holt have all run in three.

“These five seniors are all ready to go out with as much fanfare as they can deliver,” Brist said. “The nice thing for our team is that they just need to run as they have all season, and they’ll be in a very good position. I really like the fact that they all have a lot of confidence right now.”

Gustenhoff and Marchetti will be competing at state for the first time.