Boys take second, girls third at Whitefish Invite x-country

The Columbia Falls boys took second the girls took third at the Whitefish Invitational last Tuesday.

Gabe Knudsen led the boys with a 16:58.65, to take third overall, about a second behind Tyler Schmautz of Frenchtown and just three seconds behind the winner, Brock Rugg of Frenchtown.

Lara Erickson was eighth for the girls with a 20:55.78.

At the Mountain West Classic in Missoula on Saturday, Knudsen was 50th with a time of 17:07.81 to lead the boys team.

On the girls’ side, Erickson was 99th with a 21:09.52.

“Overall, the kids ran spectacularly,” coach Jim Peacock said. “About half the team ran season bests, which is great after putting in such an aggressive race schedule. They had run four races in the last 10 days, so they were operating on tired legs.”

He noted that while the boys took 22nd overall, they were third among Class A teams.

The squad wraps up the regular season with a meet in Helena on Thursday and then has the Western A Classic divisional race in Frenchtown Saturday, Oct. 14.