A couple points were all that separated the Bengals from a Great Falls Invitational sweep Friday on the demanding Anaconda Hills Golf Course.
Helena High’s junior varsity girls and boys opened the meet with commanding wins, the varsity girls kept the momentum rolling over the hills with a victory in their challenger race and in the combined team scores (all races), and the varsity boys capped a memorable day with a runner-up finish in their challenger race, losing by only two points to Great Falls in the challenger race and just one point in the combined scores.
While the outcomes were impressive, the Bengals left their coaches, family and friends, and other onlookers impressed as they worked in unison, and demonstrated resilience, focus, grit, and patience from the first race to the last, leaving everything on the course and having fun in the shared experience.
As a program, the Bengals have focused on core values of excellence, curiosity, and unity throughout the year, and they shined brightly in all three areas in the Electric City, setting the stage for the return to Helena for the Capital City 7 vs 7 Classic on Thursday, Oct. 5 and Crosstown on Wednesday, Oct. 11.
Led by senior Bria Plant, who seemingly grew stronger with every stride en route to a runner-up finish, the Helena girls posted 32 points, defeating Belgrade (47) and Skyview (52) in the challenger race. When times from all three of the girls varsity challenger races were combined (10 complete teams), Helena came out on top with 49 points, ahead of Skyview (82), Belgrade (93), Capital (101), and CM Russell (114).
Helena’s seven runners ran the first mile in a tight pack to set the stage, then Plant emerged from a large group of runners and chased down the early front-runners, eventually catching and passing Skyview standout Ava Greenwell in the final 400 meters to secure second place (third composite) behind Havre’s Ashlyn Ford. The Havre freshman finished in 20:41 and was also the overall champion in the combined scoring.
Plant finished in 21:07 and was followed by junior Solveig Mohr in sixth (21:34, 9th combined), junior Hadyn Garza in eighth (21:41, 11th combined), senior Sofia Hinderman in 10th (22:07, 16th combined), junior Margaret McDonald in 11th (22:08, 17th combined), junior Ella Irey in 12th (22:13, 18th combined), and sophomore Kate Lee in 14th (22:22, 21st combined).
The Bengals finished with a 1-minute spread between their first and fifth scoring runners, but the incredible growth from last season was the big takeaway. The composite time for Helena’s top five runners (1:48:40) was more than seven minutes faster than their combined time in 2022.
On the boys side, junior Elliot Stimpson paced the Bengals in fourth place, and Helena nearly beat the Great Falls Bison on their home course after a hard-fought battle throughout the race.
Stimpson finished in an impressive 16:45, just off the heels of third-place finisher Caleb Tomac, of Havre. The Great Falls duo of Ryan Harrington and John Spinti went 1-2 in 16:15 and 16:18, respectively. Helena junior Henry Sund and freshman Milo Kauffman were fifth and sixth in 16:51 and 16:59, Bison Conrad Schruth and Ashtyn Rask placed seventh and eighth, and Sentinel’s Tyler Inabnit was ninth. Those nine places from that challenger race also occupied the top nine spots in the combined results.
Next for Helena were junior Jake Matthews in 10th (17:29, 11th combined), sophomore Dylan Hill in 11th (17:54, 17th combined), senior Trey Schlepp in 12th (17:58, 18th combined), and sophomore Garrett Hinderman in 15th (18:13, 25th combined).
Like the girls, the boys posted a strong 1-5 spread at 1:09, and also improved upon their combined time from a year ago by about 4 minutes.
In JV competition, the boys nearly pulled together a perfect score, finishing with 17 points after junior Eli Highness (18:13), senior Ian Rasmann (18:27), junior Chris Jenemann (18:38), and senior Ryan Maus (18:59) swept the top four spots, and freshman Joel Melton claimed seventh place in 19:21. Finishing sixth and seventh for Helena’s JV were junior Sam Fitterer in 26th with a time of 20:12 and sophomore Henry Sweeney in 33rd with a time 20:28.
Like their varsity teammates, the JV boys posted a solid 1-5 spread of 1:07.
The JV girls also impressed, winning with 51 points and finishing ahead of Havre (77), Skyview (78), West (131) and CM Russell (132) in an 11-team field.
Junior Margot Muszkiewicz led the way in 8th place with a time of 22:59, and was followed by two three-runner packs to cement the team’s top seven.
Freshman Mary Clement, junior Caoimhe Gallagher, and freshman Ellie Coburn placed 10th, 11th, and 12th in identical times of 23:22, and sophomores Emily Davidson, Cooper Judd, and Adela Sund finished 15th, 16th, and 17th in 23:43, 23:47, and 23:48, respectively.
The Bengals’ 1-5 spread was just 44 seconds, and their combined time of 1:56:49 was about 13 minutes faster than the team’s combined time from 2022.
The Bengals are excited to return home over the next two weeks to run on their home turf at Bill Roberts Golf Course, before heading to the state meet Oct. 21 in Kalispell.
For a list of complete results and photos, please use the links at the top of this post.
Helena High Cross Country 