On day that left their coaches and supporters gasping for breath as they cheered throughout the day, Helena High’s boys and girls cross country teams got a second wind at the Capital City 7 of 7 on Thursday at Bill Roberts Golf Course.
Helena’s boys finished second in varsity competition and fourth in JV, while the girls rose to sixth in varsity and second in JV. To put those achievements in perspective, all 16 Class AA schools were in a field of competitors that included a total of 52 schools and more than 1,000 finishers – 606 boys and 483 girls in varsity and JV competition combined.
The varsity competition at 7 of 7 features a unique format that pits teams’ No. 1 runners against other teams’ No. 1s, No. 2 runners against other No. 2s, and so on. And the format favors depth, which the Bengals put on full display.
In the boys varsity races, Helena junior Eli Highness, after being elevated from JV as a result of the unfortunate absence of Henry Sund because of illness, got things started with a fifth-place finish in the No. 7 race, clocking in at 17:37. In the No. 6 race, sophomore Garrett Hinderman kept the momentum rolling in fourth place with a time of 17:26, then senior Trey Schlepp (17:17) and junior Jake Matthews (16:52, personal best) did one better in the No. 5 and No. 4 races with third-place finishes. Sophomore Dylan Hill then clocked a 17:05 in the No. 3 race.
After the first five races, the Bengals (19 points) were fourth behind Bozeman (5), Hellgate (16), and Sentinel (17), but freshman Milo Kauffman shifted momentum back to the Bengals and pushed them into second with a runner-up finish in the No. 2 race, posting a personal best of 16:12. Next up for Helena was Elliot Stimpson, standing in for Sund, and the junior rose to the occasion to place 10th, also in a personal best of 16:12 to hold of the West and Sentinel.
Bozeman recorded a perfect score, winning all seven races, while the Bengals posted 21, West finished with 34, Sentinel totaled 39 and Hellgate finished with 49.
Quick side note before we move onto the girls exceptional day, but Stimpson and Kauffman have now finished five of their seven races within 3 seconds of each other.
Now, on to the girls, who laid waste to their personal and season bests to post 46 points in sixth place, just three behind Glacier, who benefitted from a third-place finish from their No. 1 runner in the final race of the day. But that did not take the shine of an incredible day for the Helena girls, who competed with focus and courage throughout the day.
Junior Ella Irey opened varsity competition in the No. 7 race with a fifth-place finish in a season best of 21:11. Next, fellow junior Margaret McDonald demolished her lifetime best in the 5K by 34 seconds with a time of 20:42 in fourth place in the No. 6 race.
Sophomore Kate Lee and junior Hadyn Garza took that momentum and rolled with it, posting 33-second personal bests of 20:30 and 20:32 in second place (No. 5) and seventh place (No. 4), respectively. Junior Solveig Mohr then stepped up in the No.3 race with a 13-second lifetime best to place sixth in the No. 3 race with a time of 20:17.
In the penultimate race, senior Sofia Hinderman continued Helena’s strong day, placing eighth in a 17-second personal best of 20:28 to set the stage for Bria Plant, who finished 14th in the No. 1 race with a personal best of 20:16. Plant has led the Bengals in every event this season, an impressive show of consistency and determination.
With finishing times from all 217 varsity girls in the meet combined, the Helena girls all placed among the top 30 percent: Plant (30th overall, 21st in AA), Mohr (31st overall, 22nd in AA), Hinderman (36th overall, 27th in AA), Lee (40th overall, 30th in AA), Garza (41st overall, 31st in AA), McDonald (50th overall, 34th in AA), and Irey (65th overall, 43rd in AA).
JUNIOR VARSITY
Perhaps the varsity squad was inspired by their JV teammates, who followed the lead of Alivia Thunstrom.
The senior established herself at the front of the pack and ran a commanding race for a big season best in second place, crossing the finish line in 21:16, just 6 second behind champion Kintla Thomas of Hellgate.
Junior Caoimhe Gallagher and freshman Ellie Coburn followed in top 10 finishes, with Gallagher running a season best of 20:40 in ninth and Coburn posting a massive personal best of 21:21 – a 1:19 improvement over her prior best.
Junior Margot Muszkiewicz continued her incredible consistency, despite recently recovering from illness, placing 22nd in 22:15. And sophomore Emily Davidson locked up Helena’s fifth and final scoring position with a personal best of 22:23 in 27th place.
Sophomore Gabbi LaVoie was Helena’s sixth runner in 29th and sophomore Cooper Judd had another strong showing with a personal best of 22:32 in 31st place as Helena’s seventh runner.
The Bengals finished with 69 points, trailing only Hellgate (36) and edging Bozeman (82).
While the seven already mentioned accounted for the team’s scoring, the Bengals had numerous other big performances from the girls JV team, including an additional five personal bests from freshmen Kelia Gomes, Aven Baker, Esme Soller, and Evie Zimmerman, sophomore Mattie Cullen, and senior Hana Honemann; and a season best from junior Lane Swift.
On the boys side, the JV team may have been without Highness, but still managed an impressive top-five finish behind seniors Ian Rasmann and Ryan Maus, who both placed in the top 10. Rasmann led the charge in 17:29 to place fifth, while Maus followed in a personal best of 17:46 in ninth place.
Freshman Joel Melton improved on his lifetime best to finish 21st in 18:21, then junior Sam Fitterer bettered his PR to place 37th in 19:02. Sophomore Enoch Johnson was next in 70th place with a personal best of 19:27 to cap the Bengals scoring. Helena’s sixth and seventh runners were freshman Dan Williams in 19:29, good enough for 72nd place, and sophomore Finn Morrison in 83rd with a lifetime best of 19:37.
The Bengals finished with 128 points, behind only Sentinel (69), Hellgate (87), and Billings West (109).
Like the girls, the big moves didn’t stop with the top seven as the full team competed incredibly well. Also registering personal bests were freshmen Dane Moser, Asher Hazen, Will Kreissler, Luke Foster, Cole Harris, Micah Langdji, and Henry Coy, and junior Carson Payne. Junior Luke Wilkins chalked up a season best.
The Bengals have a lot to be excited about as they prepare for crosstown Wednesday at Bill Roberts Golf Course, then the state meet on Oct. 21 in Kalispell.
Helena High Cross Country 