Freshman Milo Kauffman went directly to the front of the lead pack and set the tone for Helena High at the state cross country meet Saturday in Kalispell as the boys emerged with a podium finish and the girls claimed sixth, just 15 points shy of fourth.
Helena’s coaches agreed it was the best collective boys and girls team performance in recent memory, as the Bengals exhibited a rare level of effort, poise, courage, and unity.
Kauffman rounded the first lap of the 5-kilometer course at Rebecca Farm in fifth place and pushed through the finish to claim 10th, just ahead of junior teammate Elliot Stimpson in 11th, as the duo registered all-state finishes to spearhead the Bengals’ assault.
Great Falls claimed the boys team title with 68 points, followed by Bozeman’s 71, and Helena’s 96, as Billings West was 22 points farther back in fourth.
Both Kauffman and Stimpson ran personal bests to claim their first all-state finishes (top 15) in 15:54 and 15:58 – their first time under 16 minutes. Junior Henry Sund nearly ran a personal best in 19th place with a time of 16:06, sophomore Dylan Hill ran a personal best of 16:21 in 25th place, and junior Jake Matthews established a lifetime best of 16:30 in 31st place to complete the Bengals’ scoring.
Senior Trey Schlepp added some insurance with a massive 33-second improvement on his personal best in his final race with the Bengals, finishing 34th in 16:37. Sophomore Garrett Hinderman nearly equaled his best in 66th with a time of 17:18.
It was the Bengals’ best effort this season at exactly the right time, as they moved past a West team that entered the state meet favored for the third podium spot on paper, based on season bests and prior performances.
Bozeman senior Nathan Neil claimed the state individual crown in a dominant performance and state record of 14:45.
On the girls side, the Bengals entered state predicted to finish sixth based on season bests and prior team places at invitationals. They were aiming for a top-five finish in Kalispell and nearly slipped ahead of Glacier, which had the runner-up individual, making the task much more difficult.
But because of a stellar collective push behind 17th-place finisher and senior Bria Plant, the Bengals wound up just two points shy of Glacier in fifth and a mere 15 points shy of Flathead in fourth, a massive improvement over their 10th-place finish in 2022. In fact, Helena’s top five finishers placed higher than its top placer in 2022.
Plant and fellow senior Sofia Hinderman capped their Bengal careers in style with their best races. Plant moved from 20th to 17th in the final mile and she was chasing an all-state sopt in the top 15, and finished in a lifetime best of 19:45, a 31-second improvement. Hinderman, meanwhile, placed 28th in a personal best of 20:14, a 14-second improvement.
Next for the Bengals across the line were junior Solveig Mohr and sophomore Kate Lee in 31st and 32nd, both running 20:25 – a personal best for Lee. Helena’s fifth and final scorer was junior Hadyn Garza in 41st with a time of 20:46.
While junior Ella Irey may not have been a scorer for the Bengals, she was a big reason why the Bengals finished so close to Glacier and Flathead, as Helena’s sixth runner helped displace the Wolpack’s and Braves’ fifth runners. Irey placed 53rd in 21:14, while fellow junior Margaret McDonald was 69th in 21:50.
Hellgate won the team championship with 46 points, Gallatin finished second with 54, Bozeman placed third with 80, Flathead was fourth with 134, Gallatin placed fifth with 147, and Helena was sixth with 149 – 79 points clear of the remaining teams in the field.
Gallatin junior Claire Rutherford claimed top individual honors in 18:06, while Glacier freshman Lauren Bissen and Bozeman freshman Kylee Neil were second and third in 18:13.
See you at NXR!
Next up for the Bengals is a trip to Nike Cross Regionals in Boise on Nov. 11. Fifty Helena High runners will compete at the national qualifier under the alias of Helena XC. It will be the largest Helena group to make the trip to NXR, where the runners will face competitors from Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Hawaii, and Alaska.
Helena High Cross Country 