Kauffman Collects Win to Guide Boys to Victory; Junior Varsity Girls Flirt With Perfect Score
Just five days after turning in a strong performance at the Mountain West Classic, Helena High was back to racing just five days later at the Butte Invitational and put together a string of stellar results on tired legs and in hot fall weather made more intense by sunny skies in Mining City’s elevated location.
The schedule opened with the junior varsity girls competition and the Bengals worked their way to the front of the pack early in the race before finishing first, second, third, fifth, and sixth to post a score of 17 points, just two shy of perfection. Hellgate was second with 82 and Gallatin finished third with 87.
Junior Emmie Bermingham, freshman Ivy Kyle, and junior Ellie Bermingham led through the midway point in the race and held off the competition to finish in that order atop the standings, separated by just 11 seconds. Bermingham won in 21:00, Kyle was second in 21:03, and Coburn was third in 21:11.
Meanwhile, senior Emily Davidson ran to fifth place with a time of 21:31 and freshman Mary Guzynski continued her impressive rookie campaign with the Bengals by moving past multiple runners in the final mile to place sixth in 21:45. Helena’s spread was just 45 seconds from its first through fifth runners.
Sophomores Harper Johnson and Alexa Pipinich were next across the line to put Helena’s top 7 in the top 15 overall as they placed 14th in 22:14 and 15th in 22:18, respectively. Freshman Sadie Murray (33rd, 23:12) also garnered a spot in the top 50.
Helena’s junior varsity boys toed the line next and sophomore Foster Warner led the charge with a personal best run of 17:48 to guide the team to second with 50 points, just 11 behind Glacier’s 39.
Junior Titus Wetzel ran another strong race from start to finish to place sixth in 18:24, senior Henry Sweeney ran strong in eighth place with a time of 18:26, and sophomore Dan Williams crossed the finish in 18:33 to place 11th, giving the Bengals four runners in the top 15. The trio of freshman Milo Sealey (24th, 18:55), sophomore Graham Coleman (25th, 18:56), and sophomore Apollo Althoff (26th, 18:56) were Helena’s 5-7 runners and worked together to help one-another work their way up the standings throughout the race. Sophomore Ravin Bury (29th, 19:12) also claimed a spot in the top 50.
After the junior varsity teams set the tone, Helena’s varsity squads kept the good vibes rolling as the girls placed second, just six points behind defending state runner-up Gallatin, and the boys finished first.
The girls were led by the reliable trio of junior Kortney McKay, senior Kate Lee, and junior Isabel Ward, who showed great grit and resolve near the front of the pack.
McKay, who has led the Bengals in their first four meets this season, ran a strong final mile and pushed hard to the finish to place fourth in 19:12 behind Glacier freshman Ada Thiel (18:51), Bozeman junior Tula Higman (18:54), and Flathead sophomore Everett Holland (19:12). Just a little further up the field, Kate Lee (19:51) and Isabel Ward (19:52) placed 11th and 12th to put three Bengals in the top 15. For Lee, her time was a 10th of a second off her PR.
Junior Mary Clement, meanwhile, again demonstrated awesome growth as a competitor as she moved up four spots in the second half of the race, running her second fastest career time of 20:29.6 – just 0.7 seconds shy of a PR – to finish 18th as Helena’s fourth runner for the third time in 2025. Freshman Wynona Schmidt, meanwhile, continued her patient rise and ran a personal best of 20:37 in 21st, while senior Cooper Judd reeled in three competitors in the second half of the race to finish 23rd in a personal best of 20:43.
The Bengals finished with 65 points, trailing only Gallatin’s 59 and ahead of West’s 106.
The day finished with a double win for the Bengals as junior Milo Kauffman threw down an aggressive charge through the second mile to break open a close race with Billings West senior Kye McAbee. Kuaffman ran away with the individual victory in 15:41 – more than 30 seconds ahead of second place.
That effort gave the Bengals the low stick it needed as freshman Emory Kreissler again backed Kauffman’s finish with a stellar eighth place in a personal best of 16:30, senior Garrett Hinderman coming back from illness battled to 14th place finish in 16:47, senior Ed Coleman placed 23rd in 17:07, and junior Dylan Hill debuted after overcoming injury with a time of 17:12 in 26th.
That group of five Bengals scored 70, leading Hellgate’s 93 and Flathead’s 119 in second and third.
Helena’s sixth and seventh runners also placed in the top 50 with junior Joel Melton 41st in 17:33 and sophomore Ander Svingen 48th in 17:44.
Additional Highlights
While the focus for the team is pursuing excellence by giving one’s best, exercising curiosity by taking calculated risks and exhibiting bravery, and demonstrating love and unity, the byproduct of doing that consistently is often a personal or season best, and the Bengals experienced several of those Saturday. A whopping 13 additional boys ran personal bests in Butte to match the feats of Warner and Kreissler. Other personal bests Thursday included efforts by freshman Tristan Hill (19:56), sophomore Sean Carney (20:00), freshman Zephyr Gomes (20:26), freshman Levi Johnson (21:26), freshman Tre Phipps (21:39), freshman Reiter McVie (22:46), freshman Ben Cupino (23:05), junior Micah Langdji (23:49), freshman Emmett Morrison (23:55), freshman Gabriel Waits (25:07), freshman Tim Wilkins (25:33), and sophomore Santiago Arguelles (28:57). Helena juniors Asher Hazen (20:45) and Dane Moser (20:58) ran season bests. In addition to Schmidt and Judd posting PRs for the girls, sophomore Alexa Pipinich (22:18) and junior Quincey Higgins (26:57) also raised the bar. Running season bests for the Bengal girls in addition to Lee and Clement were juniors Esme Soller (26:02) and Kelia Gomes (27:00).
Next Up
While the Bengals had a quick turnaround this past week with just five days between meets, they get eight days to recharge and prepare for the next opportunity on their schedule – the Great Falls Invitational on Friday, Oct. 3 at Anaconda Hills Golf Course.
Helena High Cross Country 