Varsity Sweeps; JV Boys Win and Girls Place Third
The 5K at Anaconda Hills Golf Course in Great Falls is among the most challenging cross country courses in Montana, challenging runners with nonstop elevation change and 13 hairpin turns. The Helena Bengals, however, quieted the noise about difficulty and delivered an breathtaking performance Friday.
Junior Milo Kauffman set a course record to lead the Helena boys to a dominant victory and junior Kortney McKay posted the fastest time ever by a Bengal at Anaconda Hills to guide the girls to victory, despite the team toeing the line without three of its regular top 7 runners.
Kauffman seemingly accelerated with each turn and maintained his rhythm up and down the hills to steadily increase his advantage throughout the race, finishing in 16:08. That time eclipsed the previous record of 16:15 set in 2023 by former Great Falls Bison and current MSU Bobcat Ryan Harrington.
| Anaconda Hills 5K Top 10 Boys Milo Kauffman, Helena, 16:08 (2025) R. Harrington, Gt. Falls, 16:15 (2023) John Spinti, Great Falls, 16:18 (2023) C. Steckelberg, Gallatin, 16:29 (2022) Elliot Stimpson, Helena, 16:37 (2024) Caleb Tomac, Havre, 16:37 (2023) D. Hamilton, Bozeman, 16:41 (2017) Chase Green, Sentinel, 16:48 (2021) Henry Sund, Helena, 16:51 (2023) Emerson Hamma, CMR, 16:52 (2025) | Anaconda Hills 5K Top 10 Girls Camila Noe, Bozeman, 18:43 (2017) Tiahna Vladic, Senior, 18:54 (2017) E. DeGrandpre, Hellgate, 19:15 (2017) Alex Moore, Bozeman, 19:35 (2017) Terra Trom, Bozeman, 19:19 (2018) Lindsey Paulson, Belt, 19:31 (2021) Kortney McKay, Helena, 19:41 (2025) Nat. Nicholas, Bozeman 19:50 (2020) S. Damyanovich, CMR 19:57 (2025) Malia Bradford, Sentinel 19:57 (2022) |
| * Since 2017 – Switched from 3M to 5K. |
That wasn’t the only highlight for the Helena boys, whose five scoring runners placed 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 8th to finish with 21 points in their three-team grouping with Billings West (48 points) and Billings Skyview (61).
While Kauffman ran away with the victory, seniors Garrett Hinderman and Ed Colemen, and freshman Emory Kreissler did yeoman’s work in third, fourth and fifth, respectively, with times of 17:07, 17:11, and 19:19. And senior Dylan Hill, showing good progress on his way back from an injury interruption, was 8th in 17:36. Hinderman, Coleman, and Kreissler posted the 4th, 5th, and 7th fastest times ever by Bengals on the course.
Also running varsity for the Helena boys were junior Joel Melton (10th, 17:46), sophomore Foster Warner (13th, 18:02), junior Titus Wetzel (18th, 18:44), and sophomore Ander Svingen (19th, 18:44).
While KcKay spearheaded Helena’s effort on the girls side in a winning time of 19:41 – 7th all-time on the course, her supporting cast ran impressively in a competitive grouping featuring a strong and deep team from Billings West. The Bengals finished with 31 points, West was second with 39, CM Russell claimed third with 75, and Belgrade posted 98.
McKay was pushed to a big performance as she was trailed throughout the race by resilient CMR sophomore Stella Damyanovich, who finished second in 19:57.
Senior Kate Lee ran a patient race, working her way through the traffic and finishing fourth in 20:50, which ranks third all-time for Helena on the course. Next for the Bengals was junior Emmie Bermingham, who used a furious kick in the final downhill sprint to the finish to move into 8th place in 21:10. Bermingham ran much of the race alongside teammate and senior Cooper Judd, who finished 11th in 20:14, and senior Emily Davidson completed Helena’s scoring in 14th with a time of 21:28. Bermingham, Judd and Davidson posted the 5th, 8th, and 11th fastest times ever by Bengals on the course.
The team’s depth was present, too, as Helena’s next four runners crossed the finish line soon after Davidson with freshman Ivy Kyle 15th (21:30), freshman Mary Guzynski 17th (21:50), junior Ellie Coburn 19th (22:01), and sophomore Alexa Pipinich 21st (22:05, personal record).
Worth noting, both Helena teams came out on top in the combined scoring (all groups compiled), as well.
| Anaconda Hills 5K HHS Top 10 Boys Milo Kauffman, 16:08 (2025) Elliot Stimpson, 16:37 (2024) Henry Sund, 16:51 (2023) Garrett Hinderman, 17:07 (2025) Ed Coleman, 17:11 (2025) Dylan Hill, 17:15 (2024) Emory Kreissler, 17:19 (2025) Jake Matthews, 17:29 (2023) Henry Ballinger, 17:32 (2022) Jonah Fisher, 17:42 (2018) | Anaconda Hills 5K HHS Top 10 Girls Kortney McKay, 19:41 (2025) Kylie Hartnett, 20:23 (2018) Kate Lee, 20:50 (2025) Bria Plant, 21:07 (2023) Emmie Bermingham, 21:10 (2025) Katelyn McKay, 21:12 (2017) Claudia Downing, 21:12 (2017) Cooper Judd, 21:14 (2025) Katlyn McKay, 21:16 (2018) Alyssa Plant, 21:22 (2017) |
| * Since 2017 – Switched from 3M to 5K. |
In JV competition, the Helena boys won a close race with 46 points, edging Capital (53), which lined up with the bulk of its varsity team – highlighting how strong the Bengals raced.
Senior Henry Sweeney led the way for Helena in 4th place with a time of 18:40, while junior Dan Williams (7th, 19:06), sophomore Graham Coleman (10th, 19:19), sophomore Apollo Althoff (12th, 19:26), and sophomore Ravin Bury (13th, 19:26) placed the Bengals five scoring runners in the top 15.
Four additional Bengals earned a place in the top 50 – junior Cole Harris in 33rd, freshman Tristan Hill in 40th, senior Enoch Johnson in 43rd, and sophomore Sean Carney in 47th – and junior Micah Langdji (23:47) and freshman Gabriel Waits (24:53) posted personal bests.
On the girls side, freshman Sadie Murray had the task of leading the team for the first time and did it with aplomb, running to fifth place in 23:30. Her consistent and determined effort guided the Bengals (77 points) to third place behind varsity groups from Capital (42) and Harlem (44).
Also scoring for Helena were junior Aven Baker 12th in 24:03, junior Kumari Leland 15th in 24:15, senior Emma Flinders 24th in 24:53 and senior Wren Clum 26th in 25:03. Also placing among the top 50 were junior Ellie Zipfel in 37th, sophomore Myla Dahlke in 44th, and sophomore Evelyn Harris in 50th, while freshman Iris McClain posted a personal best of 26:43 and junior Kelia Gomes ran a season best of 26:44.
Helena returns to action Thursday, Oct. 9 with its first home meet, hosting the Capital City 7 of 7 at Bill Roberts Golf Course. The meet features a unique format for varsity, with each team’s top seven runners facing off in seven separate races. JV competition starts the meet at noon. Click here for more information.
Helena High Cross Country 