Helena High claimed all four titles with Kauffman up front and the girls’ depth on full display.
The Helena High Bengals delivered another strong performance at the Flathead Invitational on Friday, sweeping all four team titles at Rebecca Farm and showcasing the depth, joy, and will to compete that have become hallmarks of the program.
Senior Milo Kauffman powered the boys varsity to victory with a commanding individual win, while the Bengal girls executed one of the meet’s most disciplined pack‑running displays, stacking all seven varsity runners inside the top 20 to secure the team title.
The momentum extended through JV competition. The Helena girls produced a perfect score, sweeping places 1–5 for 15 points and flooding the leaderboard with seven runners in the top 10 and 13 in the top 30. The JV boys matched the energy with five runners in the top 10 and eight in the top 30, edging Glacier by 10 points to complete the Bengals’ four‑race sweep.
In varsity team scoring, the Bengal boys topped a 21‑team field with 50 points, ahead of Hellgate (111) and Glacier (114). The girls controlled their 17‑team race with 64 points, followed by Hellgate (94) and Big Sky (104).
Early in the boys race, Kauffman settled in with the leaders and increased the pressure on the competition as they turned the corner from the 1-mile mark into the first pass of Rebecca Farm’s steady hill. As he hit the halfway point, he had built a 5-second lead over Hellgate senior Miles Miller. He continued adding breathing room until he finished with a season-best 15:20 and a 12-second victory.
Sophomore Emory Kreissler and senior Joel Melton, meanwhile, ran intelligent races a little further back in the pack and finished 6th and 8th in personal bests of 15:53 and 15:59, respectively. A little further back, sophomore Tristan Hill had a massive breakthrough in 20th place with a best of 16:42 and freshman Derek Bury put a bookend on the scoring in 21st at a best of 16:43. Had either of those two faltered, junior sixth-man Foster Warner had their back in 25th place with a PR of 16:54. And senior Dan Williams continued to climb the ladder as he posted a lifetime best o f 17:33 in 44th.
Varsity Girls
The girls race unfolded a little differently for the Bengals as Polson senior and University of Wyoming commit Morgan Delaney pushed out to a big lead with a handful of others en route to a dominant victory. Helena remained calm and focused in a pack just off the back of the top 10 runners.
As the race moved into the second mile, some space grew among the Bengals as freshmen Willa Sweeney began her push to a 10th-place finish in a personal best of 18:52 – the second fastest freshman time ever posted by an HHS runner behind 2022 grad Kylie Hartnett.
While Sweeney did create some space between herself and her teammates, the Bengals’ scoring five finished the race separated by just 37 seconds. Freshman Clara Ostby posted her best of 19:11 in 11th place, senior Kortney McKay clocked a season best of 19:15 in 13th, freshman McKenlee Young registered a PR of 19:19 in 14th, and senior Isabel Ward ran a season best 19:30 in 16th.
Like the boys, Helena’s girls had two strong runners backing the scoring five as junior Izzy Lundstrom ran a personal best 19:51 in 19th and senior Emmie Bermingham took advantage of her first varsity race this season to finish in a season best of 19:57 in 20th.
JV Girls
While the varsity girls impressed, the JV squad wasn’t to be outdone and followed up the varsity victory with perfection. Across the board the Bengals ran tough, including three who ran their first race in a Bengal uniform and another five veterans who opened their season.
Up front, it was a wave of white and cardinal as the Bengals swept the first five places to score a perfect 15 points, and their sixth and seventh runners added 6th and 8th place for good measure.
Leading the way for Helena was senior Mary Clement who looked confident and strong as she took an early and commanding lead to run away with the victory in 20:36. Following her up was sophomore Wynona Schmidt in a season-opening 21:03, junior Harper Johnson in 21:05, sophomore Mary Guzynski in a season-opening 21:06, freshman Haddie Dailey in a personal best 21:13, and sophomore Ivy Kyle in a season-best 21:13 to claim sixth place. Separated by just one place from her teammates was senior Ellie Coburn in 8th place with a season best of 21:21.
Like their varsity counterparts, Helena’s JV squad posted a 1-5 time gap of just 37 seconds.
Placing second as a team was Glacier with 53, and Hellgate finished third with 74.
While the top seven runners took care of the scoring, Helena’s big day didn’t end there. Junior Alexa Pipinich ran a season best of 21:39 in 12th, senior Aven Baker ran strong again with a time of 22:40 in 21st, freshman Grace Williams placed 24th in 23:12, and the trio of junior Malea Radley (27th, 23:21, SB) junior Kenley Higgins (28th, 23:22, PR), and senior Kumari Leland (30th, 23:33) brought Helena’s top-30 total to 13 runners.
Another 17 Helena runners crossed the finish line, led by freshman Mara Wirth in 35th (24:04, PR). Also running for the Bengals were sophomore Brigitt Bryce (41st, 24:36, PR), sophomore Iris McClain (52nd, 25:10, SB), sophomore Charlotte Crowley (56th, 25:27, PR), senior Ellie Zipfel (559th, 25:35, SB), freshman Nara Kauffman (60th, 25:46, season opener), senior Ava Irey (62nd, 25:57, SB), freshman Leah Melton (63rd, 26:03, PR), sophomore Ellie Runnion (65th, 26:24, SB), junior Maizy Parrett (72nd, 26:43, PR), freshman Ida Munson (86th, 27:49), senior Madee Guzynski (89th, 27:54), senior Maren Fox (97th, 28:39, season opener), senior Esme Soller (101st, 29:19, season opener), senior Elsie Munson (107th, 30:15, season opener), junior Margherita Giuliani (109th, 30:43, season opener), and sophomore Imara Lane (116th, 33:41, season opener).
JV Boys
In boys junior varsity competition, junior Ander Svingen ran steadily to fifth place in a 17:56, freshman Hank Coburn made a late charge to finish sixth in a personal best 18:01, junior Ben Blanksma – running just his second career race – placed 7th in a personal best 18:06, senior Titus Wetzel ran to a season best of 18:18 in 8th place, and Graham Coleman closed out the scoring as the fifth runner in a season-opening 18:23 for 10th place. Just off his shoulder was sophomore Milo Sealey in 11th with a time of 18:27.
Like the girls, Helena’s boys were well represented with another 30 runners finishing beyond the first eight across the line.
Also running for the Bengals were junior Apollo Althoff (18th, 18:38, PR), sophomore Levi Johnson (28th, 19:10, PR), freshman Grey Haladay (38th, 19:20, PR), junior Sean Carney (41st, 19:23, SB), junior Ravin Bury (45th, 19:30, SB), senior Will Kreissler (48th, 19:34, SB), junior Noah Flynn (62nd, 19:56, PR), senior Asher Hazen (63rd, 20:04, SB), sophomore Evan Kaiser (71st, 20:16, SB), junior Grayson Trum (73rd, 20:18, SB), freshman Calvin Mogstad (77th, 20;24, PR), freshman Kroy Bermingham (86th, 20:38, season opener), freshman Reiden Dahlgren (99th, 20:55, PR), freshman Brice Beutelschies (101st, 20:56, PR), sophomore Reiter McVie (102nd, 20:56), senior Micah Langdji (110th, 21:16, PR), freshman Sam Royal (122nd, 21:42, PR), junior Spruce Bacon (125th, 21:44, PR), senior Henry Coy (132nd, 21:56, SB), freshman Scott Hinckley (149th, 22:30, PR), freshman Clinton Stops (159th, 22:50, PR), sophomore Ben Cupino (162nd, 22:51, SB), sophomore Isaac Davant (188th, 23:55), sophomore Tim Wilkins (195th, 24:11, PR), junior Leslie Carr (202nd, 24:33, season opener), junior Kingston Downing (203rd, 24:33, season opener), sophomore Ryan Carney (204th, 24:34, season opener), senior Elliot Cleary (219th, 25:59, SB), freshman Ben Mincemoyer, 229th, 27:18, season opener), and freshman Ansen Hinck (237th, 30:29, PR).
What’s Next?
After back-to-back Friday meets in far-away places (Billings and Kalispell), the Bengals return to action closer to home. The next head to the always competitive Bozeman Invitational at Bridger Creek Golf Course on Saturday, Sept. 12. Competition starts at 4 p.m.