Bengal Girls Win Mountain West; Boys 2nd in Deep Field

JV Squads Put Together Dominant Double Win

Meet Results

Meet Photos

Under a blanket of cloud cover, the Bengals delivered another steady performance Saturday, this time at the Mountain West Classic on the University of Montana Golf Course in Missoula.

With more than 80 teams from four states crowding the starting lines, Helena produced one of its strongest collective showings of the season, highlighted by a historic girls varsity win, a varsity boys runner‑up finish, and two dominant JV victories.

The cool, overcast weather kept conditions optimal, but the midcourse climb and varied terrain demanded disciplined racing. Helena handled both well, showing depth across all four squads and gaining a meaningful midseason benchmark.

Girls Varsity

Helena’s girls made program history with a 122‑point performance that held off Bozeman (146) and Gallatin (153). The race never felt comfortable as the top three teams sparred throughout, but Helena’s consistency across all five scorers proved decisive.

Freshman Willa Sweeney led the Bengals with an 11th‑place finish in a personal‑best 18:51, attacking the course and settling into a strong final mile. Freshman Clara Ostby followed in 22nd at 19:21, and freshman McKenlee Young (19:45, 31st) and senior Isabel Ward (19:46, 32nd) kept Helena firmly in the mix. Junior Izzy Lundstrom closed out the scoring in 35th at 19:54, continuing her steady rise in her first cross country season.

Senior Kortney McKay (19:57, 37th) and senior Emmie Bermingham (20:25, 58th) added important depth just behind the scoring pack.

It was the kind of performance that has defined the Bengals season so far as the balanced squad has experienced four different finishing orders in four races.

Polson senior Morgan Delaney continued her strong season, placing first in 17:50, but Bozeman sophomore Phoebe Maixner made her earn it, finishing second in 17:52.

JV Girls

The junior varsity girls race was defined by Helena’s pack running. The Bengals placed six runners in the top 10 and eight in the top 15, finishing with 27 points to claim the victory, as Bozeman (58) and Glacier (73) placed second and third.

Senior Mary Clement led the group with a runner‑up finish in 20:43. Close behind came Harper Johnson (5th, 21:17), Wynona Schmidt (7th, 21:27), Ellie Coburn (8th, 21:28), freshman Haddie Dailey (9th, 21:34), sophomore Ivy Kyle (10th, 21:34), sophomore Mary Guzynski (12th, 21:43), and junior Alexa Pipinich (14th, 22:02).

The tight cluster of Helena jerseys through the middle of the race left little doubt about the team outcome.

While that group led the team to victory, Helena’s entire JV squad ran competitively, highlighted by the trio of freshman Mara Wirth, sophomore Iris McClain, and senior Aven Baker, who were the big movers on Saturday.

Wirth crossed the mile mark in 142nd, moved up to 110th in the second mile, then crossed the finish line in 81st, gaining 61 places and finishing in 24:16. McClain started in 136th, moved up to 105th, and in the final mile passed 22 additional runners to finish 83rd with a personal best of 24:18. Baker also surged throughout the race, crossing the mile mark in 129th, moving to 105th in the second mile, and finishing 85th in 24:21.

Boys Varsity

Senior Milo Kauffman once again set the tone for Helena, finishing fourth in 15:46.

The Bengals totaled 98 points, placing second behind Bozeman (85) and well ahead of Hardin (181).

Sophomore Emory Kreissler (14th, 16:30), sophomore Tristan Hill (26th, 16:39), senior Joel Melton (30th, 16:42), and freshman Derek Bury (36th, 16:45) rounded out the scoring five. Senior Dan Williams (18:37) provided additional depth.

Hill helped tighten the race in the late going with an impressive midrace move that saw him gain 14 positions in the second mile. He caught five additional runners in the final mile to put a stamp on an impressive race for the first‑year varsity runner.

Bozeman was led by individual champion and senior Taylor Neil, who posted a time of 15:14. Darrell Dickson of Sugar‑Salem (Idaho) was runner‑up in 15:21.

JV Boys

Helena’s JV boys nearly mirrored the girls’ dominance, winning with 35 points to top Bozeman (77) and Hardin (118).

Junior Ander Svingen and freshman Hank Coburn went 1–2 in 17:54 and 17:58, giving Helena immediate control of the race.

Sophomore Milo Sealey (8th, 18:13), junior Ben Blanksma (12th, 18:29) and junior Graham Coleman (15th, 18:31) completed the scoring, while junior Apollo Althoff (27th, 18:45) and freshman Grey Haladay (63rd, 19:20) were Helena’s sixth and seventh runners.

Freshman Calvin Mogstad was the boys’ big mover in the race, gaining 51 positions in the final two miles to place 133rd in his first attempt on the course.

What’s next?

Next week, the Bengals split their schedule: the JV teams travel Thursday to the Butte Invitational, while the varsity squads head to Spokane for the Bob Firman Invitational on Saturday, where they’ll race in the elite division against some of the strongest programs in the country.