Tag: fall-sports

Bengals Roll at Crosstown and Gather Momentum for State Meet on Oct. 25

Helena Varsity, Junior Varsity Sweep Team Titles

Complete Results

Photo Gallery

While it wasn’t the exact Crosstown cross country meet we all expected, the Helena Bengals adapted with calm and focus to set the stage for the state meet and close out the season for junior varsity runners Wednesday at Centannial Park.

After runners enjoyed sunny skies and green grass a week ago at Bill Roberts Golf Course, Mother Nature decided it was time for a “winterruption.” Much of Helena received between 4 and 5 inches of snow Sunday and Monday, which forced the Crosstown meet to move to the paved paths at Centennial.

And in fact, it was Crosstown+ this time around as Broadwater and Jefferson were invited to join the 5 kilometers of fun in the Capital City.

Helena swept the team titles in varsity and JV, while Helena junior Milo Kauffman captured the win in boys varsity competition, and sophomore Ander Svingen and freshman Ivy Kyle collected the boys and girls JV titles.

In boys competition, Kauffman guided Helena to a perfect score of 15 with a personal best of 15:18 as the Bengals finished 1-2-3-4-5. Next across the line for Helena were senior Garrett Hinderman (PR 15:59), junior Dylan Hill (season record 16:19), freshman Emory Kreissler (PR 16:30), and junior Joel Melton (PR 16:35). Senior Ed Coleman (17:08) and sophomore Foster Warner (PR 17:08) were Helena’s No. 6 and 7 runners in 8th and 9th. Those seven runners will represent the Bengals at the state meet.

Capital placed second with 55 points, while Broadwater (86) edged Jefferson (87) in a close battle for third.

In JV competition, Svingen completed the course in a PR 17:09 to win, while junior Titus Wetzel and senior Henry Sweeney finished second and third – both with PRs of 17:43. Svingen and Sweeney will travel to state as Helena’s alternates.

Also scoring in the JV race for the Helena boys were junior Dan Williams in fifth (PR 18:04) and sophomore Ravin Bury in sixth (PR 18:14), while sophomore Graham Coleman (PR 18:18) and freshman Milo Sealey (PR 18:21) were 7th and 8th.

Beyond those seven JV runners, another 18 Helena boys ran personal bests and four posted season records.

Helena’s JV boys won with 17 points and were followed by Capital (46), Jefferson (91), and Broadwater (103).

In girls competition, Townsend junior Kyla Meissner ran to a strong victory in 18:18, while Helena juniors Kortney McKay and Isabel Ward ran in lockstep throughout the race to finish second and third in personal bests of 18:55 and 18:58, respectively. Jefferson’s Piper Dawson broke up the Bengals’ top five by finishing fourth, but reaching the finish line in succession after her were senior Cooper Judd (5th, PR 19:25), senior Kate Lee (6th, PR 19:37), and junior Mary Clement (7th, PR 19:45). And fans didn’t have to wait long for Helena’s final two varsity runners to reach the line as junior Emmie Bermingham and freshman Wynona Schmidt closed the race in a kick to place 9th and 10th in PRs of 19:59 and 20:00, respectively.

The Bengals finished with 23 points, Capital was second with 62, Jefferson placed third with 79, and Broadwater was fourth with 81.

In JV girls competition, the Bengals were the only team with five scoring runners, as Helena finished 1-7. Freshman Ivy Kyle led the squad for the second consecutive race, this time with a personal best of 20:01, and she was followed closely by junior Ellie Coburn in second with a personal best of 20:03. Those two will represent the Bengals at the state meet as alternates.

Following Kyle and Coburn across the line were senior Emily Davidson in third (PR 20:18), sophomore Harper Johnson fourth (PR 20:57), freshman Mary Guzynski fifth (PR 21:05), sophomore Alexa Pipinich sixth (PR 21:08), and freshman Sadie Murray seventh (PR 21:27).

Like the boys, Helena’s girls witnessed a flood of PRs as another 13 Bengals PRed and six ran season bests.

The Bengals return to action with the state meet on Saturday, Oct. 25 at UM Golf Course in Missoula.

Boys Claim 2nd With 3 All-State Finishers, Ward Leads Girls to 5th

Photo Gallery (Thank you Emily Davidson and Marie Matthews)

Complete Results

A trio of Helena High boys collected All-State finishes Saturday at the state cross country meet, but a strong meet for the Bengals wasn’t quite enough as Bozeman put together an impressive collective effort of their own to claim the title.

The Hawks finished with 56 points, Helena was second with 71, and Hellgate claimed third with 115.

Sophomore Milo Kauffman charged to the front in a gutsy move with about 1 kilometer remaining in the 5K race at UM Golf Course in Missoula and held on for fourth place in 15:49 as senior teammate Henry Sund charged to the finish line in fifth in 15:55. Senior Elliot Stimpson (16:04) claimed the third all-state finish (top 15) for the Bengals in 10th, an impressive showing considering the Bengal veteran “felt off” early in the race but managed to construct his best showing at the state meet after he placed 11th last fall.

Kauffman has now opened his career with back-to-back All-State finishes after placing 10th in 2023. For Sund, it was a welcome return to the podium. He placed 14th in 2022 and missed out on all-state in 2023 when he finished 19th and the Bengals placed third.

Finishing fourth for Helena on Saturday was junior Dylan Hill who matched his 25th-place finished from a year ago. Junior Garrett Hinderman fought hard on every inch of the demanding course en route to 27th in a lifetime best breakthrough of 16:43. Seniors Eli Highness (41st, 16:55) and Jake Matthews (42nd, 16:57) were Helena’s sixth and seventh finishers, capping off a strong season for the duo.

The top three individual places were occupied by Belgrade junior Wilson Schmidt, who stormed past the leaders in the final stretch to place first in a personal record of 15:38. Bozeman sophomore Taylor Neil was second in a PR of 15:42 and Glacier junior Owen Theil was third in 15:45.

Helena Girls Rise to the Occasion

Sophomore Isabel Ward ran a full minute faster than she’d completed a race this season and bettered her personal best by about 20 seconds in 16th – just one spot off the All-State podium – and guided the Helena girls to fifth place.

It was an exceptional performance for Ward, who suffered an unfortunate injury early this season and was confined to cross-training for three weeks and was forced to miss the first two meets. She remained positive and persevered, then put together her best race of the season when the team needed her most.

Entering the meet, the Bengals were projected to finish sixth based on season bests, but because of a strong collective effort by all seven runners they posted 154 points, just one shy of Glacier in fourth place with 153. Gallatin (52 points) won the state championship over Bozeman (68), and Hellgate (129) finished third.

Helena’s 2, 3, 4, and 5 runners finished in a flurry with only 6 seconds separating the four of them, led by senior Solveig Mohr in a PR of 20:14 for 32nd place. Freshman Lily Combs ran a PR of 20:17 in 34th, senior Ella Irey capped and impressive career that included four trips to the state meet with a PR of 20:18 in 35th, and junior Kate Lee continued an incredibly strong season in 20:20 for 37th place.

Sophomore Emmie Bermingham was Helena’s sixth runner across the line in a PR of 20:42 for 45th place and senior Hadyn Garza completed the Bengals drive to the finish line in 52nd with a time of 20:51.

Bengals On the Up

The meet exhibited the Bengals’ incredible commitment and resolve and marked another step in a positive direction. Helena’s boys placed 13th in 2021, were fifth in 2022, and finished third last season, making the runner-up finish the team’s best since winning the state title in 2003. The girls placed fourth in 2021 and bid farewell to a historic senior class, then finished 10th in 2022, climbed to sixth in 2023, and finished fifth to cap this season with a strong core of hungry Bengals returning next fall.

Next Up

In three weeks, 58 Helena High runners will travel to Boise to compete in the Nike Cross Northwest Regional Championships against the top runners from seven states – Montana, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Wyoming, and Hawaii. The meet will be Saturday, Nov. 16 at Eagle Island State Park.

Bengals Break Out at 7 vs. 7 as Boys Win, Girls Place 4th and JV Shines

Helena High’s junior varsity girls set an incredible tone to start the 7 vs. 7 Classic on an overcast and sometimes sunny Thursday at Bill Roberts Golf Course, the JV boys followed suit with yet another impressive run, and the good vibes continued to reverberate throughout the afternoon as Helena’s varsity squads put on a show on their home course.

The unique 7 vs. 7 format matches runners from each school in descending order, meaning the No. 7 runners from each school compete first, followed by the No. 6 runners, then the No. 5 runners and so on.

Helena’s boys got off to a near-perfect start en route to victory as junior Garrett Hinderman won the No. 7 race in 17:16, then senior Eli Highness was runner-up in the No.6 race in 16:46, and senior Jake Matthews posted a second-place finish in the No. 5 race in 16:58. With Bozeman being their nearest competitor, that gave the Bengals a 5-8 lead against the reigning state champions.

Junior Dylan Hill then stepped up with arguably the race of the day for the Helena boys with a commanding victory in a personal best 16:14 – running at the front wire-to-wire and winning by a margin of 25 seconds to extend the lead to 6-10.

That left the final three races, which are incredibly competitive as they often each feature multiple runners from all classifications who will be vying for all-state finishes two weeks from now.

Senior Henry Sund seemed unfazed by the runners around him, stormed to an early lead and never looked back, winning the No. 3 race in 16:02 – expanding the Bengals lead to a commanding 7-15 and releasing some of the pressure teammates Milo Kauffman, a sophomore, and Elliot Stimpson, a senior, might have been feeling as they were queued up for the No. 2 and No. 1 races.

Kauffman appeared calm and composed as he went to work on a runner-up finish in 16:07 behind Bozeman’s Christian Landers, and Stimpson followed that up in a business-like fourth-place finish in the final race of the day with a time of 15:48 to lock up the victory for the Bengals – their first in more than a decade at the event.

In the end, Helena finished with 13 points to Bozeman’s 21, and Billings West was third with 43.

On the girls side, the Bengals entered the meet with reason to hope for a spot in the top 6 with a tightly contested field featuring frontrunners Gallatin, Bozeman, reigning Class A state champion Hardin, and reigning Class AA champion Hellgate, while the Bengals, Glacier, Flathead and Skyview have regularly competed in close quarters behind that pack.

The Bengals did their part with a solid all-around effort and appeared poised to finish fifth, but both Gallatin’s and Hellgate’s top runners didn’t finish the No. 1 race, meaning each team was scored at 27 points in those races. That moved the Bengals ahead of Hellgate, which was third going into the race, and Helena (44 points) finished fourth, just two points behind fourth-place Gallatin (42) and five points behind third-place Hardin (39). Bozeman won the meet going away with 19 points, and Flathead and Hellgate both finished with 59.

Sophomore Emmie Bermingham got the Bengals off to a strong start as she placed second in the No. 7 race with a 24-second personal best of 20:44. She was followed in the No. 6 race by Ella Irey’s effort, which proved to be a massive breakthrough for the senior who clocked the Bengals’ second-fastest time of the day, running a nearly 30-second PR of 20:28 in fourth place.

In the No. 5 race, senior Solveig Mohr posted a season best of 20:44 to finish third, and freshman Lily Combs stepped up with a 17-second lifetime best of 20:42 to finish seventh in the No. 4 race.

Much like the boys races, the No. 3, No. 2, and No. 1 races are often incredibly close and hotly contested for obvious reasons, and Helena’s competitors held their own.

Senior Hadyn Garza just missed her season best in the No. 3 race, running 20:46 in ninth place, while sophomore Isabel Ward duked it out with a large group of runners and finished 11th in the No. 2 race in a season best of 20:31 – just nine seconds shy of 7th place.

Next, up stepped junior Kate Lee in the No. 1 race for Helena and step up she did. She entered the race with the 14th-fastest time and placed eighth with a 10-second personal best of 19:51 with a smile on her face for nearly all 3.1 miles.

JV Shines Brightly Yet Again

“Look at Helena!” was a phrase stuck on repeat among fans and supporters as the junior varsity girls race took shape after runners swept past the half-mile mark. It was clear the Bengals were on the march toward a special performance and everyone could see it coming.

At the halfway point, a pack of five comprised of sophomores Mary Clement and Ellie Coburn, junior Cooper Judd, and seniors Caoimhe Gallagher and Margot Muszkiewicz crested the hill at the halfway point occupying places 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7, and just a few strides further back was junior Emily Davidson in 10th.

There was an energy in the pack that drove them across the rolling hills and helped establish an unbeatable rhythm through the second lap before things got a little more strung out.

Clement pulled away to place third in a personal best 20:56, but Gallagher reduced a lead that had grown to about 8 seconds down to 4 at the finish line to place fourth in a personal best of 21:00. Judd followed closely in fourth with a massive PR of 21:03, Coburn was fifth in a big PR of 21:07, and Davidson finished ninth in a PR of 21:13. Helena’s sixth and seventh runners across the line were Muszkiewicz 18th in a season-best 21:59 and senior Ryah O’Dell 29th in a season-best 22:47.

Helena finished with 18 points with the first through fifth runners being separated by only 17 seconds, while Hellgate was second with 86 and Billings West third with 131.

The girls had an additional season best and 10 more personal bests in the JV race, and senior Margaret McDonald (41st) and sophomore Kumari Leland (49th) joined their front-running teammates in the top 50.

On the boys side, senior Chris Jenemann posted the highest overall JV finish in second place and ran a strong season best of 17:15 to do it, which helped guide the Bengals to second place with 63 points, just 15 points behind Hellgate in first.

Junior Ed Coleman ran a personal best of 17:30 to place third, junior Henry Sweeney continued his recent momentum with a PR of 17:59 in 16th, freshman Ander Svingen posted a PR of 18:02 in 17th, and sophomore Daniel Williams ran to 25th place in a PR of 18:24. Freshman Foster Warner was Helena’s sixth runner in 26th with a PR 18:27 and senior Sam Fitterer celebrated his 18th birthday with a PR of 18:31 in 30th place to lock down Helena’s seventh position.

Like the girls, the boys collectively had a great day with an additional three season bests and nine personal bests in JV competition, and freshman Ravin Bury joined his teammates in the top 50 in 38th with a time of 18:37.

Next Up

The Bengals next turn their attention to Crosstown at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 16 at Bill Roberts Golf Course. That race will be preceded by the middle school race featuring future Bengals and Bruins from Helena Middle School and CR Anderson. The Bengals and Bruins will also honor their seniors after the crosstown competition. Please consider coming out to celebrate Helena’s 15 seniors are listed below and send the Bengals off to state with a big crowd.

BOYS

Sam Fitterer

Eli Highness

Chris Jenemann

Jake Matthews

Elliot Stimpson

Henry Sund

Luke Wilkins

GIRLS

Gillian Bovingdon

Caoimhe Gallagher

Hadyn Garza

Ella Irey

Margaret McDonald

Solveig Mohr

Margot Muszkiewicz

Ryah O’Dell

Great Falls Delivers a Big Test for Bengals Leading into 7 vs. 7

Photo Gallery

Complete Results

Helena runners – and others, of course – brought the hills to life in Great Falls on Friday with a strong effort at a windy and warm Anaconda Hills Golf Course.

The strong showing on the hills sets the Bengals up well for the challenge that awaits when they compete at home for the first time on Thursday, Oct. 10 at the Capital City 7 vs. 7 at a rolling Bill Roberts Golf Course.

Helena’s JV got the action started in Great Falls with the girls and boys both striding away with victories.

Freshman Lily Combs (22:15), sophomore Emmie Bermingham (23:03), and junior Cooper Judd (23:38) led the way for the girls with a 1-3-4 finish, but they had massive support with the Bengals occupying nine of the top 12 spots and 13 of the top 25.

As the Bengals moved through the various ascents, descents, and countless turns up and down the fairways, they seemingly formed a wall of cardinal and grey en route to a commanding performance. Following the first three Bengals were seniors Margot Muzskiewicz (23:45) and Caoimhe Gallagher (23:50) in 6th and 7th, sophomores Mary Clement (23:52) and Ellie Coburn (23:57) in 8th and 9th, and juniors Gabbi LaVoie (24:45) and Emily Davidson (24:45) in 11th and 12th. Another trio – junior Wren Clum (26:00), freshman Harper Johnson (26:02), and sophomore Kumari Leland (26:14) – placed 18th-20th, and freshman Alexa Pipinich (26:23) was 23rd as Helena’s 13th finisher in the top 25.

The dominant showing resulted in 17 points for the Bengals, well ahead of Skyview with 57 and third-place Senior with 92.

In the boys JV race, the Bengals were nearly as commanding up front with senior Chris Jenemann (18:36) placing 3rd, junior Ed Coleman (19:07) in 5th, and freshman Ander Svingen (19:12) finishing 7th. Like the girls, the leading trio had impressive backing with six of the top 15 finishers.

Also placing in the top 15 were freshman Foster Warner (19:41) in 11th, senior Sam Fitterer (19:44) in 12th and sophomore Dan Williams (19:54) in 15th, and freshman Ravin Bury (20:30) was Helena’s seventh finisher in 23rd.

The Bengals claimed the JV crown with 34 points, while Skyview was second with 64 and Senior placed third with 126.

Varsity Boys Win, Girls Second in Unique Format

While the JV competitors competed in single races against all other teams at the meet, the varsity races were set up in pods of 3-4 teams.

The Helena girls stepped to the line first and faced Skyview and C.M. Russell. Rustlers freshman Stella Damyanovich stormed to the lead and never looked back, while the Bengals locked horns with Skyview in a chase for the team win.

While Helena had an early lead in the points race, the Falcons settled into a strong effort in the second mile to move into competitive positions midway through the race, then built leads that proved to be too much for the Bengals to overcome in the late stages. Skyview posted 33 points to Helena’s 36, and CMR placed third with 54.

While Skyview’s Ava Greenwell and Aaliyah Stennerson occupied the other two positions in the top 3, Helena junior Kate Lee (21:40) led the Bengals in 4th and was followed by senior Hadyn Garza (21:55) in 5th and sophomore Isabel Ward (22:00) who finished with a big kick to edge Skyview’s Gracyn Rock for 6th. Seniors Solveig Mohr (22:24) and Ella Irey (22:36) placed 10th and 11th for Helena, which only ran with five varsity runners in an effort to solidify the 6th and 7th varsity positions for the upcoming 7 vs. 7.

On the boys side, the Bengals continued their dominant form with a 1-2-3-4 finish by senior Elliot Stimpson (16:37), sophomore Milo Kauffman (17:03), senior Henry Sund (17:05) and junior Dylan Hill (17:15).

It was an especially strong performance by Hill, who looked solid throughout and closed the gap to his leading teammates compared to recent races, leaving his with some good vibes going into the always exciting 7 vs. 7.

Junior Garrett Hinderman (18:00) was Helena’s fifth runner in 9th – scoring for the Bengals for the first time this season, senior Eli Highness (18:04) was 11th and senior Jake Matthews (18:44) was Helena’s seventh runner in 19th.

The Bengals finished with 19 points to win the four-way battle with Skyview (54), Great Falls (66) and Sentinel (91).

Bengals Bold and Brave in Butte Wind

Complete Results

Team Photos

With a new 1-2 punch and a couple student-athletes running standout races in the absence of sophomore Milo Kauffman, the Helena High varsity boys eked out a victory at the Butte Invitational on Friday at wind-blown Highland View Golf Course.

That winning finish was matched by the JV girls and JV boys, while the varsity girls won a tiebreaker for third place despite missing senior Solveig Mohr.

A week after Kauffman and senior Elliot Stimpson finished first and second at the Bozeman Invitational, Stimpson and senior Henry Sund finished 2nd and 4th in Butte to spearhead the Bengals’ victory, which was buoyed by senior Eli Highness and junior Garrett Hinderman as the Bengals’ 4th and 5th runners finished in 20th and 24th. Junior Dylan Hill continued to lock down the team’s third spot in 19th. That all added up to 65 points, which was 13 better than runner-up Billings West (78). Flathead was third with 98 points in a meet that featured runners from 27 teams.

A strong wind from the west ensured fast 5K times would be hard to come by, but still, Highness managed to run within 1 second of his personal best in 17:01 and Hinderman bettered his PR by 2 seconds in 17:08, demonstrating how strongly the two Bengals competed.

Glacier junior Owen Thiel captured the win in 15:43, Stimpson crossed the finish line in 15:49, Sentinel senior Tyler Inabnit was third in 15:56, and Sund finished in 16:09. Hill’s time in 19th was 17:01. Also running for the Bengals was senior Jake Matthews in 44th with a time of 17:44.

In the girls varsity competition, junior Kate Lee ran fiercely from start to finish and locked down a ninth-place finish in a season best of 20:28, but senior Hadyn Garza wasn’t to far off that mark and put together an exceptional performance with a season best of 20:45 in 17th.

Those top-20 finishes helped propel the Bengals to 122 points, which matched Skyview, but sixth runner Emmie Bermingham’s 41st-place finish broke the tie as Skyview’s sixth runner was 64th.

Also running strong for the Bengals were seniors Ella Irey and Caoimhe Gallagher in 32nd (21:20) and 33rd (21:23), respectively, and freshman Lily Combs in 37th (21:29).

Mohr and Kauffman are both expected to give the Bengals a boost when they return to action next week at the Mountain West Classic in Missoula, which also serves as a preview of the state meet course.

On the junior varsity front, the Bengals were an unstoppable force Friday and continued their strong start to the season.

Helena’s girls got it started as sophomore Isabel Ward opened her season at the lead and guided teammates Emily Davidson, a junior, and Mary Clement, a sophomore, to a 2-3-4 finish. Ward finished in 21:41, Davidson ran a personal best 21:43 and Clement posted a season best of 22:06. Finishing in the fourth and fifth scoring spots for the Bengals were senior Margot Muszkiewicz 12th in 22:34 and sophomore Ellie Coburn 14th in a season best of 22:48.

The JV girls finished with 35 points, well ahead of runner-up Hellgate with 79 and third-place Billings West with 122, demonstrating the team’s overall depth this season.

Helena also had three additional runners in the top 25 – senior Ryah O’Dell (19th, 23:12), junior Wren Clum (21st, 23:14), and junior Gabbi Lavoie (23rd, 23:15) – and two more in the top 50 – freshmen Harper Johnson (35th, 23:58, PR) and Alexa Pipinich (49th, 24:37, PR).

On the boys side, the performance was nearly as dominant as the Bengals finished first with 43 points, Billings West second with 82, and Hellgate third with 96.

Leading the way was sophomore Joel Melton, who survived a collision at the finish to edge Skyview’s Mekhi Ladson for second place by a tenth of a second in 17:32. Junior Ed Coleman was next in fourth (17:56, PR) and senior Chris Jenemann in sixth (18:11). Freshman Ander Svingen stepped up to finish as Helena’s fourth runner in 13th (18:32, PR) and junior Henry Sweeney capped the scoring in 18th (18:49, PR).

Four more Bengals placed among the top 50 – sophomore Dan Williams (29th, 19:09), senior Sam Fitterer (31st, 19:10), freshman Foster Warner (32nd, 19:12), and freshman Ravin Bury (46th, 19:27).

Six Bengals – Ward, Eisley Bushilla, Emma Flinders, Margaret McDonald, Astoria Holzer, and Enoch Johnson – ran their first races Saturday, which means 69 Bengals have raced in the cardinal and white this season.

Helena can leave Butte feeling proud but wanting more as the Bengals head into the biggest meet of the season next weekend in Missoula. The Mountain West Classic will play host to runners from three states and 103 teams at UM Golf Course on Saturday, Sept. 28.