Lady 'Dogs lead pack at Libby cross-country meet

| September 9, 2009 11:00 PM

The Whitefish High School boys and girls cross country teams ventured to Libby for an invitational meet on Sept. 4 and came away with a good idea of where they stand as competitive teams.

Bailey Eaton won the individual title for the girls with a time of 19:01 for the 3-mile race. She was followed closely by teammates Loni Hanson and Jessica Sagen, who finished in second and third places.

"The girls team looked pretty strong behind three strong individual performances by Bailey, Loni and Jess," coach Bill Brist said.

Whitefish won the girls varsity race with a low score of 32 points. Glacier High was second with 54 points, while Timberlake of Idaho finished in third with 79 points.

"By virtue of our 1-2-3 finish, it put us in a pretty good position in regard to winning the meet," Brist said. "With a strong backup performance from seniors Hannah Weaver (ninth) and Liz Stevenson (17th), our team was able to come away with the a victory over nine other teams."

The Lady Bulldogs took a hit with top runner Stella Holt out for the season with a broken leg from a summer hiking accident. The team lost two other top runners who moved out of Whitefish. Two of the girls team's strongest runners, Jackie Cassidy and Carly Schwickert, are also being held out with health issues.

But it looks to be an interesting upcoming season for the girls, Brist said.

"We are just beginning our season and realize we have a long way to go before the championship meets in October," he said.

The Whitefish boys also had a solid outing in Libby, taking fourth out of the 10 teams in attendance. Sandpoint, Idaho, defeated Columbia Falls on a tie breaker, as both teams finished with 52 points. Whitefish had 118.

"I was amazed with how well our boys ran," Brist said. "It was hot, and for a lot of our runners, it was their first meet ever. I hoped that they would have the confidence to run with the other teams, and they did a great job of doing just that. I was very pleased with all of their results today. It gives me a good indication that this team will be competitive this season."

Junior Nathan Knox (18th in 17:36) and freshman Jace Kalbfleisch (19th in 17:54) led the team in this first outing. Baxter Graham, Will Holdhusen and Fischer Gangemi rounded out the team, placing 26th, 27th and 28th.

"These guys did a great job of pack running. They are learning quickly," Brist said. "We have a lot of boys who are really close in ability. It's going to be exciting to watch them improve throughout the season. I really wasn't sure what to expect this year, and we've had a fantastic turnout with several new runners. The past few years, we've had a bunch of new girls try the sport. This season, it seems to be the boys who are coming out. They are having fun with it, and that's what I like to see."

The next meet will be the Lincoln County Invitational on Septe. 11 in Eureka.

Libby Invitational

J.Neils Park

Sept. 4

Girls varsity

1. Whitefish 32

2. Glacier 54

3. Timberlake, ID 79

4. Columbia Falls 92

5. Sandpoint 124

Girls individual

1. Bailey Eaton, 19:01

2. Loni Hanson, 19:17

3. Jessica Sagen, 19:20

9. Hannah Weaver, 20:50

17. Liz Stevenson, 21:40

Girls JV

27. Katrina Brown, 27:15

31. Justine Dugdale, 31:26

Boys varsity

1. Sandpoint, ID 52

2. Columbia Falls 52

3. Glacier 82

4. Whitefish 118

5. Timberlake, ID 152

6. Libby 192

7. Eureka 199

8. Thompson Falls 217

Boys individual

18. Nathan Knox, 17:36

19. Jace Kalbfleisch, 17:54

26. Baxter Graham, 18:46

27. Will Holdhusen, 18:49

28. Fischer Gangemi, 18:50

31. Francisco Valle, 19:04

38. Chris Reyna, 19:21

Boys JV

23. Matt Gutierrez, 22:01

24. Spencer Hale, 22:07

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