Mundel smokes competition at NWA championship

Samantha Mundel out ran the competition by 48 seconds to easily win her second consecutive Northwest Class A title. Mundel finished in 18 minutes, 51.8 seconds Oct. 18 at the West Glacier Golf Course.

The senior now has her sights on a state title in Helena this Saturday.

“Samantha’s looking strong,” coach Richard Menicke said. “She’s a contender for sure. Each year, she’s running faster.”

As a team, the Wildkats took third.

Meredith Stolte took eighth at 21:09.8, Hannah Freeman 11th at 21:48.8, Kendra Cahoon 16th at 23:10.0, Haylie Peacock 21st at 23:34, Miranda Livingston 22nd at 23:39.4, and Morgan Christianson 25th at 24:08.1.

Stolte, a senior, has received all-conference honors for every year she’s raced, Menicke noted.

“Her career has been quietly stellar,” Menicke said.

For the Wildcats, Glenn Morden led with a top-10 finish, taking 10th with a time of 17:55.7.

“I’m happy he got that,” Menicke said. “He worked real hard these past few weeks.”

The Cats placed fourth as a team. Top runners were Winfield West 17th at 8:41.9, Hunter Peterson 20th at 19:02.2, Will Nelson 23rd at 19:23.4, Storm Kemppainen 29th at 20:30.6, and Gabe Knudsen 31st at 21:23.1.

As a team, Frenchtown won the boys title, and Whitefish took first for the girls.