Pirate runners ready for state

WHITEFISH — Nineteen of Polson’s 21 cross country runners posted season-best times at Saturday’s Northwest A Conference championship meet in Whitefish, but it wasn’t enough for either the boys or girls teams to top the conference.

Polson’s girls finished second to Whitefish, 13 points behind the Bulldogs despite three top-10 finishes and two more in the conference’s top 15.

Claudia Hewston led the Pirates with an 18:55. She finished just four seconds behind first-place Samantha Mundel of Columbia Falls.

Tel Motichka led the Pirate boys team with a fifth-place, 16:39 run that marked a lifetime best for the senior. He was the lone Polson boy to make all-conference, leading them to a third-place team finish, just two points behind second-place Frenchtown.

“Overall we had a very satisfying day,” Polson coach Matt Seeley said. “… Both boys and girls fell a little short of their goals in the team placings, but the races were very competitive and excited, and the individual performances were awesome.”

Freshmen Isabella Seemann and Anna Young also turned in all-conference performances for the Polson girls, coming in fifth and tenth, respectively. Both Seemann’s 19:54 and Young’s 20:31 were career bests.

Seniors Amanda Stobie (20:35) and Tegan Bauer (21:15) ended up 11th and 14th, respectively.

For the boys, Warren Wood narrowly missed an all-conference award, finishing 12th with a career-best 17:39. Every varsity boys runner posted his fastest time of the year on Saturday.

Seeley said he hopes the momentum gained from so many personal records lead to team success at the state cross country meet in Missoula this Saturday.

Girls

Team Scores

1. Whitefish, 29; 2. Polson, 42; 3. Columbia Falls, 57; 4. Frenchtown, 119; 5. Libby, 130.

Individual Top Ten

1. Samantha Mundel, C. Falls, 18:51; 2. Claudia Hewston, Polson, 18:55; 3. Sarah Latcham, Whitefish, 19:30; 4. Katie Smith, Whitefish, 19:53; 5. Isabella Seemann, Polson, 19:54; 6. Peyton Twete, Whitefish, 20:01; 7. Sarah Perez, Whitefish, 20:05; 8. Meredith Stolte, C. Falls, 20:10; 9. Sloan Ellis, Whitefish, 20:24; 10. Anna Young, Polson, 20:31.

Boys

Team Scores

1. Whitefish, 22; 2. Frenchtown, 64; 3. Polson, 66; 4. Columbia Falls, 80; 5. Libby, 151.

Individual Top Ten

1. Gunnar Nabozney, Frenchtown, 16:05; 2. Keaton Grove, Whitefish, 16:13; 3. E.J. Havens, Whitefish, 16:20; 4. Caleb Knox, Whitefish, 16:25; 5. Tel Motichka, Polson, 16:38; 6. Thomas Henson, Whitefish, 16:47; 7. Ethan Lannaghan, Whitefish, 16:54; 8. James Ratzlaff, C. Falls, 17:05; 9. Keaton Nicholson, Whitefish, 17:07; 10. Zayne Brunz, C. Falls, 17:19.