Well, the regular season of highschool cross country in Montana is officially wrapped up, with the Missoula City Meet and Montana State Meet having both passed. Despite this sad goodbye that we all have to come to terms with, Hellgate Cross Country can certainly move into the postseason with smiles on their collective faces. The team finished their season strong, with great varsity and JV showings at the City meet and a wonderful performance at the varsity level at state.
Both boys and girls took home the trophy at the Missoula City Meet, “continuing the legacy of hard work and excellence at Hellgate XC,” said varsity runner and junior Sabine Glaser.
The Hellgate girls swept the podium, with freshman Madison Inabnit and seniors Kintla Thomas and Jamison Molloy finishing essentially together all under the 20 minute mark. The girls team was dealing with a number of injuries and it was a rough day for a number of the top runners, but despite these setbacks the team finished in first place by fifteen points.
The Hellgate boys had similar circumstances and a similar victory. While Sentinels Tyler Inabnit, Madison Inabnit’s brother, took home first, seniors Ridley Key, Eamon Fitzgerald, Oscar Valliant, and Jack Baumes took second, third, fifth, and sixth respectively. Hellgate had two varsity boys out dealing with injuries but sophomores Kieran and Jasper Alviar stepped up to fill their shoes. The twins finished together, both setting PRs and securing spots on the state team for the following Saturday.
Overall, both teams were feeling good about the State meet, especially after City. The girls team had won the past two state titles. Glaser said this put a lot of pressure on an especially young and fluid team, and that who runs varsity has changed a lot over the year, apart from a few “senior leaders.” This added to the nerves and pressure felt by the team.
Before the state meet, Glaser said she hoped that the team could push each other during the race, “and be the best runners and people we can be. That’s been a goal throughout the season, and I really hope that that’s reflected in our state race.”
At the beginning of the season, the boys and the girls teams set the goal of taking home a trophy (first, second, or third), and both Hellgate teams accomplished this goal. Both boys and girls finished the season third in the state, with stellar performances despite a number of difficulties.
On the boys side, juniors Odin Berryman and Isaiah Hudson, along with Baumes, were all coming off of fairly major injuries. Regardless of this, all three raced well, with Baumes even setting a PR. Notable performances for the rest of the team included sophomore phenom Miles Miller finishing sixteenth overall with a time of 16:16 and Fitzgerald and Key crossing the line together at 16:30.
Again, a similar story was the case for the girls. Juniors Gia Petrini, Zoe Benton, and freshman Alexandria Miller were all struggling with injury, which left Petrini and Miller unable to finish the race. Benton was unable to start due to her injury and allowed freshman Willa Brookwalter to come up from the alternates, who put down a great time of 20:21. Thomas led the team with a 19:16 PR, Molloy and Inabnit right behind her with 19:21 and 19:22 respectively.
A number of aspects of Hellgate Cross Country’s season did not go according to plan: from injury to coaching staff issues to interchanging varsity teams. Still, they overcame these setbacks, meeting their goals and proving once again their tenacity, determination, and how truly spectacular their program is. Not only is the program special, but the people who run for it are as well. HKXC can call this season a success any way you look at it, and hopes are high for seasons to come. And track. Hopes are also very high for track.
