Sophomore Brett Winegar placed third to lead Flathead at the Foot Locker Western Regionals cross-country meet in Fresno, Calif., Dec 6-8.
Winegar, running in the sophomore unseeded race, finished ahead of almost 200 runners with a time of 16:34.
"Starting out, you want to get out fast so you don't get boxed in because the course starts to narrow," said Winegar of his strategy. "You would rather be up front than work your way up from behind. It worked really well for me."
The Western Regionals featured over 2,000 runners from 12 states. There were four unseeded races for each grade level and a fifth race for seeded runners.
Senior Shane Ackerly placed 93rd with a time of 16:22 in the 5,000 meters. He was the only FHS runner in the seeded race.
"Fresno is not like any other race in Montana," said Ackerly. "You've got guys there you've seen on the cover of Runners World and people that have been leading the nation in their events since they were freshman."
With temperatures in the 70s, runners from Flathead enjoyed the nice weather.
"Compared to what we have had here, the weather was scorching," said Ackerly.
"The California people were wearing tights, gloves, and headbands," said senior Keegan Rumsey.
Accustomed to cold Montana weather, the Flathead runners dressed sparingly compared to the other runners.
Said Rumsey: "We were practically naked."
Rumsey placed 23rd with a time of 20:15 in the senior unseeded race.
Sophomores Hanni Buettner, 27th, and Jane Berry, 58th, also attended the meet.
Also placing were juniors Kevin Murphy 23rd, Nick Hanson, 74th, and sophomore Robbie Lamb, 28th.
Said Winegar: "It's a lot more exciting than high school, and you know there is going to be a lot more competition."