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Gardiner’s Johnson Named Whitefish Girls Basketball Coach

The Bruins were 62-18 under Johnson, including a 24-5 record last season that ended with the team's first championship.

By Dillon Tabish

Ben Johnson, who guided the Gardiner Bruins to the Class C girls state championship in March, has been selected as the new head coach of the girls basketball program at Whitefish High School.

Activities Director Aric Harris announced the selection on Thursday. The hire is pending approval by the school board.

Johnson has coached at Gardiner High School since 2012. The Bruins were 62-18 under Johnson, including a 24-5 record last season that ended with the team’s first championship. It marked the first time Gardiner had even won a game at the state tournament. He was named the 2015 Montana Coaches Association Coach of the Year.

Johnson will try to rebuild a Whitefish program that has struggled in recent years. The Lady Bulldogs were 3-18 last season and 18-127 since 2008.

Before coaching at Gardiner in Class C, Johnson was the head girls basketball coach at Meadows Valley Junior High in New Meadows, Idaho from 2010-2012. He also served as the head girls coach at White Sulphur Springs High School from 2008-2010.