George Ferguson Havre Daily News sports editor gferguson@havredailynews.com
The Northern C Divisional track meet has been all about Hi-Line success recently. And last Thursday’s Northern C meet at Memorial Stadium in Great Falls was no different, especially for Big Sandy and junior Kourtney Danreuther. The Pioneer girls cruised to the Northern C title, scoring 102 points and eight individual championships. Danreuther, who has owned the Northern C for three years, brought home five gold medals to lead the way. The star junior captured the 200 meters with a time of 26.2, the 400 in 57.7, the 800 in 2:12, the 300 hurdles in 45.1 and the long jump with a leap of 16-6. Danreuther also shat tered the 800-meter record in the process. But as spectacular as Danreuther was on Thursday, so was the rest of her team. Amber Amsbaugh captured a gold medal in the high jump (5-2) and she finished second in the 100 hurdles and fifth in the 300 hurdles. Laci Keller also brought home gold for Big Sandy in the discus (115-2) and Desirae O’Neil and Mariah Gullickson also scored points for the two-time defending Class C champs. Meanwhile, District 9C champion North Star also had a good day, finishing second with 55 points. Geraldine was third with 49 points, while Chester/J-I finished sixth with 37 points. Chinook was ninth and Rocky Boy finished 16th. The Knights got a huge effort form senior Natasha Dyrland, who captured the shot put with a throw of 38-6, while she also finished second in the javelin and fourth in the discus. Sarah Helmbrecht also helped North Star with a win in the triple jump (33-2). C/J-I got plenty of points from star Daina Kolstad, who placed five events, while Hannah Schweitzer was strong in the distance races. Lexi Lybeck and Jessica VanDyke also helped the Hawks in the scoring. Other 9C athletes that shined on Thursday were Chinook’s Tia Bower. The star sprinter won the premier event, the 100 meters in a time of 12.7, and she also finished third in the 200 meters. And Rocky Boy’s Jasmin Dumas brought home gold in the 1,600 meters, and she finished fifth in the 800 meters. Meanwhile, the boys meet was dominated by Centerville’s Craig Halko, who captured five gold medals on Thursday. The Miners won the meet with 69 points, while North Star, the District 9C champion, finished second with 60 points. Chester/J-I was fifth with 45 points and Big Sandy was sixth with 50 points. Chinook also finished 17th and Turner was 18th. Individually, North Star got a divisional title from Cody Jurenka. The senior captured the 300 hurdles in a time of 40.8, while he also finished fifth in the 400 meters. Adam Chvilicek also had a big day for the Knights, winning the 800 meters with a time of 2:02.1 and finishing sixth in the 400. Kellan Warren was also solid for the Knights. He captured the grueling 3,200 meters and finished third in the 1,600. Big Sandy also got a big boost from Pat Louvar, who finished just behind Halko in the 100 and 200 meter races. Defending state champion Darin Ray also won the 1,600 meters and finished second in the 800, and Casten Heppner finished second in the discus. Chester/J-I got points form Chase Pimley, Tyler Han, Callen McKinley and Jon Faugherbach, who was very strong in the distance races. Now, the top six finishers in each even will move on to the final meet of the season, the Class C state track meet in Helena. The action at the state meet gets under way on Friday morning and the meet runs through Saturday afternoon.
