Daniel Horton Havre Daily News gferguson@havredailynews.com
Track and field has reached the half way mark to its season, and each remaining meet is a crucial step to the divisional and state meets. And with the divisional and state meets drawing closer and closer, 22 teams took full advantage of the Cal Wearley track meet hosted by the North Star Knights in Havre on Tuesday morning. And with the 22 teams in attendance, teams from across the Hi-Line really stood out. The Knights boys team took the championship with 87 points, while the Cascade Badgers took second with 72 and the Augusta Elks took third with 63 points. The Chester/J-I Hawks were also in hunt with their 52 point fourthplace finish, as were the Chinook Sugarbeeters, who landed in fifth with 50 points. And on the girls side, the Belt Huskies put up 113 points to take home the team championship. And the Knights came in second with 79 points, while the Geraldine Tigers scored 71 to take third. The Big Sandy Pioneers were also in contention, but landed in fifth place with 60 points. “I was very pleased.” North Star head coach Brian Campbell said. “It was a great day with great athletes.” In the boys events, the Hawks received two first-place finishes. John Fauerbach first earned one in the 1,600 -meter run with a time of 5:05.1, and then again in the 3,200-meter run with a time of 10:46. Callan McKinley took second in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 44.4 for the Hawks. And Tyler Han finished the 300-meter hurdles in third with a time of 44.9, while Fauerbach earned points again in a 2:13.00 third place finish in the 800-meter run. Gregg Qualls took first in the 200-meter for the Beeters with a time of 23.2, while the Beeters 400-meter relay team took first in 46.6 seconds and the 1,600-meter relay team took second with a time of 3:51. In the girls events, the Pioneers once again got big points from the dominating Kourtney Danreuther. Danreuther took first in the 400-meter dash with a time of 61.0 seconds, the 800-meter with a time of 2:21.5 and in the long jump where she leaped 16-3. She also earned points in the 300-meter hurdles with a second-place time of 48.60. Mariah Gullickson also helped out the Pioneers with her second-place finish in the 400 meters when she finished in 63.1, and her third-place finish in the 100-meter dash with a 12.9 second finish. The Beeters' relay team shined again, when the girls 400-meter team finished in second place with a time of 54.48. Top sprinter Tai Bower also finished second in the 100 meters for Chinook. “The competition was really good.” Campbell said. “I cant imagine you can go to very many track meets during the year where you’re going to have to have the times and distances you had to have today to get in the top five.” But even with all the talent gathering in Havre on Tuesday, the Knights found plenty of room at the top, with the boys first-place finish and the girls second-place finish. Zack Halter came up big for the Knights when he took fourth in the 400 meters (56.8 seconds), third in the 110 hurdles (16.2 seconds) and first in the javelin when he threw for over 165 feet. Kellan Warren also stepped up with a 5:14.0 1,600 meter third-place finish and a second-place finish in the 3,200-meter run with a time of 11:02.6. And Skyler Melby took first in the high jump when he cleared 6-2, Carlin Toner took second in the pole vault when he went 10-0 and Chas Horinek took second when he threw the discus 133-1. “I think they optimized the team effort.” Campbell said. “We out evented people and almost every boy I had out today maxed out in their events. They competed hard and had a lot of personal bests, so that tends to score well.” The lady Knights earned their keep as well, getting points in numerous events and by a solid group of girls. The 400-meter relay team took first with a 54.2 second performance, and Jenna Kapperud took first in the shot put after she threw for 36-4. And the 1,600-meter relay team took second with a 4:37.9 performance, while Britnee Dyrland took second in the discus with a toss for over 97 feet. A handful of third-place finishes really helped out the Knights as well. Haylee Anderson took third in the 200-meter dash with a time of 13.3. And Taylor Warren finished third in the 3,200-meter run when she finished in 13:21.4, while Justine Beaudry took third in the pole vault when she lept 8-0. “Anytime you can come to a track meet like this and place in the top three you’ve got a pretty strong team.” Campbell said. “I was pleased with that. Our motto is, do as many events as possible and just see how the dice fall. We had a lot of good placers today.” The Cal Wearley played host to a multitude of talent on Tuesday, and though the Knights turned in dominating performances on both sides, a number of teams from across the Hi- Line, including Big Sandy, Box Elder, Chinook, C/J-I, Hays-Lodgepole, Rocky Boy and Turner had a successful meet as well.
