By Tiffany L. Rehbein
In a finish that mirrored last season, the Havre Blue Pony track teams both placed second at the Central A divisional track meet during the weekend.
The Belgrade Panthers' boys and girls both placed first with 161 and 164 points, respectively.
The Panthers defended last season's divisional trophies, while the Blue Ponies also copied last year's runner-up finishes.
This season, the Havre boys finished with 94 points, and the girls finished with 101 1/2 points.
LaShae Michels, who won the triple jump last year at divisional, defended her title and placed first with a leap of 35-0. It was her longest jump so far this season.
The junior also qualified for state in the long jump, where she placed sixth with a mark of 15-8 1/2.
The top six individual finishers and top six relay teams qualified for the state tournament, which will be held at Butte this weekend.
Jennie Peterson grabbed first-place finishes in the 1,600 meters and the 3,200 meters.
Peterson, a junior, finished the 1,600 with a time of 5:36.86 and the 3,200 with a time of 12:03.43.
Teammate Jenna Baltrusch followed Peterson across the line in the 3,200, placing second with a time of 12:34.
Baltrusch, a freshman, set a personal-best time of 5:39.89 in the 1,600 and placed third in the race.
On the boys' side, Brent Finneman placed first in the 100 meters with a time of 11.25. The junior outdistanced both Damon Woolsey of Lewistown and Jovan Fisher of Browning for the title.
Woolsey placed second (11.3) and Fisher placed fourth (11.45). Both runners hold one of the fastest times in the race in the state.
Finneman placed third in the 200 meters with a time of 23.14.
Freshman Steve Heberly placed third in the 100 with a time of 11.38. He also placed fifth in the 200 (23.9).
Adam Landgraf placed sixth in the 200 and fifth in the 100 with a time of 11.55.
The three, including Grant Roman, also guided the boys' 400-meter relay to a first-place finish with a time of 43.7. The team runs the fastest relay in the state Class A.
The boys' 1,600-meter relay placed third with a time of 3:35.16.
Jesse Suek claimed an individual gold medal in the discus with a toss of 159-3. It was Suek's farthest throw of the season.
Chris Klobofski placed third in the discus with a toss of 150-6. It was the senior's best competitive throw of the season.
Jake Dusek, Joey Roman, and Brian DeRosa also qualified for state.
Freshmen Karla McCormick and Brooke Schwan fared well on the girls' side, qualifying in the 300 hurdles and high jump.
Alyssa Matter and Erin Patera qualified in two events, while Erin Lynch, Jillian Brough, Maureen Porter, Cara Holmquist, Jayla McPherson, Jeanna McPherson, and Tami Huestis will also participate at state.
Brough set a season-best time in the 800 meters, and Porter matched her season-high jump of 7-6 in the pole vault.
Matter, a junior, placed fourth in the 100 meters with a time of 13.48. She also set a personal-best time of 16.89 in the 100 hurdles. She placed second in the event.
Patera, a senior, placed sixth in the javelin with a toss of 112 feet three inches. She placed fourth inthe triple jump with a leap of 33 feet, one inch.
The girls' 400-meter relay placed second with a time of 51.78. They were edged by Anaconda, who won in 51.06.
The girls' long relay placed third with a time of 4:19.62. Belgrade placed first and Anaconda second in the race.
The State A and B meet will be held at Butte on Friday and Saturday.
