Geraldine, Conrad take home Lions Invitational titles

Neither cold weather nor a stiff east wind could put a damper on one of the largest track meets in Havre High history Saturday afternoon at the Lions Invitational Track Meet at the the Havre Middle School track.

"This was a great meet because we had a ton of athletes here and it made it very competitive," said HHS head coach Mark West. "There were some very good days and some great performances on Saturday and it made for a really good meet."

For the host Ponies, the day was hit and miss. The Havre High girls team was edged by Northern C powerhouse Geraldine for the team title. The Tigers scored 85 points behind standout Toni Qunell, who won four events. The Ponies came in second with 81 points. Cut Bank finished third, while Chinook finished a distant fourth.

While Havre had some very solid individual performances on the day, it suffered a critical loss as standout Alexa Lipp suffered a sprained ankle during the course of the meet, which forced her to miss two events.

"It was a tough deal to lose Alexa," West said. "But we had some girls step up and perform really well."

"Kelsey Smith and Rylee O'Connell ran really well this weekend and so did Mandi Nystrom," he added. "Casea Pollington also had a really good day for us."

Smith shined in the sprints for the Ponies. She finished second in the 100 meters and fourth in the 200. Nystrom also sprinted well, with a sixth-place finish in the 200 meters and a fourth-place finish in the 400. Meanwhile, Smith added a second in the pole vault to cap a fine all-around day.

Pollington was also stellar in the high jump as she cleared 5-0 to win the event going away. Chinook's Georgia Barber came in second with a jump of 4-10. Pollington came back to grab a fourth-place finish in the pole vault.

Havre distance runners also had a good day in a very competitive field. Darci Briere finished second to Browning star Wasewi Shawl in the 1,600 meters. She also came in third in the 800. Kelsey Malsam raced to a fifth-place finish in the 3,200.

"I was pretty happy with our distance runners this weekend," West said. "Darci Briere ran really well against some very good runners and both her races she PR'd in."

Havre also excelled in the throws on Saturday, as Lena Suek won the discuss with a final toss of 109-10. Suek added a sixth in the javelin.

The Chinook 1,600-meter relay team of Morgan Obie, Crystal Roseberry, Whitney Lybeck and Barber grabbed an impressive win with a time of 4:27.08. Lybeck added a fifth in the high jump, Roseberry finished third in the triple jump, and Brittany Williams added a second and third in the discus and shot put.

The Havre High boys team also had some very good individual performances, but it was not enough to catch a very good Conrad team, which scored 75 points to capture the team title. Fort Benton came in second with 66 points, while the Ponies were third with 61, followed by Chester in fourth. KG placed fifth.

"I think our boys team could have performed better than they did," West said. "But some of it is due to the fact that we are behind a lot of teams when it comes to time on the track.

"But there were some really good performances from a lot of different teams," West added. "The scoring was very balanced throughout the day."

As expected, junior Scott Robinson had a good day for Havre, capturing the 800 meters with a time of 2:06.47. Jeff Sprinkle finished third in that race. Robinson also came in with a strong second-place finish in the 400 meters and he placed fifth in the javelin.

Meanwhile, Kasey Barsotti, who has starred for HHS in the distance events, ran into a very good runner in Shelby's Daniel Bridge. The two runners staged two great races on the afternoon with Bridge winning both the 1600 and 3200 just ahead of Barsotti in each event.

"Kasey was beaten by a very good runner, but he still ran really good times," West said. "Scott also ran well and those two scored some good points for us."

The Ponies also got a first place in a very competitive high jump field. Eric Vosen just edged our KG's Richie Melby to win the event with a final jump of 5-10.

"Right now we just need to find some more boys that are going to step up for us," West said. "But it was still good for us to go out and get another meet under our belt and hopefully we'll continue to build on what we have done so far."

Chester got solid performances from mainstays Patrick Wicks, Patrick Walstad and Travis VanDyke. Wicks finished fifth in the 200 and sixth in 400, Walstad finished third in 1,600 and fifth in 3,200, while VanDyke was third in the javelin and fourth in the high jump.

KG was paced by Luke Antonich, who finished second in the 110 hurdles and sixth in the high jump, and Cody Donoven, who finished fifth in the 300 hurdles and second in the javelin.

Big Sandy's Mason Ophus won the discus, while Blue Sky/J-I's Craig Miller added a second in the shot put and Roald Aageson added a fifth in the 400 and sixth in the shot put.

The Ponies will be back in action Tuesday, when they dual CMR at Memorial Stadium in Great Falls. On Saturday, the Havre boys team will travel to Butte for the Dahlberg Invitational and the girls team will be back in Great Falls for the Optimist Invitational.

Lions Invitational

GIRLS

Team Scores

Geraldine 85, Havre 81, Cut Bank 61, Chinook 44, Malta 41, Fort Benton 36; Poplar 26, Shelby 25, Browning 24, Cascade 3, Conrad 22, Glasgow 16, Blue Sky/J-I 15, Saco 14, Choteau 10, Fairfield 2.

Individual Results

100 - 1. Toni Qunell, GER 13.25; 2. Kelsey Smith, HAV 13.70; 3. Megan Leighman, CB 13.97; 4. Sperry DesRosier, BRO 14.00; 5. Rylee O'Connell, HAV 14.03; 6. Marie Christiaens, SHE 14.34.

200 - 1. Toni Qunell, GER 27.50; 2. Rachel Clark, GER 28.10; 3. Kallie Olds, CAS 28.20; 4. Kelsey Smith, HAV 28.30; 5. Megan Leighman, CB 28.31; 6. Mandi Nystrom, HAV 28.70.

400 RELAY - 1. Cut Bank 52.70; 2. Havre 52.75; 3. Fort Benton 53.50; 4. Chinook 53.79; 5. Conrad 53.80; 6. Geraldine 54.00.

High Jump - 1. Casea Pollington, HAV 5-0; 2. Georgia Barber, CHI 4-10; 3. Kyle Callison, FB 4-08; 4. Christine Weidendorf, CON 4-08; 5. Whitney Lybeck, CHI 4-08; 5. Brittany Allen, MAL 4-08.

Javelin - 1. Kaylee Shaw, FB 113-05; 2. Christa Sprout, CAS 112-02; 3. Laramie Kolczak, MAL 107-03; 4. Brianna Barnard, SACO 104-05; 5. Kelly Pankratz, MAL 99-02; 6. Lena Suek, HAV 97-2.

1,600 - 1. Wasewi Shawl, BRO 5:33.35; 2. Darci Briere, HAV 5:41.04; 3. Kelly Pankratz, MAL 5:44.60; 4. Brittany Seubert, SHE 5:49.52; 5. Millie McIntyre, GLA 5:51.20; 6. Della Tromblee, CUT 5:52.51.

800 - 1. Millie McIntyre, GLA 2:31.70; 2. Kile Patrick, SKY/J-I 2:32.97; 3. Darci Briere, HAV 2:33.00; 4. Lindsay Alvestead, SHE 2:33.10; 5. Kiley Martin, CON 2:37.50; 6. Kim Jestrab, HAV 2:40.82.

1,600 Relay - 1. Chinook 4:27.08; 2. Shelby 4:28.50; 3. Conrad 4:31.68; 4. Geraldine 4:33.94; 5. Blue Sky/J-I 4:34.98; 6. Havre 4:35.42.

Triple Jump - 1. Amber Aikins, CB 34-10; 2. Rachel Clark, FER 32-04; 3. Crystal Roseberry, CHI 32-02; 4. Serena Johnson, CON 31-08; Kyle Callison, FB 31-04; 6. Morgan Obie, CHI 31-02.

300 HURDLES - 1. Toni Qunell, GR 46.70; 2. Amber Aikins, CB 48.30; 3. Roshon Nordlund, MAL 49.60; 4. Kaila Warren, SKY/J-I 50.51; 5. Kalyn Fairbanks, GER 50.90; 6. Christine Weidendorf, CON 51.70.

3,200 - 1. Wasewi Shawl, BRO 12:02.60; 2. Brittany Seubert, SHE 12:28.70; 3. Kelly Pankratz, MAL 12:29.70; 4. Della Tromblee, CB 12:46.60; 5. Kelsey Malsam, HAV 12:47.80; 6. Nadine Mann, CAS 12:54.70.

DISCUS - 1. Lena Suek, HAV 109-10; 2. Brittany Williams, CHI 102-06; 3. Ashley Azure, POP 102-02; 4. Alicia Burtchett, GER 96-09; 5. Brianna Barnard, SACO 90-10; Tasha Herrera, HAV 84-10.

SHOT PUT - 1. Ashley Azure, POP 32-02; 2. Brianna Barnard, SACO 32-04; 3. Brittany Williams, CHI 31-09; 4. Jill King, MAL 30-10; 5. Cali Buck, CHO 30-05; 6. Julie Brown, CON 30-04.00.

LONG JUMP - 1. Amber Aikins, CB 16-01; 2. Cali Buck, CHO 15-09; 3. Kaylee Shaw, FB 15-05; 4. Carmen Neuens, HAV 15-03; 5. Serena Johnson, CON 14-10; 6. Brittany Allen, MAL 14-10.

400 - 1. Toni Qunell, GER 1:02.60; 2. Rachel Clark, GER 1:02.80; 3. Angie Young, FB 1:03.30; 4. Mandi Nystrom, HAV 1:04.10; 5. Kalli Olds, CAS 1:05.32; 6. Fallon Brown, MAL 1:05.41.

100 HURDLES - 1. Amber Aikins, CB 16.57; 2. Roshon Nordlund, MAL 16.96; 3. Toni Qunell, GER 17.16; 4. Alex Etchart, GLA 17.89; 5. Amanda West, FFD 17.93; 6. Kaila Warren, SKY/J-I 17.96.

POLE VAULT - 1. Amber Crowley, POP 9-03; 2. Kelsey Smith, HAV 8-00; 3. Kalyn Fairbanks, GER 7-06; 4. Christa Sprout, CAS 7-06; 5. Casea Pollington, HAV 7-00; 6. Amanda Babcock, CB 6-06.

BOYS

Team Scores

Conrad 75, Fort Benton 66, Havre 61, Chester 39, Choteau 37, KG 33, Glasgow 29, Shelby 28, Cascade 22, Malta 21, Saco 21, Whitewater 20, Browning 14, Cut Bank 12, Big Sandy 12, Geraldine 12, Blue Sky/J-I 11, Simms 8, Fairfield 6.

Individual Results

100 - 1. Brandon Utterback, FB 11.70; 2. Derek Beadle, SACO 11.80; 3. Forrest Flesch, SHE 12.06; 4. Shawn Brown, CN 12.10; 5. Mike Clark, GER 12.16; 6. Kevin Hanson, MAL 12.19.

200 - 1. Brandon Utterback, FB 23.40; 2. Ty Stevens, CAS 23.70; 3. Daniel Laasch, CB 23.90; 4. Pete Betcher, CHO 24.10; 5. Patrick Wicks, CHE 24.40; 6. Greg Reid, CHER 24.50.

400 - 1. Pete Betcher, CHO 51.80; 2. Scott Robinson, HAV 53.61; 3. Skippy Sims, MAL 53.98; 4. Tyler Edwards, GLA 54.03; 5. Roald Aageson, SKY/J-I 54.10; 6. Patrick Wicks, CHE 54.12.

800 - 1. Scott Robinson, HAV 2:06.47; 2. Shaun Carnahan, MAL 2:07.13; 3. Jeff Sprinkle, HAV 2:07.96; 4. Paul Carroll, CON 2:09.30; 5. Curtis Darrah, MAL 2:10.50; 6. Kale McGinnis, FB 2:11.53.

3,200 - 1. Daniel Bridge, SHE 10:07.90; 2. Kasey Barsotti, HAV 10:13.70; 3. Carl Trombley, BRO 10:27.73; 4. Zach Coccoli, CHO 10:34.60; 5. Patrick Walstad, CHE 10:40.80; 6. Adam Butler, BS 10:45.01.

300 HURDLES - 1. Dan McFarland, CON 40.60; 2. Tyler Edwards, GLA 41.00; 3. Bryan Somers, FB 41.80; 4. Mike Green, SIMMS 42.50; 5. Cody Donoven, KG 42.80; 6. Tyson Parman, HAV 43.50.

1,600 - 1. Daniel Bridge, SHE 4:39.15; 2. Kasey Barsotti, HAV 4:44.75; 3. Patrick Walstad, CHE 4:47.37; 4. Carl Trombley, BRO 4:51.18; 5. Zach Coccoli, CHO 4:51.80; 6. Adam Butler, BS 4:59.62.

1,600 RELAY - 1. Fort Benton, 3:37.37; 2. Havre 3:40.73; 3. Choteau 3:41.50; 4. Chester 3:43.37; 5. Shelby 3:46.30; 6. Conrad 3:48.80.

400 RELAY - 1. Cascade 46.48; 2. Glasgow 47.06; 3. Chester 47.20; 4. Browning 47.67; 5. Saco 48.30; 6. Fort Benton 48.47.

110 HURDLES - 1. Dan McFarland, CON 15.94; 2. Luke Antonich, KG 16.05; 3. Tyler Edwards, GLA 16.59; 4. Deric Welch, MAL 16.73; 5. Bryan Somers, FB 17.66; 6. Greg Reid, GER 17.83.

TRIPLE JUMP - 1. Khalin Anderson, FB 39-03; 2. Pat Menge, SACO 39-00; 3. Shade Stiles, WHI 38-06; 4. Travis Voss, CAS 38-01; 5. Derek Sandee, GER 38-00; 6. Travis Poor, SIMMS 37-07.

JAVELIN - 1. Shade Stiles, WHI 199-11; 2. Cody Donoven, KG 164-01; 3. Travis VanDyke, CHE 160-06; 4. Roman Morris, WHI 158-01; 5. Scott Robinson, HAV 156-04; 6. Darby Donoven, KG 155-07.

LONG JUMP - 1. Dan McFarland, CON 20-05; 2. Khalin Anderson, FB 20-03; 3. Shawn Brown, CON 19-01; 4. Mike Green 19-00; 4. Pat Menge, SACO 19-00; 6. Pete Betcher, CHO 18-07.

POLE VAULT - 1. Cale Fitzgerald, CON 11-06; 2. John Tranberg, CHE 11-00; 3. Steven Blair, CB 10-06; 4. Mark Crossland, CHO 10-06; 5. Trent Zempel, CON 10-06; 6. Adam Olson, GLA 10-00.

SHOT PUT - 1. Shawn Brown, CON 48-05; 2. Craig Miller, SKY/J-I 46-00; 3. Mike Clark, GER 43-00; 4. Forest LeTang, KG 42-07; 5. Nate Barstad, GLA 42-00; 6. Roald Aageson, SKY/J-I 41-09.

DISCUS - 1. Mason Ophus, BS 152-07; 2. Kale McGinnis, FB 127-10; 3. Matt Lame, CHO 125-00; 4. Robert Bergstrom, FFD 124-02; 5. Carson Hanley, CON 119-07; 6. Forest LeTang, KG 118-09.

HIGH JUMP - 1. Eric Vosen, HAV 5-10; 2. Richie Melby, KG 5-10; 3. Carson Hanley, CON 5-08; 4. Travis VanDyke, CHE 5-08; 5. Brandon Warner, FFD 5-06; 6. Luke Antonich, KG 5-06.