Knights sweep District 9C titles

Daniel Horton Havre Daily News [email protected]

After being pushed back two days because of rain and snow, the District 9C track meet couldn't have gotten a better day to compete. On Friday, seven 9C track and field programs from across the Hi-Line gathered in sunny Havre with the common goal of becoming District 9C champions. And with the Box Elder Bears, Hays Lodge Pole Thunderbirds, Rocky Boy Stars, Big Sandy Pioneers, Turner Tornados, Chinook Sugarbeeters and North Star Knights all in attendance, it was the Knights who got the sweep and walked away with both the boys and girls team championships. The North Star boys scored 175 points and the girls scored 205 in their efforts to receive two championships. “That's our first big goal of the year,” North Star head coach Brian Campbell said. “Is to do well on the boys and girls side. We always try to fill up extra events and do everything we can to win this track meet.” On the boys side, the Beeters took second with 156 points, while the Tornados took third with 95 points. And to wrap the boys competition, the Pioneers scored 72 points, the Stars scored 18 and the T-Birds scored six. On the girls side, the Beeters turned in another second-place finish with 147 points, while the Pioneers scooted into third with 100. The Stars finished with 17 and the Tornados finished with 15. There was a lot of good competition on the track on Friday, but the battle for first really came down to being between the Knights and Beeters. And though just last weekend on the boys side the Beeters defeated the Knights, the Knights were able to turn the tables and get the win when it really mattered. “I knew the competition between us and Chinook was going to be close,” Campbell said. “To turn around and to win was a big accomplishment for our boys.” It took the entire team of Knights to get both championships on Friday, and Zack Halter and Jordan Spicher made sure they did all they could. Halter led all the competition after he earned 42 points for the boys. He took first in the 110 hurdles (16.50) and the 300 hurdles (43.40) and also took second in the javelin with a throw of 149-0 and second in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:11.50. Halter even added a thirdplace finish in the 400-meter dash with a time of 55.90. Spicher gave the girls a boost with her team leading 27.50 points. She took second in the 100-meter hurdles (17.70), as well as the pole vault (8-0) and the 400-meter relay with a team time of 52.90. She also took third in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 49.50 and added a first-place finish in the 1600-meter relay with a team time of 4:25.80. But a lot of other girls stepped up for the Knights as well. Britnee Dyrland earned 24 points, while Britt Kapperud earned 20, Taylor Warren earned 21, Jenna Kapperud earned 20, Haylee Anderson earned 18.50, Kali Twedt earned 18.50 and Justine Beaudry earned 16 to help lead the team. And for the North Star boys, Kellan Warren just trailed Halter, earning 38 points in the 800-meter run, 1,600-meter run, 3200-meter run, pole vault and 1600-meter relay. And Connor Kline Pitched in earning 28 points, as did Carlin Toner with 15. But the way the Beeters kept the competition close was with first-place finishes. On the girls side, the Beeters finished five events in first place, and on the boys side, they finished six events in first place. Tia Bower tied the meet record in the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.50, while Krista Johnson threw the javelin 100-11. Kayla Hanson took first in the triple jump when she cleared 32-8, and first in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 17.30. And in the 400-meter relay, they took first with a time of 52.80. Gregg Qualls took away two firstplace finishes for the boys. In the 100-meter dash he finished in 11.50 and in the 200-meter dash he finished with a time of 24.30. Kyle Reid ran a 53.50 in the 400-meter and cleared 40-6 in the triple jump. And the Beeters finished the 400-meter relay in 46.50, and the 1600-meter relay in 3:42.90. The Beeters were able to keep things close and capture two second place finishes, but it was the depth of the Knights that propelled them to first. “Our depth is a big thing,” Campbell said. “With having more kids and more athletes, being able to fill up more events is big for us at a meet like this. There are a lot of deep teams that won't put in as many events as we did. Yes we are deep and it gives us an advantage, but you have to take advantage of that.” And for teams like the Pioneers who aren't as deep, they take full advantage of outstanding athletes like star Kourtney Danreuther. She earned more points than any other athlete on Friday with 50, and placed first in all five of her events. Danreuther took the 200-meter dash with a time of 26.70, the 300 hurdles with a time of 46.60, the 400-meter dash with a time of 58.20 and the 800-meter with a time of 2:17.90. Danreuther also took first in the long jump, when she cleared over 17-5. “The 9C is just fantastic for any sport,” Campbell said. “We are really tough in basketball and volleyball, and it shows on the track. The 9C has good athletes and you saw that today (Friday) and will see it now when we head to Great Falls.