Local athletes shine at Northern C track

One week after finishing second at the District 9C track meet in Havre, the Fort Benton girls traveled to the Northern C Divisional track meet in Great Falls and stole the show.

Thanks to first-place finishes in the 100-meter dash, the 200, the 400 and the 800, the Longhorn girls racked up 94 points, which earned them the team championship at the divisional meet. Belt came in second with 70 points, while Geraldine was third with 58. Chinook notched a seventh-place finish in the girls competition, thanks to a total of 36 points. North Stars also managed to finish ninth with 20 points, Chester-Joplin-Inverness had three, Big Sandy and Turner each scored one, as all three schools finished near the bottom in the team results.

On the boys side of the competition, it was the Belt Huskies, who ran away with things, garnering first-place with an impressive 102 points. Power finished second with 72 points. Sunburst was third with 64 and CJI was fourth with 56. North Star finished seventh with 25, Turner was ninth with 18, Chinook and Box Elder both had 10 points. Hays-Lodge Pole finished the meet with eight points — Big Sandy had one.

Just like a week ago in Havre, the Fort Benton girls were led by sensational freshman Leah Gannon, who for the second meet in a row won both the 200 (27.53) and the 400 (1:00.55). She also served as the anchor for the Longhorns’ 1,600 relay team, which also finished first with a time of 4:20.64 and just to show she can do more than run, she also got on the podium with a second in the long jump (15-0.5).

Yet Gannon wasn’t the only Longhorn to have an exceptional day. Kaitlyn Bird, the veteran lead of a young Fort Benton team, was also stellar, winning the 800 with a time of 2:28.5 and finishing second in the 1,600 after running a 5:40.98. She also had a second-place showing in the 300 hurdles (48.76), which capped her productive day.

Maddy Thompson was another Fort Benton girl who performed exceptionally well Thursday. Thompson won the 100 with a 13.04, then went on to finish fourth in the pole vault (7-6) and fifth in the long jump (14-4).

Chinook might have not scored as many points as Fort Benton, but the Sugarbeeters did have a number of strong performances, led by Abigail Ellison, who won a divisional title in the triple jump (33-7). Kailey Kleinjan also made her presence felt for Chinook, placing second in the 100 (13.07) and fourth in the 200 (26.85). Kleinjan also played a key role in the Beeters 400 relay team finishing second as well.

Other Chinook girls that placed at the meet included Kourtney Hanson, who was third in the 800 (2:34.43) and Brooke Elliot, who notched a fifth-place finish in the javelin with a throw of 103-4.

The North Star girls also had a number of athletes place, starting with Janae West, who vaulted 8-0 in the pole vault to finish third. Lily Pedersen came in fifth in the same event at 7-6. Katelin Harvey, was fifth in the 800 (2:35.43), while Graysen Spicher was fourth in the shot put with a throw of 33-4 and fourth in the javelin, following a throw of 109-3. Sheridan Spicher also finished fifth in the discus (95-0).

Other local athletes who placed in the meet included Kayona Fraser of CJI, who was fifth in the triple jump (29-10), Jaye Anderson of Turner, who finished sixth in the 400 (1:06.57) Jessica Roth of Big Sandy, who was sixth in the 3,200 with a time of 13:29.6 and Anna Jamison of CJI, who was sixth in the 100 hurdles (18.01).

On the boys side of things, no Hi-Line team performed better than CJI and no Hawk was better at the Northern C than Justin May. May, who is an exceptional three-sport athlete, showed why again Thursday, winning two events and placing in three others.

First, May took home the top prize in the long jump (20-2) and the triple jump (42-4). Yet, the CJI senior was far from finished, placing second in the javelin with a throw of 163-5, as well as second in the 300 hurdles (41.43) and fourth in the 200 (24.95).

However, May got plenty of help from his teammates as the Hawks finished a respectable fourth, particularly from Cameron Davis, who won the discus after a throw of 130-11. Cory Kelly also finished third for the Hawks in the 110 hurdles (17.15).

The North Star Knights, fresh off their district 9C title a week ago, didn’t fare as well in Great Falls, but still scored 25 points thanks in large part to Devon Miller, who was third in the 100 (11.93) and fourth in the javelin at 151-9. Payton Peterson also placed in two events, finishing fifth in the high jump at 5-10 and sixth in the long jump at 18-3. Additionally, Matt Helmbrecht placed for the Knights in the shot put. He earned fourth after throwing 42-5.

Other local athletes who stood out at the meet were Eddie Harmon of Turner, who captured a divisional title in the 800 with a time of 2:04.82. He also finished second in the 400 at 52.28. Shane Ketchum of Box Elder also won the 1,600 at the divisional meet thanks to an impressive time of 4:53.6.

Other placers from the Hi-Line included Isiah RunsAbove of HLP, who finished second in the 3,200 with a time of 10:33.35, Kyler Johnson of Chinook, who finished third in the 3,200 (10:41) and fourth in the 1,600 (4:56) as well as Big Sandy’s Eric Schwarzbach, who managed a sixth-place finish in the 110 hurdles at 19.46.

All qualified athletes will advance to the Class C state track meet, which will be May 27-28 in Missoula at Big Sky High School.

Ralph Halverson Northern C

at Great Falls

Boys

Team scores: Belt 102, Power 72, Sunburst 64, Chester-Joplin-Inverness 56, Denton 38, Valier 30, North Star 25, Cascade 21, Turner 18, Dutton-Brady 14, Great Falls Central 14, Simms 13, Box Elder 10, Stanford-Geyser 9, Geraldine 9, Hays-Lodgepole 8, Moore 6, Centerville 3, Hobson 2, Augusta 2, Big Sandy 1.

100: Haugrose, Koltin, Bel, 11.44; Rossmiller, Chase, Pow, 11.61; Miller, Devon, NS, 11.93; Pschernig, Erik, Simms, 12.07; Curry, Colten, Val, 12.07; Connerton, Sawyer, Hob, 12.08.

200: Haugrose, Koltin, Bel, 24.03; Rossmiller, Chase, Pow, 24.65; Woodword, Ben, Pow, 24.86; May, Justin, CJI, 24.95; Dugan, Nolan, DB, 25.15; Ehlers, Paul, Sun, 25.9.

400: Haugrose, Koltin, Bel, 51.03; Harmon, Eddie, Turner, 52.28; Hartman, Austin, Den, 53.06; Woodword, Ben, Pow, 53.37; Belstad, Andru, DBt, 54.14; Simmes, Logan, Sun, 54.8.

800: Harmon, Eddie, Tur, 2:04.82; Woodword, Ben, Pow, 2:05.9; Morgan, Chance, Sun, 2:06.4; Carpenter, Kordell, Den, 2:08.36; Carpenter, Kendall, Den, 2:09.19; Dunk, Dominik, Pow, 2:09.56.

1,600: Ketchum, Shane, BE, 4:53.67; Green, Harry, Bel, 4:55.63; Stroop, Keagan, Bel, 4:56.52; Johnson, Kyler, Chi, 4:56.6; Morgan, Chance, Sun, 4:56.82; Bingham, Kevin, Hob, 4:57.21.

3,200: Carpenter, Kordell, Den, 10:26.1; RunsAbove, Isiah, HL, 10:33.35; Johnson, Kyler, Chi, 10:41.06; Morgan, Chance, Sun, 10:41.31; Stroop, Keagan, Bel, 10:46.61; Green, Harry, Bel, 10:46.67.

110 hurdles: Haugrose, Koltin, Bel, 15.27; Omdahl, Ulan, Sun, 17.12; Kelly, Cory, CJI, 17.15; Schafer, Jaeger, Den, 17.52; Zylks, Joey, Pow, 19.35; Schwarzbach, Eric, BS, 19.46.

300 hurdles: Haugrose, Koltin, Bel, 39.19; May, Justin, CJI, 41.43; Omdahl, Ulan, Sun, 44.64; Belstad, Andru, DB, 44.74; Woodhall, Rhet, SG, 45.25; Schafer, Jaeger, Den, 45.91.

400 relay: Cascade 46.87, North Star 47.11, Dutton-Brady 47.26, Power 47.61, Centerville 47.66, Stanford/Geyser 47.97.

1,600 relay: Power 3:45.03, Valier 3:48.84, Denton 3:49.33, Belt 3:51.1, Sunburst 3:51.88, Centerville 3:53.92.

High jump: Rossmiller, Chase, Pow, 6-2; Omdahl, Ulan, Sun, J6-2; Metrione, Matt, Bel, 5-10; Heilig, Hayden, Moore, J5-10; Peterson, Payton, NS, J5-10; Curry, Colten, Val, 5-8.

Pole vault: Riphenburg, Zachary, Cas, 13-3; Habel, Darin, Val, 12-0; Norskog, Carson, SG, 11-6; Zylks, Joey, Pow, 11-0; Schafer, Jaeger, Den, J11-0; Fredrickson, Jayson, Cascade, 10-6; Roach-Skelton, Michael, Cas, 10-6.

Long jump: May, Justin, CJI, 20-2; Curry, Colten, Val, 19-9.25; Rossmiller, Chase, Pow, 19-5.75; Rushton, Logan, Sim, 19-2.5; Cavalcante, Caue, Aug, 18-3.5; Peterson, Payton, NS, 18-3.25.

Triple jump: May, Justin, CJI, 42-4.5; Omdahl, Ulan, Sun, 39-10.75; Rushton, Logan, Sim, 39-8.75; Omdahl, Quintin, Sun, 39-1.5; Curry, Colten, Val, 38-4.25; Carpenter, Kendall, Den, 38-3.

Shot put: Becker, Sam, Sun, 43-1; Metrione, Matt, Belt, 42-8.25; Ambuehl, Noah, GFC, 42-7.75; Helmbrecht, Matt, NS, 42-5; Kurtz, Riley, Ger, 41-9.25; Hill, Breyer, Pow, 40-6.25.

Discus: Davis, Cameron, CJI, 130-11; Bertha, Joey, Great Falls, 120-8; McKinlay, Mavrick, Ger, 118-5; Becker, Sam, Sun, 117-6; Stevenson, CJ, Moore, 115-8; Maki, Jaren, Belt, 114-5.

Javelin: Metrione, Matt, Bel, 170-4; May, Justin, CJI, 163-5; Maki, Jaren, Bel, 158-7; Miller, Devon, NS, 151-9; Carpenter, Kendall, Den, 149-3.5; Kuhn, Cody, Ger, 148-1.

Girls

Team scores: Fort Benton 94, Belt 70, Geraldine 58, Hobson 52, Cascade 47, Winnett-Grass Range 43, Chinook 36, Valier 28, North Star 20, Dutton-Brady 18, Denton-Geyser-Stanford 12, Moore 12, Centerville 8, Roy-Winifred 8, Sunburst 6, Power 4, Chester-Joplin-Inverness 3, Big Sandy 1, Turner 1.

100: Thompson, Maddy, FB, 13.04; Kleinjan, Kailey, Chi, 13.07; Meissner, Ginny, Bel, 13.13; Schwindt, Ember, Cas, 13.39; Durbin, Sierra, Moor, 13.5; Randel, Kyra, DGS, 13.58.

200: Gannon, Leah, FB, 27.53; Meissner, Ginny, Bel, 27.89; Durbin, Sierra, Moor, 28.41; Kleinjan, Kailey, Chi, 28.65; Anderson, Sara, Bel, 28.74; Randel, Kyra, DGS, 28.84.

400: Gannon, Leah, FB, 1:00.55; Drivdahl, Ember, Hob, 1:04.5; Sappington, Felicia, Cen, 1:06.18; Jensen, Maggie, Pow, 1:06.43; DeMars, Samantha, RW, 1:06.53; Anderson, Jaye, Tur, 1:06.57.

800: Bird, Kaitlyn, FB, 2:28.25; Weingart, Kita, WGR, 2:30.26; Hanson, Kourtney, Chi, 2:34.43; Shumaker, Kennadi, Cas, 2:35.36; Harvey, Katelin, NS, 2:35.43; Goettlich, Jada, RW, 2:36.33.

1,600: Weingart, Kita, WGR, 5:38.79; Bird, Kaitlyn, FB, 5:40.98; Eike, Christina, Hob, 5:50.69; Shumaker, Kennadi, Cas, 6:03.29; Derks, Chloe, Hob, 6:05.91; Browning, Tawny, WGR, 6:22.82.

3,200: Weingart, Kita, WGR, 11:57.3; Eike, Christina, Hob, 12:52.6; Derks, Chloe, Hob, 13:15.5; Browning, Tawny, WGR, 13:28.2; Paul, Makayla, Cen, 13:28.8; Roth, Jessica, BS, 13:29.6.

100 hurdles: Drivdahl, Ember, Hob, 16.22; Stoltz, Mariah, Val, 16.89; Anderson, Sara, Bel, 17.25; Murnion, Kendra, WGR, 17.68; Hitchcock, Aubree, DB, 17.8; Jamison, Anna, CJI, 18.01.

300 hurdles: Stoltz, Mariah, Val, 47.65; Bird, Kaitlyn, FB, 48.76; Drivdahl, Ember, Hob, 48.79; Anderson, Sara, Bel, 48.85; Durbin, Sierra, Moor, 50.17; Schlotter, Ashtyn, Cas, 51.77.

400 relay: Belt 52.12, Fort Benton 53.37, Chinook 53.43, Cascade 54.1, Dutton-Brady 55.3, Roy-Winifred 55.71.

1,600 relay: Fort Benton 4:20.64, Cascade 4:31.83, Winnett-Grass Range 4:33.96, Belt 4:34.25, Roy-Winifred 4:35.7, Hobson 4:37.62.

High jump: Schwindt, Ember, Cas, 5-0; Urick, Dani, Bel, 5-0; Evans, Alia, FB, 4-10; Vincent, Kristen, Hob, 4-8; Hertel, Mamie, Moor, 4-8; Drivdahl, Ember, Hob, 4-8.

Pole vault: Stoltz, Mariah, Val, 9-0; Nack, Makae, Ger, 8-3; West, Janae, NS, 8-0; Thompson, Maddy, FB, 7-6; Pedersen, Lily, NS, 7-6; Buley, Raija, Cas, 7-6.

Long jump: Schwindt, Ember, Cas, 15-7; Gannon, Leah, FB, 15-0.5; McCafferty, Olivia, Bel, 14-7.75; Urick, Dani, Belt, 14-6.5; Thompson, Maddy, FB, 14-4.75; Randel, Kyra, DGS, 14-4.

Triple jump: Ellison, Abigail, Chi, 33-7; Randel, Kyra, DGS, 32-4; Leader, Jenna, BS, 30-8; Nack, Makae, Ger, 30-5; Fraser, Kayona, CJI, 29-10.5; Taylor, Jenny, Cas, 29-9.

Shot put: Nack, Coya, Ger, 35-7.5; Clark, Shyanne, Ger, 35-1; Reeve, Taylor, DB, 33-7.25; Spicher, Graysen, NS, 33-4.25; Stoker, Emily, Bel, 33-4; Randel, Cassidy, DGS, 33-1.75.

Discus: Nack, Coya, Ger, 108-10; Reeve, Taylor, DB, 104-1; Christian, Kodie, Sun, 98-11; Clark, Shyanne, Ger, 98-7; Spicher, Sheridan, NS, 95-0; Kananen, Jada, RW, 94-7.

Javelin: Urick, Dani, Bel, 126-11; Nack, Coya, Ger, 117-3; Nack, Makae, Ger, 115-10; Spicher, Graysen, NS, 109-3; Elliot, Brooke, Chi, 103-4; Carlstrom, Kaylie, RW, 102-2.