Burk, Morgan lead Hawks at State B meet

Talk about stepping out in style.

Thompson Falls track and field seniors Cody Burk and Justin Morgan finished their prep careers in the sport on high notes at the State B meet in Laurel last week.

A throwing specialist for Blue Hawk coach Jake Susic the past four years, Burk presented Susic the first individual State B title one of his throwing pupils has ever won when he claimed the shot put with a best throw of 49 feet, 11 inches.

Saying it was worth the wait, Susic has been guiding Hawk throwers for 12 years now.

Burk also won fourth place in the discus with a best effort of 136-1.

Thompson Falls' brand new record holder in the 3200 meters, Morgan won second in that event (clocking another impressive time of 9:54.09), in addition to winning fourth in the 1600 meters (4:34.17).

After watching Morgan also win second place in the State B cross country meet for her Blue Hawk harriers last fall, Thompson Falls distance running coach Sarah Naegeli shared her latest thoughts on her star pupil.

"Justin's commitment through COVID last year, all his summer miles and his amazing improvements and performances throughout the season were incredible," she said. "His dedication and focus were spot on and will serve him well in his college career."

Morgan has signed his letter of intent to attend school and compete in cross country and track and field at Montana Tech in Butte next fall. Burk will also join the Oredigger track and field team on a scholarship next school year.

The senior teammates ended up scoring all 26 team points Thompson Falls registered in Laurel. The Hawks finished seventh in final State B boys team scoring.

Breck Ferris, Will Hyatt and Owen Fernstrom also all competed for the Hawk boys in the State B, and Jody Detlaff, Faith Palmer, Chesney Lowe, Hattie Neesvig, Josey Neesvig and Millie Nichols all competed for the Hawk girls.

Detlaff registered seventh place finishes in the shot put and discus, missing a medal by one spot in each event. Lowe also placed seventh in the pole vault.

Detlaff is also set to join the Montana Tech track and field team next fall.

The 400 meter relay team of Palmer, Lowe and the Neesvig sisters clocked a season-best time in that event.

Thompson Falls head coach Trenna Ferris was grateful for what her 2021 team gave her.

"I would like to say that this season has really been incredible," she said. "It exceeded all our expectations. We were a fairly young team, but the athletes competed like upperclassmen.

"Our seniors showed commitment to our program and set high standards," Ferris continued. "Our younger athletes stepped up big time and competed like seasoned athletes."

Looking ahead to next year, Ferris is optimistic. "We are sad to lose Jody, Josey, Cody and Justin, but believe that they are part of what's to come. We have great younger athletes excited for next season, who are setting goals, planning to attend track and field camps this summer, and will be part of something special next season!"

Ferris also thanked her assistant coaches Susic, Naegeli, Amy Gilbert and volunteer Sarah Stover. "We all have a love and passion for track and field and that makes it fun and so rewarding," she said.