Hot Springs hosts first junior high track meet in a decade

It's been almost 10 years since the Hot Springs Junior High has been able to host a track meet, but on Friday six teams gathered to test their running, jumping and throwing skills at Hot Springs.

One hundred and thirteen boys and girls from fifth to eighth grade for four and a half hours braved a cold, windy and snowy day to participate in the 15 events. Tammy McAllister, head coach for the Savage Heat Junior High team, said they haven't hosted a meet since 2014 because of the lack of equipment and poor track condition. Hot Springs School Board Chairman Ricky DePoe said they had to borrow hurdles, a high jump pit and standards, starting blocks, and timers from other schools for the meet. McAllister, the head coach for seven years, said they need $300,000 for a rubberized track.

Hot Springs had 14 girls and five boys at the meet and managed to clinch first place with 100 points in the girls B team, which includes athletes from fifth and sixth grade, and first in the boys A team, seventh and eighth grade with 120 points. McAllister said her four boys on the A team - eighth-graders Daniel Slonaker and Ben Aldridge and seventh-graders Chase DePoe and Tyler Chapman - dominated their events. This is the first year for Chapman, the only home schooler on the team, but the other three boys won at the Sanders County meet last year. "Our B girls are just balls of energy and fun, they make up the bulk of our team. I was super proud of them for winning their home meet," said McAllister.

The Hot Springs B boys finished in fifth place with five points as did the Savage Heat A girls, collecting 40 points. Even so, McAllister feels her eighth grade girls - Kora Hensrude, Lanet Jakabosky, and Hollis Key - are much stronger this year. "They are a small but athletic group of girls and I am especially excited to see them compete in the long jump. The three of them have shown a tremendous amount of growth there," the coach said.

This was the first meet of the season for all the schools at the meet, said McAllister, who added that the kids started practicing on March 20. Their next meet was scheduled for Thursday, April 20, at Thompson Falls. The Sanders County junior high track meet is slated for April 28 at Plains.

"Our kids did great. Almost all of them competed in four events and some did five, the limit," said McAllister. "The weather got a little nasty for a bit and they still completed their events. In addition to putting in a full day of competing, they also put a lot of work into helping getting the track ready and cleaning up when it was over," she added. Most of the events were managed by high school students, teachers, school board members, and other volunteers. Jennifer (Chisholm) Brander, head coach for the Mission team, helped at the long jump. Brander, a St. Ignatius Middle School teacher, graduated from Hot Springs High School and competed in track and field at state in the 1980s, placing in three events.

The Mission Bulldogs had the largest team with 39 athletes at the meet. Their B boys took first with 116 points and their B girls finished second with 74 points. Mission's A boys placed second with 76 points as did their A girls with 100 points. In the B girls competition, the Superior Bobcats took third with 54 points, followed by the Charlo Vikings in fourth with 42 points, the Mullan (Idaho) Tigers in fifth with five points, and the Alberton Panthers in last. In the A girls competition, Charlo took first with 104 points, followed by Mission with 100 points, Superior at 46 points, Mullan at 44 points, and Hot Springs with 40 points. For the B boys, Mission was first with 116 points, followed by Superior with 72 points, Charlo with 60 points, Alberton with 36 points, Hot Springs with five points, and Mullan last with two points. After Hot Springs in first place with 120 points in the A boys and Mission in second with 76 points, Charlo with 66 points, Superior with 42 points, Alberton with 26 points, and Mullan with 22 points. The Mullan head coach said they don't even have a track and only travel for meets.

McAllister said the meet was a little overwhelming for their three fifth-graders this year because a home meet meant their coaches had to leave them on their own. "They hung in there through the snow squall and their own nerves and I was super proud of them," said McAllister. She added that fifth-grader Michael Pablo was especially nervous about the competition. "He finally convinced himself to enter the 200-meter dash, the last race. He blew a shoe on the corner and never missed a beat. He finished strong with a smile on his face," said McAllister, who felt the meet was successful, though the Alberton team left when the snow storm hit. "The kids were good sports about it, we went ahead and let ours run in their sweats when the weather was at its worst. It was a typical Montana track meet weather," she said.

"I think the community and staff were happy to see the track busy with teams again and the schools were happy to have a meet to finally get to compete this season. So many of these small schools are in the same situation as Hot Springs. They have dirt tracks with little maintenance," said McAllister. The coach said she'd like to host another track meet next year. "Hot Springs has a long history of success in track and field and I felt very grateful to have plenty of alumni on the crew."