Young tracksters celebrate county meet victories

The Plains Junior High track team took top honors at the Sanders County Track Meet at Plains School Friday and a seventh grade Horseman broke a five-year record.

Thirteen-year-old Riley Geenen of Plains threw the javelin 96 feet, 11 inches to break a previous distance of 89 feet, 7 inches by Alex Menzel of Trout Creek in 2018, said Holly Blood, the Plains Junior High School athletic director.

Eighty-one boys and girls from five Sanders County schools participated in the five-hour field and track meet, which included 15 events. The Horsemen and Trotters finished the day as champions with 310 points for the boys while the girls left the field with 374.5 points.

The Thompson Falls Boys B Division took first place with 213.5 points, followed by Plains with 158 points, Hot Springs with 34.5 points, Noxon with 14 points, and Dixon with 11 points. In the Boys A Division, Plains took first with 152 points. Thompson Falls finished second with 89 points, Hot Springs with 74 points, and Dixon with 22.

Overall, the Thompson Falls boys took second place behind Plains with 302.5 points. Hot Springs finished third with 108.5 points, Dixon in fourth with 33 points, and Noxon at 14 points.

The Trotters took first in the Girls A Division with 198.5 points. Thompson Falls finished second at 114 points, followed by Hot Springs at 78.5, Dixon at 16 points, and Noxon with eight points. For the Girls B Division, Plains took first with 176 points, followed by Hot Springs in second with 122 points, Thompson Falls in third at 89 points, and Noxon in fourth with 20 points.

Overall, the Thompson Falls Lady Hawks took second with 203 points, followed closely by Hot Springs with 200.5 points for third. Noxon finished fourth with 28 points and Dixon finished fifth with 16 points.

"They have all worked really hard this season and continue to perform at their highest level," said Alec Cole, who co-coaches the Plains team with fellow teacher and fiancé Madi O'Mara. "This group of athletes have a great work ethic when it comes to improving their skills each week. Another thing that stands out about these athletes is how team oriented they are, always finding a way to support each other at track meets and practice," he added.

Liam Ciferri of Plains had the highest score for the Boys A Division with 45 points. He took first place in the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.33, first in the 200-meter dash at 28.10, first in the 400-meter dash at 59.94, and first in the high jump at 4 feet, 10 inches. As part of the 400-meter relay with Cody West, Cooper Meredith and Greg Tatum, they finished first at 53.84.

Greg Tatum of the Horsemen chalked up 41 points, taking first in the shot put with a distance of 33 feet and one-half inch and first in the triple jump with a distance of 32 feet, 9 inches, first in the javelin with a throw of 122 feet, 4 inches, and third in the 100-meter dash.

Daniel Slonaker of Hot Springs had 40 points with first in the discus with a distance of 97 feet, 9 inches, a second in the 100-yard dash, second in the shot put, second in the triple jump, and third in the javelin.

In the Girls A Division, Addy Deal of Thompson Falls was the top pointer with 42. She finished first in the 100-meter dash with a time of 14.74, first in the triple jump at 30 feet, 5 inches, first in the javelin with a throw of 90 feet, 11 inches, second in the high jump, and second in the 400-meter relay with teammates Aubrey Baxter, Claire Lakko, and Kylee Huff. Baxter collected 40 points with a first in the 800-meter run at 2.52.28, first in the high jump at 4 feet, 4 inches, second in the 1,600-meter run, and second in the triple jump. "I see a lot of promise in a lot of them. They're all hard workers and they want to improve," said Thompson Falls head coach Jessica Lewis, who's in her third coaching year.

Ashley Ferlan of Plains had 39 points with a first in the 400-meter dash at 1:19.65, first in the discus at 76 feet, 5 inches, second in the 100-meter hurdles, and third in the 800-meter run.

In the Girls B Division, Annika Ercanbrack of Plains had 41 points, including a first in the 400-meter dash with a time of 1:12.21, first in the long jump with a distance of 12 feet, 4 inches, first in the 400-meter relay, with teammates Brooklynn Crain, Hailey Dimond, and Jaden Cook. She also took second in the 100-meter dash.

Teammate Hadyn Rice totaled 40 points with a first place in the 100-meter dash with a time of 14.93, first in the 200-meter dash at 33.18, first in the 100-meter hurdles at 18.63, and first in the javelin with a throw of 81 feet, 3 inches. Brooklynn Crain had 34 points with a first in the 200-meter hurdles with a time of 41.38, first in the 1,600-meter relay with teammates Kylie Silva, Kyler Bannout, and Hailey Dimond, for a time of 6:07.57, second in the 100-meter hurdles, and third in the 100-meter dash. It was a special day for Lady Hawk Remi Spangler of the Girls B Division, who threw a personal best of 18 feet, 4 inches in her second time at the shot put, nabbing first place.

In the Boys B Division, Alex Newman of Thompson Falls and Simeon Costner of Plains tied for high score with 35 points. Newman's relay team, which included Easton Deal, Tristan Kelly and Ethan Traver, took first in the 400-meter relay, finishing with a time of 1:43.90. Newman also took first in the 400-meter dash with a time of 1:05.37, first in the long jump with a distance of 15 feet, 4 inches, and first in the triple jump at 31 feet and 3 1/4 inches.

Costner took first in the 1,600-meter run with a time of 5.31, first in the 1,600-meter relay with teammates Talon Ferlan, Jackson Revier, and Owen Jermyn, second in the 200-meter dash, third in the 200-meter dash, and third in the long jump.

Chase DePoe of Hot Springs had 34 points, finishing in first in the 110-meter hurdles with a finishing time of 20.15, first in the high jump with a distance of 4 feet, 4 inches, first in the 200-meter hurdles at 38.02, and fourth in the javelin.

"I was very happy with how things went. I had a lot of help from fellow staff members at the school and the high school track and softball teams," said Blood, who's in her first year as the junior high AD. The school's next and last meet of the season is at Libby on Friday, May 5.