Track competition heats up

The Western B/C Divisional Track Meet at Big Sky High School in Missoula marked the end of the season for some Sanders County tracksters and onward to state for others.

"We had a fantastic divisional track meet on Friday and Saturday. The weather was great, the competition was tough, and our athletes came to compete," said Thompson Falls Track Coach Trenna Ferris.

The Blue Hawk women's team won the third place divisional trophy, scoring 73 points. The women earned 13 personal records while the men earned 12 personal records.

Advancing to state for the women are: Trinity Riffle placing 6th in the high jump, 6th in the 4x100 relay and 3rd in the 4x400 relay; Ellie Baxter winning 1st in the 800, 1st in the 1600 with a personal best and new school record of 5:29.06, 1st in the 3200 and 3rd in the 4x400 relay; Katelyn Subatch placing 5th in the 800 with a personal record, 6th in the triple jump, 6th in the 4x100 relay and 3rd in the 4x400 relay; Chesney Lowe placing 4th in the long jump, 3rd in the javelin, 2nd in the pole vault with a personal record and 6th in the 4x100 relay and Faith Palmer placing 3rd in the 1600, 2nd in the 3200 with a personal record, 6th in the 4x100 relay and 3rd in the 4x400 relay. The women's team achieved personal records in the 400 and 1600 relays.

"Our women's team - cannot say enough about this team! The power of five girls to bring home a third-place divisional trophy. All of them contributed to the win and in all areas of track and field. It was a combined effort and we couldn't be more proud of them!" said Ferris.

Advancing to state for the Blue Hawk men are: Breck Ferris placing 6th in the long jump with a personal best and 5th in the 4x100 relay; Braedon Ferris placing 4th in the discus with a personal record; Braxton Dorscher placing 5th in the 4x100 relay; Kaiden Robins placing 5th in the 4x100 relay; Nick Tessier placing 5th in the 4x100 relay and Cael Thilmony placing 4th in the 3200 earning a personal record. The men's team also achieved a personal record in the 4x100 relay.

The 4x400 relay team: Breck Ferris, JT Taylor, Robins and Braedon Ferris didn't make the cut but ran a very impressive race, said Ferris. They beat their last best time by four seconds. Tessier jumped a personal record of 19 feet 8.5 inches in the long jump placing 7th, just shy of advancing in that event.

Several Horsemen and Trotters are headed to state this weekend as well after impressive performances at divisional.

"This weekend at divisionals was great. It's always exciting when athletes, who are on the bubble to make it to the state meet, qualify," said Plains Coach Rachel Chenoweth.

The men's 4x100 relay team: John Thurston, Jay Flanagan, Nick Hill, and Darren Standeford and the men's 4x400 relay team: Mason Elliott, Joe Martin, Flanagan and Standeford were two examples of this, Chenoweth said.

Thurston qualified in the 200 placing 4th and Elliott placed 4th in the 400, 3rd in the 110 hurdles in 16.12 and 2nd in the 300 hurdles in 42.85. "The boys ran exceptionally well earning a berth to State," said Chenoweth.

The Plains women who qualified were: Kalli Tuma placing 5th in the 400, 3rd in the 100 hurdles in 16.88 and 4th in the 300 hurdles; Peyton Wasson placing 4th in the 800 in 2:34.38 with a personal record and 5th in the 1600 with a personal record and Alexis Deming placing 1st in the discus with a 120 feet 8.5 inch throw and 3rd in the shot put with a 35 feet 7.5 inch put.

"To athletes ending the season I would say, thank you for all the hard work you've put in this season. Every effort you made to improve yourself also benefited your teammates. In doing your best, you have made the team better. Great job this season!" said Chenoweth.

"To those continuing on to state I would say, you have worked diligently and earned a place to compete at the state meet. Maintain your focus and continue putting in your best effort as you move forward this week and you will finish well."

Noxon Red Devils Ricky Williams and Emily Brown are advancing to state. Williams placed 2nd in the high jump with a 6 foot jump and Brown placed 1st in the 800 in 2:23.08, 1st in the javelin with a throw and personal record of 121 feet, 1 inch, and 3rd in the 400 in 1:01.90.

"Ricky and Emily are ready for state mentally and physically and earned the right to be there," said Coach Matt Havens. Havens added that, "Those who are done - thank you for all the time and effort you put into this year."

Three Hot Springs men will be moving forward to state: David Chapman who placed 5th in the 110 hurdles in 16.75 and 3rd in the 300 hurdles in 44.04; Quincy Styles-Depoe who placed 6th in the 300 hurdles and Elijah Campbell who placed 7th in the 3200.

"For the athletes that punched their ticket to state we will have a fairly light schedule throughout the week. They had to put a lot of effort into the divisional weekend in the heat to make their state dreams reality," said Coach Andrew Leichtnam. He said that he's excited for the three boys because it will be their first trip to the State meet.

"We didn't have a senior on the team, so we won't lose any talent for next year's team. Several athletes missed out on state by one or two places, which could be very motivating for them in the future," said Leichtnam. He added that, "Many of the athletes on the team use track as a training ground for other sports, specifically football. I feel that many of them have made major gains in their speed development this year, which will benefit them in the fall."

The state track meet is taking place this weekend, with Thompson Falls and Plains heading to Butte and Hot Springs and Noxon traveling to Laurel.