Plains hosts junior high tracksters

The Plains Junior High School track team nearly dominated the track and field competition on its own home turf last week, taking first place with the Boys A Division and first in the Girls A Division.

Eighty-seven boys and girls participated in the Plains Junior High School County Track Meet, which involved Plains, Thompson Falls, Noxon, Hot Springs, and Dixon. Trout Creek was not there. The competition involved 15 different events for the A Division (eighth grade) teams and B Division (sixth and seventh grade) teams.

The Plains Horsemen captured first place in the Boys A Division with 172 points, followed by Noxon in second with 64 points. The Blue Hawks took third with 54 points, and the Savage Heat finished fourth with 48. Dixon Bison had no points.

The Trotters took top honors with 188 points. The Lady Hawks took second place with 88 points. Dixon, Hot Springs and Noxon received no points. The Savage Heat Girls B Division took first place with 148 points, followed by the Trotters with 119 points, the Lady Hawks with 118 points, the Lady Red Devils with 16 points, and the Dixon Bisons in last with 13 points.

The overall scores put the Plains boys in first with 322 points and the girls in first with 307 points. Second overall went to the Thompson Falls boys with 307 points and girls with 207 points. The third place overall went to the Hot Springs girls with 148 points and to the Noxon boys at 88 points.

"I think it (rain) definitely made it a little more challenging jumping on the grass," said Alec Cole, who noted that the faster athletes ran on their approach on the high jump, which made spikes helpful. Cole co-coaches the Plains team with Madison O'Mara. Trotter Jayden Cook of the Plains A Division nabbed first place in the high jump at 4 feet, followed by teammate Grace Subatch with a 3-foot, 8-inch jump. Horseman Jackson Revier of the Boys B Division took first in the high jump at 4 feet, 2 inches. First for the girls in the B Division was Trotter Hailey Dimond at 3 feet, 10 inches.

Plains had a dozen eighth-graders and 19 sixth and seventh-graders at the meet and collected 25 first places throughout the day, along with 21 seconds, 16 thirds, 21 fourths, nine fifths, and six sixth placements. "It truly is hard to give highlights to just specific athletes on this team. All of the athletes have earned the right to be spotlighted for their hard work," said Cole.

Eighth-grader Annika Ercanbrack took first in all four of her events. In the 400-meter dash, she crossed the finish line at 1:18.68. She did the 1,600-meter run in 6:52.01 and took the long jump with a distance of 12 feet, 7 1/2 inches, and with her 4x100 relay team - Cook, Brooklyn Crain and Haydn Rice - they finished at 1:03.28, nearly a minute and a half ahead of Thompson Falls.

Horseman Owen Jermyn placed first in the 800-meter run with a finish time of 2:30.36 and first in the 1600-meter run at 5:07.93. The eighth-grader placed second with a 12-foot, 6-inch long jump, and third with a 92-foot, 7-inch turbo javelin throw. Jermyn was also part of the second place 4x400 relay team with Cord Greer, Billyray Holotta and Remi Ryan. Greer took first in the long jump at 12 feet, 8 inches and first with a 27-foot, 9 1/4-inch triple jump.

Also in the Boys A Division, Horseman Riley Geenen placed first with a 30-foot shot put, followed by Holotta at 28 feet, 5 inches. Geenen also captured the turbo javelin at 112 feet, 7.5 inches. Teammate Ben Carter finished first with a 66-foot, 9 3/4-inch discus throw.

For the Plains Boys B Division, Simeon Costner took the 1600-meter run at 5:09.69. Costner was also part of the first place 4x100 relay team with Clinton Weedeman, Finnian Ercanbrack and Talon Ferlan with a finish of 1:03.81, and he was with the first place 4x400 relay team with Ercanbrack, Bryan Lakko and Jackson Revier with a finish of 5:02.34. Ferlan was also the first place winner in the 200-meter hurdles, finishing at 36.41 seconds. Revier captured the high jump at 4 feet, 2 inches.

Katherine Wessely of Plains took first in the 400-meter dash of the Girls B Division at 1:17.46. She was also part of the first place 4x100 relay team, which included Dimond, Jenna Meredith and Emmy Russell at 1:05.84. The second place Plains 4x400 relay team included Dimond, Meredith, Hallie Collett, and Kylie Silva. For the Trotters in the Class A Division, Hadyn Rice took first with a 31.62-second 200-meter dash. She also took first in the 100-meter hurdles at 18.51, and was first with a 67-foot, 7-inch javelin throw. Dimond took first in the 800-meter run at 4:19.69. Crain took first in the 200-meter hurdles at 38.33 seconds.

The Thompson Falls team, led by assistant coach Cory Kump, had the largest number with 33 athletes at the meet and collected 21 first places, 18 second places, 15 thirds, nine fourths, 12 fifths, and seven sixth places.

Lady Hawk Audrey Fairbank finished first in the B Division 100-meter dash at 15.60 seconds, first in the 200-meter dash with a finish time of 32.39, and third with a 67-foot, 4-inch turbo javelin throw. Teammate Shea Haas took first in the triple jump at 19 feet, 8 1/2 inches, followed by teammate Gabby Taylor in second at 18 feet, 11 inches. Taylor finished first in the 200-meter hurdles at 40.43 seconds. Lady Hawk Libby Franck took first in the 1,600-meter run at 6:44.43. The Class B Division first place 4x400 relay team was Shea Haas, Ava Franck, Matea Keefe, and Aislyn McMahel with a finish time of 5:43.74.

In the Girls A Division for T-Falls, Makarlie Stein took first in the 100-meter dash at 15.03. She took first in the triple jump at 26 feet, 7 inches, second in the long jump at 11 feet, 5 inches, and was on the first place 4x400 relay team with Veronica Vega, Gabby Taylor, and Audrey Fairbank, finishing at 5:28.09. Her 4x100 relay team, which included Vega, Remi Spangler and Lexi Franck, took second at 1:04.49. Spangler also took top honors in the shot put with a throw of 18 feet, 7 1/2 inches.

Kump was particularly pleased with Alex Newman, who took first place in all four of his events. "Alex has been producing outstanding results, often finishing in the top spot," said Kump, who added that the seventh-grader got a Sanders County meet record in the 200-meter dash with a finish of 26.01 seconds. He also crossed the 400-meter finish line in first place at 59.89. He also leaped 31 feet, 1 inch for top dog in the triple jump, and was the champion in the long jump at 16 feet, 10.5 inches.

"He has his sights strongly set on all his event's school records. Alex has a promising future in multiple sports with his continuous hard work," the coach said. "The high school coaches are very excited to get him. They regularly ask about many of the junior high athletes and are looking forward to many of them entering the high school program over the next couple of years," he said. Kump also noted that his eighth-graders are doing great and his seventh-graders are a strong group of athletes. "With another whole year of junior high sports, they will be a great addition to the high school program," said Kump.

Also in the Thompson Falls Class B Division, Toby Susic finished first with a 27-foot, 7-inch shot put and second with a 15.96-second 100-meter dash. Teammate Easton Deal nailed a 92-foot, 10-inch javelin throw for first place, second with a 4-foot, 2-inch high jump, and first in the 100-meter dash at 14.82 seconds. Deal was also a team member of the Blue Hawks A Division 4x100 relay team, which finished first at 1:02.04 and included Evan Lofthus, Ethan Traver and Carson Kenney. The A Division Hawk boys claimed first in the 4x400 relay with a time of 4:33.15 and included Kenney, Lofthus, Newman, and Tristan Kelly.

Hot Springs had seven first places, six seconds, five thirds, four fourths, two fifths, and four sixth places. Maria Berger, an assistant coach, led the dozen Hot Springs athletes, which included only one eighth-grader, Chase DePoe, who had a personal best in the 200-meter dash, finishing at 28.18 seconds. DePoe also took first in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 18.64 seconds and first in the 200-meter hurdles with a win at 32.26. He grabbed first in the high jump with a 4-foot, 6-inch jump, and took second place in the turbo javelin with a throw of 107'11", almost five feet behind Rily Geenen of Plains. "He is a super hard worker and a great competitor," said Berger, who added that DePoe loves sports and always rises to the occasion. "He'll definitely be an asset to the high school track team," she said.

Berger, a coach for three years, said she hopes to have more students on the junior high track team next year. Eleanor Massey, competing in the Girls B Division, had a personal best in all five of her events, including first place in the turbo javelin with a 87-foot, 3-inch throw, first in the long jump at 11'7", and first in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 21.70 seconds. She also had a personal best in her second place 55-foot, 10-inch discus throw, and with her third place at the high jump at 3'6".

Teammate Ziah Hensrude had personal bests in the discus, placing fourth with a throw of 49 feet, 10.5 inches, and third in the 100-meter hurdles at 22.31 seconds. Dakota Slonaker had her personal record with a 1:22.85 second place in the 400-meter dash and a second in the shot put at 20 feet, 5 inches. She also took first place with a 56-foot, 7.5-inch discus throw.

Teammate Natalie Cork had a PB in the shot put with a fifth place throw of 12 feet, 9 inches, and third in the 200-meter hurdles at 51.53. Layla Ford got her PB in the shot put, taking sixth at 11 feet, 2 inches. Anjelle Reed had a second place and a PB in the 800-meter run at 3:18.99. Berger said Michael Pablo got a PB in the 200-meter dash at 38.29, but didn't place. Neither did Keawe Lilac with a shot put of 18 feet, 6 inches, but it was a personal best for her. Hot Springs has one more regular meet at Frenchtown on Friday.

Noxon had the fewest athletes at the meet with three eighth-graders and one sixth-grader, with assistant coach Jared Webley at the helm. The Red Devils had four first places, followed by five seconds, three thirds, one fifth, and one sixth place. Webley, who's in his first year as assistant coach, said most of his team had personal bests at each meet, but he didn't have those from last week's county meet. The team heads to a competition at Clark Fork, Idaho, this week.

Webley was especially pleased with sixth-grader Vance Brown, who he said "has a very competitive mind set" and is looking forward to his performing better. "I think he'll definitely improve even more next year. I'm excited to see how far he goes," said Webley. Brown captured the Division B discus competition with a throw of 69 feet, 5.75 inches. He took second in the shot put at 25'11" behind Blue Hawk Toby Susic, who threw the steel ball 27'7". Brown also placed sixth in the turbo javelin contest and fifth in the 800-meter run.

Webley said they had a lower number of athletes this year because several decided to play on the new school baseball team. "I think they did very well, especially with the weather we had," he said. Lady Devil Ava Jensen took first in the 800-meter run, finishing at 3:04.17. In the Boys A Division, Noxon's Zane Brown nabbed the championship in the 100-meter dash at 13.58 seconds. He took first in the 400-meter dash with a finish time of 1:05.71, second in the 200-meter dash at 28.86, and second in the 800-meter run at 2:39.00.

The Dixon Bisons, coached by Kyler Rutz, had one first place, one second, one third, two fifths, and two sixths with their seven athletes. Alyra Porter, the only girl on the Dixon team, took first place in the shot put with a distance of 21 feet, 3.5 inches. She placed sixth in the discus at 44' 4", and fifth in the long jump at 10',.75". Bison Dazzy Howard took third in the Boys B Division shot put at 24'11.5" inches. Teammate Joey Matt nabbed second place in the discus with a throw of 57'5.75".

"I do think a few of these eighth grade track athletes have what it takes to be successful in high school track in the upcoming years," said Cole of his Plains team. "I look forward to following this group of kids in the years to come while they continue their track careers." The Plains and Thompson Falls track teams will be competing at Libby on Friday, the last of the season.