Track teams finish 2nd, 3rd at state

Hungry Horse News

Some high school runners fade away at the end of their careers, but Columbia Falls seniors Devin Schmit, Bekah Stoltz and Cassie Stoneman burned out brightly in their final meet.

Schmit finished his late season surge by capturing the 800 in Class A state record time (1:54.31) and placing second in the 400 with a 50.61.

Boys coach Mark Beckwith said that Schmit's accomplishment should be lauded.

"It's pretty outstanding," he said. "That means that nobody in the state of Montana has run an 800 that fast in Class A."

Stoltz capped her stellar career by winning the discus with a throw of 133-5 and also grabbing first-place in the javelin with a toss of 133-8. Stoneman also rounded out her solid track career by placing first in the triple jump with a 34-11.

Girls coach Wes Knutson said that the victories by Stoltz and Stoneman both tried their hardest and were rewarded with championships.

"Anytime you win a state championship, it's exciting," he said. "Those two young ladies had great efforts at state. They got the job done."

The three winners helped propel the teams to very respectable finishes, with both boys and girls finishing in the top three. The Wildcats collected 45 points, good enough for a second-place finish and the Wildkats gathered 52 to come in third.

The boys finish was their strongest yet, and Beckwith said that it was due to the athletic nature of his team.

"This is the highest ever," he said. "We just had some great athletes. The kids stepped up, they came to compete. I think the kis were pretty focused on what they needed to do to accomplish their goals."

With high expectations for the state meet after their strong performance in divisionals, both teams delivered on the second day and had other individual finishes of note.

For the boys, junior Jack Scherman finished second in the 300 hurdles (40.00) and senior Keyvin Walker came in fourth in the pole vault (12-6.) Senior Kyle Rosenbaum finished third in the triple jump with a 43-7 3/4 and senior Jace Ladenburg came in sixth in the discus with a 147-6.

The 1,600 relay team finished second with a 3:27.74.

Beckwith said that the season was a success and thanked the seniors for their contributions.

"It was a great season," he said. "I'd like to congratulate the seniors on going out in style."

For the girls, Stoneman also finished third in the long jump with a 16-2 1/2 and senior Kim Pearce tied for third in the high jump with 5-0 and Stoltz grabbed third in the shot put with a 36-6 1/4.

Sophomore Jessica Boyer came in fourth in the 1,600 (5:30.23) and the 1,600 relay team placed sixth with a 4:14.66.

Knutson said that he was pleased with third and that with a little luck, things could have been even better.

"We did everything we could do," he said. "We just didn't get a break from another team anywhere. We placed pretty much according to plan…It was real exciting, I'm real happy for the girls."