Whitefish will host divisional track meet this weekend

By RICHARD HANNERS / Whitefish Pilot

Lady Bulldog middle-distance runner Lauren Kuennen continued her winning ways by leading the pack in two races at the Nelson-Thomas ABC track meet in Polson on Saturday. Kuennen, a senior, won the 800 meter race in 2:22.35 and the 1,600 in 5:20.6.

"She ran against some good competition," Bulldog head coach Derek Schulz said. "The 1,600 was a new school record."

The girls team took third place at the meet with 83 points to Polson's 107 and Hamilton's 96. Ten teams competed at the meet.

Ashley Ferda, a senior, placed in three events. She took first in the javelin with a 125-4 throw. She also placed second in the 100 at 13.48 and second in the 100 hurdles at 16.05.

"Ashley's javelin throw was not a personal best but was a very good throw," Schulz said.

The Lady Bulldogs had a strong showing in the middle-distance races. Loni Hanson took second in the 3,200 at 12:43.01, Bailey Eaton took third in the 1,600 at 5:36.73, and Carly Schwickert took fourth in the 800 at 2:30.3.

A number of the girls also placed in the hurdles. Jade Hansen took fifth in the 100 hurdles at 17.06 and Megan Apple took sixth at 17.24. Apple also took sixth in the 300 hurdles at 51.5. In the sprints, Heather Melcer placed fourth in the 200 at 28.0.

"The hurdles is a real bright spot for us," Schulz said. "We faced 10 teams in Polson. In the divisionals next weekend, there will only be six teams."

In the field events, freshman Olivia Nagler took second in the javelin at 103-6 and fifth in the discus at 98-10. Natalie Kearns placed sixth in the triple jump with a 30-8 3/4 leap.

"Olivia is doing very well in events we don't typically do well in," Schulz said.

The boys team placed fifth in the meet with 53.5 points, behind Corvallis with 100, Hamilton 96, Frenchtown 82.5 and Polson 49.

Middle-distance runner Drew Coco took first in the 1,600 at 4:24.44, breaking his own school record. He also took third in the 400 at 53.72. Dylan Rice placed fourth in the 800 at 2:10.01.

In the javelin, junior Alex Elespuru took second with a 158-3 throw, followed by junior Dustin Beck in third place at 156-4.

"That was a great throw for Alex," Schulz said. "This is his first year in track."

The Wiley twins, both juniors, each placed in the hurdles. Seth Wiley took third in the 300 hurdles at 43.2 and Sam Wiley placed fifth in the 100 hurdles at 17.2.

In the shorter races, sophomore Willie Roche took fourth place in the 400 at 53.97 and junior Aaron Tkachyk placed fifth in the 200 at 23.5. The Bulldogs' 400 meter relay team took fifth place at 46.27.

"Willie ran a great race for us. He's also a jumper," Schulz said. "Aaron also had a great time. He's only ran the 200 several times, and we wanted to give him more experience in the sprints."

Schulz also said Coco and Tkachyk didn't compete in all their events — the 3,200 and the long jump, respectively — because he wanted to save them for divisionals.

High jumper Colt Idol didn't place at Polson. Schulz said Idol cleared 6-2 but needs more work on his approach. He should be able to do 6-4, Schulz said.

Whitefish will host Northwest Montana Class A's six teams for a divisional meet at Whitefish High School starting at 3 p.m. on Friday and noon on Saturday. Schulz said Polson has a strong girls team, but four teams will vie for first among the boys.