CFHS thinclads turn in PRs at state track

By JOE SOVA/Hungry Horse News

Despite rain that reached torrential downpours at times, a number of Columbia Falls High School athletes turned in personal-best performances at the Class A State Track and Field Championships on Friday and Saturday at Bozeman High School.

Western A Conference teams claimed both the boys and girls team titles. Whitefish edged Corvallis by three points for state supremacy, scoring 59 points. Laurel was third with 44 and Lewiston fourth with 38.5. Bigfork finished seventh with 28 points.

Polson took the girls team crown with 75 points. Belgrade was second with 66, Corvallis third (43) and Miles City fourth (34). Whitefish was 10th with 24 points.

The CFHS boys scored nine points.

Senior Scott Palmer placed fifth in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.40 after a clocking of 11.82 in the preliminaries.

"He ran very well. He was pretty excited about it," coach Jamie Heinz said. "It was a faster time than he had in the finals last year. It was just a faster field. It was nice for him to make the finals. He got his confidence back."

Palmer was third in the 100 and 200 at state last year.

Stephen Baumgartner made the finals in the 100 but did not place.

The Wildcat 400 relay quartet of Chase Fair bank, Baumgartner, John Woody and Palmer placed fifth in 45.04, just faster than their 45.36 prelim time.

"I thought they ran a very good race," Heinz said. "The handoffs were not the best. To fight through it and get fifth is great."

Nathan Klug was fifth in the discus at 140 feet, 2 inches in very tough conditions.

"It was a torrential downpour," Heinz said. "Considering the conditions I thought he threw very well."

Steven Brennan, the divisional champion in the javelin, was fifth at state with a throw of 154-10 in the rain.

Austin Robbins placed sixth in the triple jump, going a person best of 41 feet in pouring rain after a leap of 40-9 1/2 at divisionals. Freshman Nathan Thompson also had a PR, missing the finals by one-quarter inch. His effort was the best-ever by a CFHS freshman, according to Heinz.

Fairbank was unable to clear 6 feet in the high jump and failed to place at state.

EMILY STOLTZ SCORED six of the Wildkat girls' seven points at state.

Stoltz tied for third in the high jump at 5 feet, a PR. She was fifth in the 100 hurdles (16.30).

"It was a great meet for her," Heinz said, adding that the senior had never placed at state in either event before. "It was exciting."

Jylisa Fields was sixth in the long jump at 15-3 1/2, her best effort of the season.

"That's a feel-good story," Heinz said. "Halfway through the season she hurt her knee. To end up placing is outstanding. It was an emotional roller coaster."

The Kats 400 relay team of Stoltz, Ketti Wilhelm, Alyssa Ladenburg and Sophia Lewis-Peterson was unable to place at state, but ran their fastest time of the year.

Overall, Heinz was pleased with the effort at the state meet.

"What I hoped to get out of it was the hunger to get there next year," the coach said, added that a number of CFHS athletes will attend camps this summer. "A lot of them are motivated to do good things next year."