Dogs dominate 400

Anto Daoud arrived at the state Class A track meet last weekend with two priorities — come home with titles in the 400 and 400 relay.

The senior did just that, and then some.

Daoud won the 400 sprint outright, took second in the 200, fifth in the 100, and helped propel both relay teams to top-3 finishes, including a championship in the 4-by-100.

By all accounts, the Whitefish boys track team rode their star sprinter to a 43-point, four-place finish in Laurel.

Corvallis won the meet with 88 points, Columbia Falls was second and Belgrade third.

Daoud tallied the first individual state title of his career Friday when he won the 400-meter sprint with a blistering time of 49.53. He trimmed Patric Jessat of Columbia Falls by more than one second and improved on his time from the state meet last year by nearly two seconds.

After dominating the 400 all season, Daoud will graduate as one of the elite short-distance runners in Bulldog history. His best 400 time ranks second behind 2004 graduate Cody Henning.

"Anto ran consistently all year and deserved that outcome," Whitefish coach Derek Schulz said. "All his hard work came to fruition."

Daoud also took second place in the 200 with a 23.29, just behind Garrett Long of Belgrade, and finished fifth in the 100. Yet, it wasn't just individual accolades for Daoud.

The 400-relay team of Daniel Simmons, Derek Crittenden, Iaian Cameron and Daoud capped off their dominating run through the season with a first-place time of 43:71, ahead of Columbia Falls by 0.29 of a second. It was the team's sixth consecutive win in the event.

"The highlight was the relay," Schulz said about the state meet. "They've worked together and committed to doing the little things that matter, and it paid off.

"There's nothing like a relay state championship. It's a very special thing when you achieve something along side someone else."

Columbia Falls, which had been nipping at the 'Dogs' heels in the relay all season, garnered all the advantages going into the finals at state, Schulz said.

"They were on the inside lane and could chase us," he said. "But we hit our exchanges, and Iaian burned the corner to give Anto a chance. We were maybe a yard back at the final exchange, but if you give Anto a running start, watch out."

The 1,600-meter relay team of Dalton Rice, Logan Harwood, Cameron and Daoud tallied a third-place time of 3:27.96, just behind Belgrade and Columbia Falls.

Crittenden crowned his track career with a third-place finish in the 110-hurdles, crossing the line in 16.03. Last year, he took fourth place with a 16.42. The senior will attend the University of Montana next year on a football scholarship.

Junior Mac Roche made the finals in the triple jump, landing in sixth place with a leap of 40 feet, 8 inches.

The girls team took 13th out of 23 teams with 15 points. A dominating Polson squad took first with 86 points.

The meet's highlight came when senior Megan Apple grabbed the team's only top-3 finish by posting a 47.11 in the 300-hurdles.

"She ran the race of her life," Schulz said. "Megan invested a lot of time, four years of dedication to the program. She's never been the best runner or hurdler, but the combination of her effort and heart — it's something really special.

"Some of those girls she didn't beat, they're kind of unbeatable. So she beat everyone that she realistically could have."

Sophomore Amanda Foley scored two sixth-place times, running the 100 in 13.38, and the 200 in 27.24. Schulz says he looks forward to her contributions as a leader on the team in upcoming seasons.

Jessica Sagen finished the 3,200 in fourth with a 12:00.21, and Carly Schwickert was sixth in the 1,600 with a 5:32.16.

"Those girls come to play every time," Schulz said. "It's a matter of them putting the race together, and they did."

Olivia Nagler was sixth in the javelin with a toss of 111 feet, 2 inches.

"Anytime you get to that level and place, it's remarkable," Schulz said about Nagler.

The coach commended both the boys and girls teams' efforts throughout the season and said he was most impressed with how the teams represented the community.

"We had an awesome group of kids to work with," he said. "Their work ethic was terrific, and they represented our school and community well. That's an expectation of ours."

He hopes the returning members take time off from the track this summer and join other sports teams in the fall and winter.

"I want all of our kids to do other sports," he said. "I want them to play football, soccer, cross country or volleyball. I want them to be kids."