Lady Dogs take second at state
Whitefish finished a successful season
on the track last weekend at the state Class A meet by bringing
home four individual titles and a second-place team trophy for the
Lady Bulldogs after battling a tough Corvallis team.
It was only the second second-place
finish for the girls team since 1984.
“It was an excellent showing,”
Whitefish coach Derek Schulz said about the Lady Bulldogs.
“Corvallis had a very strong team. It was going to take everything
to go right for us to beat them — that didn’t happen, it rarely
does. But I was really proud of our girls. A lot of years, this
team would have won the state title easily.”
Freshman phenom Marlow Schulz came home
from her first state meet with two individual titles. Schulz
cruised in the 800 on Friday, winning by more than two seconds as
she opened up her lead on the home stretch. She then rebounded from
a false start in the 200 to take second in the 400. The next day,
Schulz edged Hamilton’s Kelsi Almond in the 100 sprint for her
second individual title.
Coach Schulz noted that it’s rare to
see a runner win both the 100 and 800.
“It’s a remarkable accomplishment,” he
said. “I’m really proud of her.”
Teammate Amanda Foley was in the mix in
each of the sprints, taking third in the 100, fourth in the 200 and
fourth in the 400. She was also on both of the relay teams.
“Amanda had a great meet,” Schulz said.
“She placed in everything she could place in. She was limited to
five and placed in all five.”
The junior showed great leadership on
Friday after Marlow was disqualified in the 200 for her false
start. Foley was the first to run across the infield to console the
shaken freshman. Her soft words helped get her teammate’s focus
back before the 400 race later in the afternoon.
“They’ve built a strong relationship
this year,” Schulz said. “Amanda has grown so much in her approach
to sport and as a person, it’s been really great to see.”
It was important for Marlow to regain
her focus quickly if Whitefish was to stay in the race for a state
title.
“I have to give Marlow credit,” Schulz
said. “She understands the sport. She wasn’t her crying for herself
— she knew if we were going to make a run at Corvallis, we needed
every thing we could get.”
In the end, those lost points wouldn’t
have been enough to catch Corvallis, Schulz said, but it was
encouraging to see how the team regrouped and responded.
In the distance events, specialist
Jessica Sagen grabbed a state title in the grueling 3,200 after she
broke away from the pack on the final lap of a hotly contested
race. Sagen finished in 11:48.19, almost three seconds ahead of
Polson’s Mesa Starkey.
Using the team’s depth to their
advantage, Sagen, Bailey Eaton and Carly Schwickert jockeyed for
position as a group. The trio helped set up Sagen for a strong
finish in the final laps. Eaton crossed the line strong in sixth,
while Schwickert just missed the podium in seventh.
Saturday, Sagen claimed second in the
1,600, while Schwickert earned sixth.
“Those girls know what their doing,”
Schulz said. “Credit goes to event coach Bill Brist and you have to
look at the kind of people those girls are. They’re excellent
students combined with athletic ability — it’s a remarkable
group.”
Sagen said she was in disbelief after
winning the 3,200 title.
“I was so happy I couldn’t stop crying
afterward,” Sagen said. “It’s been a dream of mine for the past
four years. All of my off-season training paid off.”
She credited her teammates for blocking
in Starkey and allowing her to let loose on the final two laps.
“I wasn’t allowed to lead because I’d
get too tired,” she said. “Bailey is really good at tactics. In the
last 800 we could just open up.”
Sagen says she and the other senior
runners have set an example for the underclassmen of camaraderie
and sportsmanship.
“We’re always proud of each other, even
runners from other schools,” Sagen said.
Sagen will attend Stanford University
next fall and will be a walk-on for both the cross-country and
track teams. The Pac-12 school features two Foot Locker
champions.
“I just can’t stop running,” Sagen
said.
The girls relay teams each finished in
second place behind only Corvallis. The one-mile relay team of
Schwickert, Sagen, Foley and Schulz broke their own school record
with a 4:03.68.
As a team, the Lady Bulldogs earned 78
points, 25 back of Corvallis.
The boys earned 18 points overall.
Senior Drew Galbraith claimed the high
jump title after going more than a dozen rounds against Ronan’s
Jordan Franklin.
“After 13 rounds, I was so tired I was
begging for [Franklin] to finish me off,” Galbraith said
afterward.
It was Galbraith, however, that did the
finishing with a clean 6-4 leap. Franklin cleared 6-4 earlier, but
in the final do-or-die round he stalled on the take off.
“That was just an old-fashioned dual,”
Schulz commented. “To endure that and come out a champ — wow. It
was a pretty special moment. He deserved that with as hard as he’s
worked.”
Logan Harwood helped put points on the
board with his impressive run to third place in the 400 with a
50.55. Schulz thinks the sophomore has only begun to tap his
potential.
“Logan’s got huge talent,” he said. “We
have two more years of him — watch out.”
The coach commended the boys 1,600
relay squad for making the podium in fifth place. The team includes
Mac Roche, Tanner Brock, Gage Vasquez and Harwood.
The squad was placed in the slow heat
and was forced to chase the clock in their attempt to make the
podium.
“Those four guys laid it all out
there,” Schulz said. “It was the standout performance of the entire
meet.”
He applauded Roche’s senior leadership
on the relay team, noting that he brought focus to the young group
that includes a freshman, sophomore and junior.
In all, Whitefish qualified nine
freshman for the state meet.
“That’s a nice building block,” Schulz
said.
BOYS
Team scores: Columbia Falls 98,
Corvallis 72, Billings Central 62, Dillon 44, Belgrade 34, Libby
28, Browning 26, Lewistown 26, Ronan-St. Ignatius 24, Glendive 20,
Whitefish 18, Stevensville 17, Miles City 12, Hardin 11, Frenchtown
10, Livingston 10, Sidney 6 O, Laurel 5, Polson 1 O, Butte Central
1, Hamilton 1.
100 - 1, Taylor Martinson, BlC, 11.28;
2, Logan Dahinden, Bel, 11.36; 3, Charles Old Chief, Brw, 11.43; 4,
Robert Nalewaja, MC, 11.44; 5, Joshua Osborne, CF, 11.47; 6, Josh
Lords, Ste, 11.48.
200 - 1, Logan Dahinden, Bel, 23.02; 2,
Taylor Martinson, BlC, 23.31; 3, Anthony Correa, CF, 23.36; 4,
Charles Old Chief, Brw, 23.50; 5, Josh Lords, Ste, 23.51; 6, Eric
Malmquist, RSI, 23.59.
400 - 1, Anthony Correa, CF, 50.10; 2,
Charles Old Chief, Brw, 50.12; 3, Logan Harwood, Wfh, 50.55 4,
Colby Henderson, Cor, 51.05; 5, Chris Allen, Bel, 51.19; 6, Zannon
Stands, Har, 51.54.
800 - 1, Derrick Williams, CF, 1:55.17;
2, Colby Henderson, Cor, 1:57.22; 3, Justin Whitman, CF, 1:58.20;
4, Chris Jessop, Cor, 1:58.49; 5, Tucker White, BlC, 1:59.14; 6,
Mikey Wall, BlC, 2:00.26.
1,600 - 1, Derrick Williams, CF,
4:19.50; 2, Chris Jessop, Cor, 4:22.81; 3, Colby Henderson, Cor,
4:25.48; 4, Monte Cole, Liv, 4:29.49; 5, Tucker White, BlC,
4:32.00; 6, Mikey Wall, BlC, 4:32.88.
3,200 - 1, Chris Jessop, Cor, 9:42.16;
2, Derrick Williams, CF, 9:49.69; 3, Joey Vaughn, Bel, 9:49.81; 4,
Tucker White, FlC, 9:56.10; 5, Chase Stoker, Cor, 9:56.56; 6, Monte
Cole, Liv, 9:59.97.
110 hurdles - 1, Bo Descheemaeker, Lew,
15.37; 2, Austin Christopher, Ste, 15.67; 3, Kody Berget, Lib,
15.80; 4, Brady Baughman, Ftn, 15.83; 5, Tony Morales, Lau, 16.02;
6, Garrett Sellers, Lau, 16.03.
300 hurdles - 1, Kody Berget, Lib,
39.97; 2, Blaise Riebe, Dil, 39.98; 3, Brady Baughman, Ftn, 40.42;
4, James Stanton, BlC, 40.89; 5, C.J. Edgmond, Lau, 40.92; 6,
Kodiah Gimbel, CF, 41.26.
400 relay - 1, Billings Central (James
Stanton, Jacob Stanton, Ryan Burke, Taylor Martinson) 43.51; 2,
Dillon 43.83; 3, Columbia Falls 43.84; 4, Livingston 44.18; 5,
Belgrade 44.20; 6, Ronan-St. Ignatius 44.56.
1,600 relay - 1, Columbia Falls (Daniel
Jones, Derrick Williams, Justin Whitman, Anthony Correa) 3:25.89;
2, Billings Central 3:29.80; 3, Belgrade 3:30.23; 4, Ronan-St.
Ignatius 3:31.03; 5, Whitefish 3:31.56; 6, Livingston 3:32.47.
Discus - 1, Zeke Koslosky, Dil, 153-5;
2, Shayne Durbin, Lew, 152-11; 3, Ryan Armstrong, MC, 152-5; 4,
Bryce Benson, Gle, 150-0; 5, Jimmy Henderson, Cor, 146-0; 6,
Branden Butt, Cor, 142-4.
Javelin - 1, Logan Connors, Cor, 185-6;
2, Nate Thompson, CF, 181-9; 3, Stuart Landis, Cor, 180-11; 4,
Raymond Jessop, Cor, 170-9; 5, Eli Bachmeier, Gle, 169-2; 6, Seth
Ray, Ham, 168-4.
Triple jump - 1, Nate Thompson, CF,
44-6; 2, Jalen Bell, RSI, 43-6 O; 3, Kodiak Gimbel, CF, 42-7 º; 3,
Josh Torgerson, Sid, 42-3 º; 5, Jacob Stanton, BlC, 41-7 æ; 6,
Stuart Landis, Cor, 41-7.
Pole vault - 1, Gus Murdock, Har, 13-6;
2, Bryant Grimes, Gle, 13-0; 3, Tyler Berner, Cor, 13-0; 4, Austin
Williams, Dil, 13-0; 5 (tie), Zion Lee, Pol, and Jayme Kely, Sid,
12-6.
Shot put - 1, Monte Folsom, Dil, 53-10;
2, Shayne Durbin, Lew, 53-10; 3, Bryce Benson, Gle, 48-5; 4, Sawyer
Zimmerman, Lib, 46-9; 5, Clint Larowe, MC, 46-2 O; 6, Jake Simkins,
BuC, 45-7.
High jump - 1, Drew Galbraith, Wfh,
6-4; 2, Jordan Franklin, RSI, 6-4; 3 (tie), Wes Knox, Dil. Kodiak
Gimbel, CF, and Reese Jensen, Lib, 6-0; 6, Ryan Sullivan, Sid,
6-0.
Long jump - 1, Taylor Martinson, BlC,
226; 2, Charles Old Chief, Brw, 20-11; 3, Joshua Haynes, Ste, 20-8
O; 4, Tyler Troy, Lib, 20-5 O; 5, Jalen Bell, RSI, 20-4 º; 6, Nate
Thompson, CF, 20-3 æ.
GIRLS
Team scores: Corvallis 103, Whitefish
78, Sidney 58, Polson 48, Hamilton 37, Billings Central 30 O,
Belgrade 30 º, Lewistown 29, Ronan-St. Ignatius 20 O, Anaconda 18,
Glendive 15 º, Stevensville 14, Dillon 12, Hardin 11, Browning 6,
Laurel 6, Miles City 4, Livingston 4, Libby 2, Havre O.
100 - 1, Marlow Schulz, Wfh, 12.64; 2,
Kelsi Almond, Ham, 12.71; 3, Amanda Foley, Wfh, 12.83; 4, Anna
DiGiallonardo, Pol, 12.90; 5, Faith Kjelstrup, Gle, 12.91; 6, Sadi
Henderson, Cor, 12.92.
200 - 1, Paige Squire, Cor, 25.37 (Set
Class A record in Friday’s trials, at 24.83: old record 24.98,
Christy Otte, Billings Central, 1994); 2, Kelsi Almond, Ham, 26.21;
3, Anna DiGiallonoardo, Pol, 26.36; 4, Amanda Foley, Wfh, 26.37; 5,
Nikki Barron, Cor, 26.77; 6, Shaina Healey, BlC, 26.96.
400 - 1, Sadi Henderson, Cor, 56.91; 2,
Marlow Schulz, Wfh, 56.98; 3, Jackie Eliott, BlC, 59.41; 4, Amanda
Foley, Wfh, 59.72; 5, Breanne Kelley, Pol, 60.76; 6, Kelsi Almond,
Ham, 60.84.
800 - 1, Marlow Schulz, Wfh, 2:16.21;
2, Sammy Elliott, BlC, 2:18.81; 3, Ayden Eickhoff, Cor, 2:20.37; 4,
Claudia Hewston, Pol, 2:20.57; 5, Jaelene Zygmond, BlC, 2:23.35; 6,
Jordyn Yarborough, Liv, 2:24.25.
1,600 - 1, Ayden Eickhoff, Cor,
5:13.55; 2, Jessica Sagen, Wfh, 5:22.47; 3, Claudia Hewston, Pol,
5:23.08; 4, Mesa Starkey, Pol, 5:24.00; 5, Kaycie Stewart, Cor,
5:24.65; 6, Carly Schwickert, Wfh, 5:25.58.
3,200 - 1, Jessica Sagen, Wfh,
11:48.19; 2, Mesa Starkey, Pol, 11:50.50; 3, Olivia Wood, Ana,
11:55.76; 4, Rio Frame, Gle, 11:58.25; 5, Kaycie Stewart, Cor,
11:59.14; 6, Bailey Eaton, Wfh, 11:59.18.
100 hurdles - 1, Paige Squire, Cor,
14.72 (set Class A record in Friday’s trials, at 14.47: old record
14.64, Kalindra McFadden, Belgrade, 2003); 2, Lakyn Connors, Cor,
15.45; 3, Breanne Kelley, Pol, 15.78; 4, Shelby Erdahl, Bel, 15.94;
5, Kiera Bulluck, Lew, 15.98; 6, Melissa Lynn, Gle, 16.07.
300 hurdles - 1, Paige Squire, Cor,
43.76 (Class A record: old record 44.1 (hand time), Kasey Harwood,
Polson, 2004); 2, Kiera Bulluck, Lew, 45.79; 3, Shelby Erdalh, Bel,
45.99; 4, Lakyn Connors, Cor, 46.63; 5, Breanne Kelley, Pol, 47.63;
6, Megan Hawkins, Liv, 48.05.
400 relay - 1, Corvallis (Lakyn
Connors, Sadi Henderson, Ayden Eickhoff, Paige Squire) 49.44; 2,
Whitefish 50.16; 3, Belgrade 50.36; 4, Billings Central 50.59; 5,
Polson 51.50; 6, Hardin 51.79.
1,600 relay - 1, Corvallis 3:57.16
(Class A record: old record 4:00.31, Butte Central, 1991); 2,
Whitefish 4:03.68; 3, Billings Central 4:05.24; 4, Polson 4:08.44;
5, Livingston 4:14.65; 6, Belgrade 4:16.86.
Discus - 1, Josie Three Irons, Har,
123-4; 2, Whitney Leuenberger, Sid, 119-8; 3, Jacqueline Verlanic,
Ana, 117-11; 4, Meghan Kratofil, Ham, 116-5; 5, Carlie Jessop, Cor,
109-11; 6, Megan Armstrong, Gle, 108-10.
Triple jump - 1, Airika Blackburn, Sid,
36-3 º; 2, Ashley Farr, Sid, 35-4; 3, Alyssa Charlesworth, Gle,
35-2 O; 4, Adessa Durglo, RSI, 34-11 O; 5, Lakyn Connors, Cor, 34-9
º; 6, Jackie Elliott, BlC, 34-9.
Pole vault - 1, Mikayla Minow, Sid,
10-6; 2, Jalyssa Gorder, Sid, 10-6; 3, Camie Westfall, Ham, 10-6;
4, Aspen Evans, Cor, 10-6; 5, Alex Brammer, Dil, 10-0; 6 (tie)
Lacey Waid, Hav, Siadie SampsonGle, Jaye Ceynar, Hav, and Leighton
Hirsch, Bel, 9-0.
Shot put - 1, Whitney Leuenberger, Sid,
39-11; 2, Lindsey Halgren, Bel, 37-8; 3, Emylee, Lau, 37-7; 4,
Jorden Grasby, MC, 37-1; 5, Alycia Sims, Ste, 35-10 O; 6, Larrysa
Mannin, Gle, 35-3.
Javelin - 1, Greer Crabtree, Dil,
131-1; 2, McCalle Feller, Lew, 130-8; 3, Malia Estes, Ana, 124-11;
4, Britney Chilcott, Ste, 120-2; 5, Tayler Eubank, BlC, 117-6; 6,
Dayna Jensen, Lew, 115-11.
High jump - 1, McCalle Feller, Lew,
5-5; 2, Molly Brewer 5-4; 3, Adessa Durglo, RSI, 5-2; 4, Janessa
Benjamin, Bel, 5-2; 5, Chancey Auge, Lib, 5-2; 6 (tie), Jenny
Larsson, RSI, and Eva Krasowski, BlC, 5-0.
Long jump - 1, Adessa Durglo, RSI, 17-6
æ; 2, Kelsi Almond, Ham, 16-10 O; 3, Marti Eaglefeathers, Brw, 16-3
æ; 4, Airika Blackburn, Sid, 16-1 O; 5, Kelsey Brangoccio, Ham, 16-
æ; 6, Dylan Fowler, Bel, 16-0.