Bulldogs outlast weather at A.R.M. meet

Despite some nasty weather in the afternoon, the Bulldogs’ home A.R.M. meet saw some solid competition from both host and visiting teams.

Whitefish placed second overall for the boys and third for the girls at the meet.

Head coach Derek Schulz said despite the weather, which nearly shut the meet down around 2 p.m., things went well.

“You can’t control that weather, but you can control how you react to it. We had kids that were ready to compete regardless of the weather, and all of our workers and the way the meet function never missed a hitch,” he said. “What stuck out was the competitiveness of the kids because of the challenges the weather was presenting. If someone ran a great 400, I know they did it in tough conditions.”

On the boys side, Lee Walburn had the team’s two first-place finishes. Walburn took first overall in the 110 hurdles (16.14) and high jump (5-8). Jack Schwaiger nabbed a fifth in the 100 (11.84) and fourth in the 200 (24.45), while Josh Dudley finished second in the 400 (43.34).

In the field, Logan Drown took third for discus (112-9) while Dillon Botner took second in shot put (43).

The boys 4x400 relay took second overall (3:41.69).

For the girls, Mikenna Ells and Emily Gunlikson were the team’s top finishers, with Ells taking first in the 400 (1:00.88) and Gunlikson first in pole vault (9-6).

Gunlikson’s performance was also state qualifying, Schulz said.

“For anybody in an event like that, that’s really a neat accomplishment. I think it puts her in a spot to catapult even higher,” Schulz said.

Erin Wilde took second in high jump (5-0), Kennedy Grove second in 300 hurdles (30.66) and Jade Greenberg third in 1,600 (5:36.84).

Hope Brown also took second in shot put (34-8).

The 4x400 relay placed second overall (4:38.91).

Earlier in the week several athletes traveled down to the Missoula Time Trials to compete against the state’s best.

Lauren Schulz was the sole placer on the girls side, taking third in the 200 (26.74), while Walburn won the 110 hurdles (15.13) and Jack Eisenbarth took second in pole vault (13-06).

This week the team will look to tighten things up in preparation for the Western A Divisional Tournament, which starts on May 17.

On Tuesday after press time they raced in the Ken Good Dog Cat Dual at Columbia Falls.

This weekend they’ll compete at the Archie Roe Invitational at Flathead.

With just a month left in the season, Schulz said he’s happy with how his team has performed so far.

“I think we’re about where we ought to be. There’s a few things I wish we were a little further on, but we’re also ahead on some things I wasn’t expecting,” he said. “We’re going to use every meet as a stepping stone, so that might mean kids will run a bunch of events, other times we’ll go for quality not quantity.”

“I’ve always said May matters, and we’re almost to May,” he added. “So we’ll definitely shift from less quantity, more quality. A lot of the foundations have been built, and now we work on the details.”

Top 3 Individuals Only In Each Event No Team Scores Kept

Girls

200: 3, Lauren Schulz, Whitefish, 26.74.

Boys

110 hurdles: 1, Lee Walburn, Whitefish, 15.13;

Pole vault: 2, Jack Eisenbarth, Whitefish, 13-06;

ARM Invitational

Saturday At Whitefish

Girls

Team Totals

Flathead 176, Glacier 84, Whitefish 75, Columbia Falls 67, Ronan 35, Polson 29, Bigfork 28, Thompson Falls 17, Shelby 7, Plains 5, Browning 3.

Events

100 — 10, Emily Gunlikson, Whitefish, 13.85.

400 — 1, Mikenna Ells, Whitefish, 1:00.88. 7, Jessica Henson, Whitefish, 1:06.41. 9, Ella Greenberg, Whitefish, 1:06.67.

1,600 — 3, Jade Greenberg, Whitefish, 5:36.84. 5, Jessica Henson, Whitefish, 5:45.81. 6, Josephine Vardell, Whitefish, 5:50.10. 9, Ella Greenberg, Whitefish, 5:58.07.

3,200 — 5, Josephine Vardell, Whitefish, 12:49.96.

100 Hurdles — 5, Jadi Walburn, Whitefish, 17.68. 8, Kennedy Grove, Whitefish, 18.29. 10, Natasha Abramchuk, Whitefish, 19.21.

300 Hurdles — 2, Kennedy Grove, Whitefish, 50.66. 5, Jadi Walburn, Whitefish, 51.58.

1,600 Relay — 2, Whitefish, 4:38.91.

High Jump — 2, Erin Wilde, Whitefish, 5-0. 3, Mikenna Ells, Whitefish, 4-10. 7, Jadi Walburn, Whitefish, 4-8.

Pole Vault — 1, Emily Gunlikson, Whitefish, 9-6.

Triple Jump — 1, Faith Brennan, Glacier, 36-5 1/4 (new meet record, old meet record 36-4 1/2 by Abi Fiske, Glacier, 2016). 5, Natasha Abramchuk, Whitefish, 31-9. 8, Erin Wilde, Whitefish, 31-5.

Shot Put — 2, Hope Brown, Whitefish, 34-8.

Discus — 10, Jennifer Patten, Whitefish, 89-0.

Boys

Team Totals

Glacier 117, Whitefish 92, Columbia Falls 87, Flathead 70, Polson 34, Shelby 20, Thompson Falls 17, Browning 16, Ronan 15, Hot Springs 15, Bigfork 6.

Events

100 — 5, Jack Schwaiger, Whitefish, 11.84. 7, Devin Beale, Whitefish, 11.94.

200 — 4, Jack Schwaiger, Whitefish, 24.45. 5, Marvin Kimera, Whitefish, 24.68.

400 — 2, Josh Dudley, Whitefish, 53.34. 5, Sam Menicke, Whitefish, 55.91.

800 — 9, Tyler Dunnagan, Whitefish, 2:15.57.

3,200 — 1, Ben Perrin, Flathead, 9:54.42 (new meet record, old meet record 9:54.54 by Derrick Williams, Columbia Falls, 2012). 5, Miles Vrentas, Whitefish, 11:07.97. 8, Jacob Bailey, Whitefish, 11:43.08.

110 Hurdles — 1, Lee Walburn, Whitefish, 16.14. 4, Joseph Abramchuk, Whitefish, 18.79. 5, Bodie Smith, Whitefish, 19.09.

300 Hurdles — 4, Bodie Smith, Whitefish, 46.30. 5, Joseph Abramchuk, Whitefish, 46.83.

400 Relay — 5, Whitefish, 45.90.

1,600 Relay — 2, Whitefish, 3:41.69.

High Jump — 1, Lee Walburn, Whitefish, 5-8. 3, Josh Dudley, Whitefish, 5-8.

Long Jump — 5, Jack Eisenbarth, Whitefish, 18-8 1/2. 10, Cainen Erickson, Whitefish, 18-1/2.

Triple Jump — 4, Sam Menicke, Whitefish, 41-10. 8, Max Grimes, Whitefish, 39-04. 10, Barrett Garcia, Whitefish, 37-7.

Shot Put — 2, Dillon Botner, Whitefish, 43-0. 5, Hunter Stephens-Parks, Whitefish, 41-5.

Discus — 3, Logan Drown, Whitefish, 112-9. 5, Dillon Botner, Whitefish, 108-2.