Chris Peterson
Havre Daily News
cpeterson@havredailynews.com
Despite little team success, the Havre High track-and-field teams had two spectacular individual performances at a rainy Class A state track and field meet in Butte on Friday and Saturday.
The Blue Pony boys track team finished with 20 points, putting them well behind Whitefish, which took home the state championship with 86 points. Belgrade finished in second place with 50 points and rounding out the top three spots was Libby with 45 points.
On the upside, the Ponies' Kyle Finneman scored all 20 points for Havre in the two-day event in Butte as he won both the 100-meter dash and the 200-meter dash. Finneman was a solid sprinter for the Ponies all season, but few could have seen his breakout performance coming as he finished third and fifth in the same two events a week ago at the Central A Divisional track meet in Belgrade.
Finneman blew away the field in the 100 meters with a time of 11.45 and was equally strong in the 200-meter race, winning with a time of 23.65.
“It was great to see Kyle do what he did,” HHS head coach Mark West said. “We knew that he had been running well coming into the meet. But he struggled to get out of the blocks, and that is what held him back all season long. Fortunately, he was finally able to get out of the blocks quicker and that allowed him to run well enough to win. “He knew after the trials on Friday that he was good enough to win; he just had to get off to a good start,” West added. “If he could just keep up with the rest of the pack at the start, we knew he could win, and that is exactly what he did.”
The Havre High girls team also finished well back in the pack with just 21.5 points. That put the Ponies 39.5 points behind state champion Belgrade, which finished first with 61 points. Frenchtown came in second with 52.5 points, and ending up in third place was Livingston with 42 points.
“We weren't really expecting to do a whole lot this weekend,” West said. “We are a really young team and a lot of our kids just don't have the experience it takes to do well at the state meet. We may have been able to place in few other events. Both of our boys and girls relay teams may have been able to place, but they didn't run as well as we thought.
“Also, Cody McLean had a good shot to place in the pole vault,” he added. “But the weather was poor and it was moved indoors, and that hurt Cody's chances of placing. Some of the kids adjusted well to the bad weather and Cody didn't adjust well enough. It was disappointing because he has had a great season, but that's the way it goes in track.”
The girls team had three girls place in the meet headlined by Lena Suek, who won her second straight state championship in the discus. Suek also took home a state championship in the javelin with a meet-best mark of 131-1. Suek's best mark in the discus was 125-10.
“Lena had another spectacular performance,” West said. “Anytime you can come away with a state title in any event it is a great accomplishment. Winning two state titles is a difficult thing to do, and it just shows how great an athlete Lena really has become.”
Meredith Hanson also had a solid state meet debut by finishing sixth in the 3200-meter run. Senior Casea Pollington also tied for sixth place in the high jump, giving the Ponies their fourth athlete who placed in the top six at the state meet.
“Meredith ran pretty well and it was nice to see her place,” West said. “Casea Pollington also placed sixth in the high jump, and that was a good way for her to end a great career. Even though we didn't place a lot of kids, we had a lot of young kids that competed hard, and they got some valuable experience that is only going help us down the road.”
The Whitefish boys team had four individual state champions. The Bulldog 1600-meter relay also took home the state title. Chris Hicks led the way for the Bulldogs with two state titles - the triple jump and the high jump. Hicks was the only other boy to win two individual state titles besides Finneman. Hicks also notched a second-place finish in the long jump, making him the leading point-getter in the boys competition.
Olivia Rider of Livingston was one of two girls besides Havre's Suek to win multiple state titles. She took home titles in both the 100- and 200-meter dashes.
The other girl to win two state titles was Glendive's Brianne Schipman in the 300 hurdles and the high jump. Schipman also took home two third-place finishes - the 100 hurdles and long jump - making her the top point scorer on the girls side.
“I think our kids learned what it takes to compete in a state track meet,” West said. “It's a lot different than competing in a regular track meet. It is a lot more competitive and our kids found that out.
“We have a very young team,” West added. “Now the kids know what it takes to compete at the highest level. Hopefully a lot of our young kids can use this experience to get to the next level next year. We also have two multiple state champions that will be coming back next year to anchor the team. That really helps a team, because it will give us good leadership and two athletes that know what it takes to win at state. I think with all the young kids we have along with the proven leaders we are going to have the chance to improve a lot over the next couple of years.”
Class A State track
at Butte
BOYS
Final team scores
Whitefish 86, Belgrade 50, Libby 45, Glendive 44, Laurel 43.5, Dillon 26.5, Miles City 26, Hamilton 24, Anaconda 22, Polson 22, Browning 21, Hardin 21, Havre 20, Frenchtown 18, Billings Central 15, Lewistown 12, Ronan 10, Bigfork 6, Columbia Falls 6, Stevensville 5, Livingston 4.
Saturday's events
100 - 1, Kyle Finneman, Havre, 11.45. 2, Roger Mad Plume, Browning, 11.53. 3, Brad Peterson, Browning, 11.57. 4, Derek Ohs, Glendive, 11.57. 5, Colby Stauduhar, Anaconda, 11.61. 6, Bryce Picard, Polson, 11.67.
110 hurdles - 1, Taylor Ferda, Whitefish, 15.10. 2, Brad Smith, Belgrade, 15.67. 3, Evan Stokken, Lewistown, 15.70. 4, Cort Rodgers, Whitefish, 15.87. 5, Josh Ewalt, Miles City, 16.11. 6, Johnny Marks, Belgrade, 16.22.
1600 relay - 1, Whitefish, 3.26.00. 2, Polson, 3:26.92. 3, Miles City, 3:27.69. 4, Belgrade, 3:27.76. 5, Laurel, 3:29.54. 6, Billings Central, 3:29.58.
1600 - 1, Brian Vallie, Hardin, 4:28.04. 2, Nigel Neaves, Hamilton, 4:30.50. 3, Brian Ohs, Glendive, 4:31.81. 4, Patrick Casey, Laurel, 4:33.36. 5, Chris Bick, Frenchtown, 4:33.43. 6, Logan Torgison, Polson, 4:35.41.
200 - 1, Kyle Finneman, Havre, 23.65. 2, Chris Oistad, Laurel, 23.95. 3, Bryce Picard, Polson, 23.99. 4, Colby Stauduhar, Anaconda, 24.07. 5, Taylor Stauduhar, Anaconda, 24.16. 6, Zach Condon, Laurel, 24.35.
400 relay - 1, Anaconda, 44.26. 2, Belgrade, 44.48. 3, Libby 44.72. 4, Laurel 44.79. 5, Whitefish, 44.85. 6, Glendive, 45.04.
Discus - 1, Mike Person, Glendive, 158-5. 2, Tobin Tollett, Dillon, 155-8. 3, Alan Skogen, Ronan-St. Ignatius, 151-7, 4, Andy Fjeseth, Dillon, 147-8, 5, Keith Catt, Columbia Falls, 144-11. 6, Harley Borjas, Dillon, 144-2.
Javelin - 1, Steve Pfahler, Frenchtown, 194 feet, 8 inches. 2, Kyle Baker, Libby, 185-7. 3, Rusty Naccarato, Libby, 180-0. 4, Rochi Estes, Anaconda, 169-2. 5, Richard Brumbaugh, Libby, 167-1. 6, Cotton Real Bird, Hardin, 163-10.
Pole vault - 1, Cort Rogers, Whitefish, 14-6. 2, Matt Dow, Glendive, 13-6. 3, John Kassner, Miles City, 13-0. 4, R.C. Carter, Whitefish, 13-0. 5, Porter Nelson, Libby, 13-0. 6, Mike Decker, Libby, 13-0.
Triple jump - 1, Chris Hicks, Whitefish, 45-5. 2, David Leslie, Billings Central, 43-6. 3, Derek Erickson, Belgrade, 43-5. 4, Pat Regan, Miles City, 43-0. 5, Kevin Boyer, Columbia Falls, 43-0. 6, Jesse Potter, Stevensville, 42-4.
Friday's events
400 - 1, Zach Condon, Laurel, 50.80. 2, Ryan Turley, Hamilton, 50.92. 3, Josh Pelczar, Billings Central, 51.23. 4, Derek Erickson, Belgrade, 51.35. 5, Jesse Potter, Stevensville, 51.65. 6, Brad Peterson, Browning, 51.97.
800 - 1, Brian Vallie, Hardin, 1:53.42 (new Class A state record, old mark 1:54.31, Devin Schmit, Columbia Falls, 2005). 2, Nigel Neaves, Hamilton, 1:55.30. 3, Zach Condon, Laurel, 1:56.87. 4, Brian Ohs, Glendive, 1:57.39. 5, Chris Ogle, Polson, 1:57.50. 6, Jesse Potter, Stevensville, 1:58.39.
3200 - 1, Lynn Reynolds, Dillon, 9:49.20. 2, Patrick Casey, Laurel, 9:49.71. 3, Chris Bick, Frenchtown, 9:54.62. 4, Michael Fisher, Ronan, 10:00.32. 5, Logan Torgison, Polson, 10:04.81. 6, Wade Williams, Dillon, 10:12.18.
300 hurdles - 1, Steve Beery, Belgrade, 39.41. 2, Brad Smith, Belgrade, 39.43. 3, Evan Stokken, Lewistown, 39.68. 4, Chris Hicks, Whitefish, 40.27. 5, Ted Morigeau, Polson, 40.38. 6, Derek Erickson, Belgrade, 40.53.
High jump - 1, Chris Hicks, Whitefish, 6-4. 2, Kyle Baker, Libby, 6-2. 3, Shawn Reed, Bigfork, 6-2. 4, Casey Berntsen, Livingston, 6-0. 5, Dana Ori, Dillon, 6-0. 6, (tie) Ben Quay, Dillon, and Josh Barta, Laurel, 6-0.
Long jump - 1, Jess Johnson, Glendive, 21-11. 2, Chris Hicks, Whitefish, 21-5. 3, Roger Mad Plume, Browning, 21-0. 4, Pat Regan, Miles City, 20-10. 5, Jack Scherman, Columbia Falls, 20-10. 6, Jesse Potter, Stevensville, 20-7.
Shot put - 1, Kyle Baker, Libby, 52-3. 2, Todd Harthan, Whitefish, 50-3. 3, Mike McCracken, Whitefish, 49-6. 4, Drew Phalen, Miles City, 48-9. 5, Richard Brumbaugh, Libby, 48-8, 6, Mike Person, Glendive, 47-3.
GIRLS
Final team scores
Belgrade 61, Frenchtown 52.5, Livingston 42, Lewistown 41, Glendive 40, Whitefish 32.5, Bigfork 31, Sidney 29.5, Corvallis 27, Hamilton 25, Laurel 22, Havre 21.5, Polson 20, Ronan-St. Ignatius 20, Miles City 17, Hardin 14, Anaconda 9, Columbia Falls 7, Butte Central 6, Billings Central 5, Deer Lodge 4.
Saturday's events
100 - 1, Olivia Rider, Livingston, 12.50. 2, Ashlee Dellasilva, Corvallis, 13.27. 3, Erin Clark, Frenchtown, 13.28. 4, Mariah Litton, Billings Central, 13.34. 5, Franzie Schmid, Miles City, 13.34. 6, Brianna Malmquist, Ronan-St. Ignatius, 13.35.
100 hurdles - 1, Ashley Ferda, Whitefish, 15.78. 2, Miranda Fehilly, Sidney, 16.19. 3, Brianne Schipman, Glendive, 16.38. 4, Emily Hager, Deer Lodge, 16.58. 5, Jessie Greany, Belgrade, 16.65. 6, Sarah Skipper, Lewistown, 16.81.
1600 relay - 1, Hamilton, 4:07.77. 2, Belgrade, 4:09.85. 3, Lewistown, 4:10.53. 4, Frenchtown, 4:11.45. 5, Polson, 4:12.83. 6, Miles City, 4:13.28.
200 - 1, Olivia Rider, Livingston, 26.58. 2, Erin Clark, Frenchtown, 26.76. 3, Stacie Johnson, Belgrade, 26.88. 4, Jill Hoblitt, Belgrade, 26.91. 5, Justine Simons, Laurel, 27.03. 6, Michelle Jones, Hamilton, 27.15.
300 hurdles - 1, Brianne Schipman, Glendive, 45.78. 2, Sarah Skipper, Lewistown, 47.08. 3, Miranda Fehilly, Sidney, 47.52. 4, Ashley Cooper, Laurel, 47.88. 5, Sadie McMillan, Ronan-St. Ignatius, 48.12. 6, Jessie Greany, Belgrade, 48.22.
3200 meters - 1, Brooke Andrus, Bigfork, 11:42.39. 2, Terinee McCready, Ronan-St. Ignatius, 11:43.37. 3, Heather Haug, Livingston, 11:43.85. 4, Brinna Boettger, Lewistown, 12:14.96. 5, Emmy Bentley, Lewistown, 12:15.70. 6, Meredith Hanson, Havre, 12:16.74.
400 relay - 1, Corvallis, 50.36. 2, Whitefish, 50.37. 3, Livingston, 50.70. 4, Belgrade, 50.76. 5, Sidney, 51.03. 6, Ronan-St. Ignatius 51.41.
800 - 1, Brooke Andrus, Bigfork, 2:17.53. 2, Emmy Bentley, Lewistown, 2:19.14. 3, Deni Scheffer, Frenchtown, 2:24.71. 4, Jamie Greany, Belgrade, 2:24.92. 5, Heather Haug, Livingston, 2:25.72. 6, Cara Laslovich, Anaconda, 2:26.25.
Discus - 1, Lena Suek, Havre, 125-10. 2, Brittney Harvey, Belgrade, 115-8. 3, Brittany Gardner, Polson, 114-5. 4, Cara Bull Shows, Hardin, 111-11. 5, Ciera Bunch, Frenchtown, 111-9. 6, Cayla Fox, Bigfork, 110-10.
Pole vault - 1, Brianne Schipman, Glendive, 11-3. 2, Miranda Fehilly, Sidney, 11-0. 3, Kayla Martin, Laurel, 10-0. 4, Katelyn Koch, Sidney, 9-6. 5 (tie), Carmel Johnston, Whitefish, and Kim Martin, Sidney, 9-0.
Triple jump - 1, Erin Greiner, Whitefish, 35-8. 2, Alicia Toews, Hamilton, 35-7. 3, Amber Lampman, Columbia Falls, 34-9. 4, Tessa Logan, Miles City, 34-5. 5, Kelsey Estabrook, Butte Central, 34-1. 6, Jill Hoblitt, Belgrade, 33-10.
Friday's events
400 - 1, Erin Clark, Frenchtown, 58.22. 2, Jill Hoblitt, Belgrade, 58.43. 3, Michelle Jones, Hamilton, 59.00. 4, Justine Simons, Laurel, 59.37. 5, Courtney Ferda, Whitefish, 59.60. 6, Mariah Litton, Billings Central, 59.69.
1600 - 1, Brooke Andrus, Bigfork, 5:18.99. 2, Terinee McCready, Ronan, 5:24.40. 3, Emmy Bentley, Lewistown, 5:24.58. 4, Heather Haug, Livingston, 5:34.00. 5, Brinna Boettger, Lewistown, 5:34.32. 6, Beth Donovan, Whitefish, 5:34.69.
High jump - 1, Jessie Greany, Belgrade, 5-4. 2, Taryn Chuter, Corvallis, 5-2. 3, Deni Scheffer, Frenchtown, 5-0. 4, Sarah Skipper, Lewistown, 5-0. 5, Danielle Rowe, Polson, 4-10. 6, (tie) Laura Geis, Frenchtown, and Casea Pollington, Havre, 4-10.
Long jump - 1, Jennifer Hartman, Miles City, 16-8. 2, Courtney Austin, Anaconda, 16-6.75. 3, Brianne Schipman, Glendive, 16-1.5. 4, Britney Brophy, Butte Central, 16-0. 5, Kylee Dutton, Belgrade, 16-0. 6, Jylisa Fields, Columbia Falls, 15-9.25.
Javelin - 1, Lena Suek, Havre, 131-1. 2, Tara Devers, Glendive, 124-10. 3, Nicole Jefferson, Hardin, 124-9. 4, Sage Indendi, Livingston, 120-9. 5, Amanda Suhr, Belgrade, 119-10. 6, Tisha Smith, Corvallis, 119-0.
Shot put - 1, Kara Walker, Polson, 38-2. 2, Liana Galayda, Frenchtown, 35-8. 3, Darcy Schweigert, Laurel, 35-0. 4, Cara Bull Shows, Hardin, 34-8. 5, Ciera Bunch, Frenchtown, 34-4.5. 6, Brittney Harvey, Belgrade, 34-0.
