Havre girls capture Central A Divisional track title

Mother Nature can cause problems for just about any situation in which being outdoors is a necessity.

Such was the case in Anaconda this past weekend at the Central A divisional track meet.

Nevertheless, the Havre High girls track team fought through cold temperatures and a lot of wind and rain to edge the Anaconda Copperheads for the 2004 Central A girls championship. It is the second straight year the Ponies have captured the girls crown.

Havre jumped out to a large lead before Anaconda surged on Saturday afternoon. The Ponies were able to hold on as they scored 110 points to Anaconda's 100. Lewistown finished third with 82 points and Dillon was fourth with 80.

"This was a really tough weekend for all of the kids," said HHS head coach Mark West. "All of our kids competed hard and really fought through the tough conditions.

"Our girls team really got some great performances and leadership from Alicia Overcast, Rylee O'Connell and Kelsey Smith." West added. "They are seniors who have been through this before and they really carried us this weekend."

Indeed, the trio combined to score a good portion of Havre's points. Overcast won two events on the day. As expected she captured the 800-meter title with a time of 2:22.60. She also won the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 46.72. Overcast placed fourth in the 400 meters and was part of the 1,600-meter relay team that finished fourth. She was joined on the team by Mandi Nystrom, Kelsey West and Alexa Lipp.

Meanwhile, Smith also had a big day for the Ponies, as did O'Connell. Smith finished fifth in both the 100 and 200 meters and had a solid second-place finish in the pole vault. O'Connell finished third in a very competitive 100 meters, and both runners were part of Havre's second-place 400-meter relay team that included West and Carmen Neuens.

While the trio of seniors led the way for Havre, they were not alone. In a close race for the team title, depth is also the determining factor, and on Saturday the Ponies' depth got the mission accomplished.

"It seemed like we were placing people everywhere," West said. "With the weather the way it was, our depth made a huge difference for us and it really was the deciding factor in us winning this meet."

Nowhere was Havre's depth more evident than in the distance races. While the Ponies didn't have an individual champion in any of the three long races, they had multiple places in each race. In the 1,600-meter race, Darci Briere finished fourth and Kelsey Malsam came in right behind her. Briere then came back to finish second in the 3,200 meters, while McKayla Patterson and Malsam finished third and fourth, respectively.

"I think the distance races really clinched it for us," West said. "Those girls just ran really tough races and placing that many kids was huge for us."

Havre's jumpers were also a big part of the championship mix. Casea Pollington may not have been the favorite to win the high jump this weekend, but that is exactly what she did. Pollington's final leap of 5-0 was good enough to capture the divisional crown.

Meanwhile, Neuens finished third in the high jump and second in the long jump. Alexa Lipp finished sixth in the triple jump. Joining the rest of the Ponies on the state roster will be Lena Suek. Suek did not have her best meet of the season, but she did manage a third-place finish in the javelin.

"Overall, I was really happy with how we finished," West said. "It was very tough to compete in these conditions, but our kids fought through it and no one laid down. Everyone competed hard, and we found a way to win."

On the boys side, Havre took a stronger-than-expected fifth-place finish. The Ponies racked up 65 team points. Butte Central dominated the field, scoring a whopping 141 points, and Belgrade was second with 82. Livingston was a distant third with 71 points.

"I was pretty happy with how the boys finished," West said. "With the conditions like they were and our team being so young, we ended up scoring in some areas that we didn't think we would."

Junior Scott Robinson was Havre's only individual champion. He captured the 800 meters with a time of 2:01.96. He also finished third in the 400-meter race.

"Scott ran really well this weekend," West said. "He ran a great race in the 800 meters and he looks really good heading into the state meet."

Kasey Barsotti didn't run as well as he normally does, but his times in the 1,600 and 3,200 meters were good enough for third place in each race. The Ponies also got some pleasant surprises along the way.

Patch Wirtzberger had a solid third-place showing in the 300-meter hurdles, and Tyson Parman was fourth. Tom Knudson wound up also qualifying for state with a fifth place in the 110 hurdles. Cody McLean also gave the Ponies a lift in the pole vault. McLean's final clearance of 12-0 was a personal best and was good enough for a fourth-place finish.

"Our boys team was young and inexperienced and the weather really made it tough on some of them," West said. "But they have competed hard in every meet this season and I saw some really good things out of them on Saturday."

Havre will now prepare for the Class A state track meet in Butte. The meet will get under way on Friday afternoon and continue through Saturday.

CENTRAL A DIVISIONAL TRACK RESULTS

BOYS

Team scores

Butte Central 141. Belgrade 92. Livingston 71. Anaconda 65. Dillon 57, Havre 54. Lewistown 23. Browning 17.

Friday's results

400 - 1. Dan Johnson, LIV, 49.97; 2. Mike Graa, ANA, 51.77; 3. Scott Robinson, HAV, 51.90; 4. Jakub Mildner, DIL, 52.48; 5. Conor Kelly, ANA, 52.58; 6. Brian Skattum, LIV, 52.68.

1,600 - 1. Ryan Kearney, BC, 4:32.12; 2. Carl Trombley, BRO, 4:42.63; 3. Kasey Barsotti, HAV, 4:44.66; 4. Mason Giem, DIL, 4:45.90; 5. Rochi Estes, ANA, 4:46.73; 6. Wade Williams, DIL, 4:52.06.

Long jump - 1. Matt McKeon, BC, 20-10; 2. Nick McGree, BC, 20-7; 3. Kyle McIntyre, BC, 20-1; 4. Zach Kirkemo, BEL, 20-1; 5. Thatcher Taylor, DIL, 19-9; 6. Nick Kamp, LEW, 19-9.

Javelin - 1. Nick McGree, BC, 165-11; 2. M. Stewart, DIL, 152-5; 3. Jake Stagnoli, BC, 140-9; 4. Kyle McIntyre, BC, 138-2; 5. R. Jones, BEL, 137-0; 6. Smith, BEL, 135-7.

Shot put - 1. Jake Kallestad, BEL, 54-2; 2. Matt Crowe, BC, 49-6; 3. Jim Verlanic, ANA, 48-6; 4. Karl Pitcher, ANA, 47-1; 5. C. Boe, DIL, 46-3; 6. Thurmond, BC, 45-11.

Pole vault - 1. Ryan Blume, ANA, 12-6; 2. Sean Erickson, BEL, 12-0; 3. Jaceson Stokken, LEW, 12-0; 4. Cody McLean, HAV, 12-0; 5. Andrew Walsh, BEL, 12-0.

Saturday's Results

100 - 1. Dan Johnson, LIV, 11.46; 2. Conor Kelly, ANA, 11.80; 3. Zach Kirkhemo, BEL, 11.86; 4. Matt McKeon, BC, 11.90; 5. Colby Staudhar, ANA, 12.03; 6. Mike Graa, ANA, 12.06.

200 - 1. Dan Johnson, LIV, 22.17; 2. Brian Skattum, LIV, 23.10; 3. Matt McKeon, BC, 23.17; 4. Conor Kelly, ANA, 23.50; 5. Mike Graa, 23.57; 6. Zach Kirkemo, BEL, 23.67.

800 - 1. Scott Robinson, HAV, 2:01.96; 2. Tyler Miller, BEL, 2:02.20; 3. Mason Giem, DIL, 2:03.53; 4. Justin Shobe, LEW, 2:04.86; 5. Sean Peterson, BC, 2:04.96; 6. Trys Gates, ANA, 2:05.67.

3,200 - 1. Ryan Kearney, BC, 9:59.06; 2. Carl Trombley, BRO, 10:17.85; 3. Kasey Barsotti, HAV, 10:29.73; 4. Tyrel Thurston, LEW, 10:41.74; 5. Lynn Reynolds, DIL, 10:44.24; 6. Josh Tailfeathers, BRO, 10:51.85.

110 Hurdles - 1. Devin Healy, BC, 15.81; 2. Brad SMith, BEL, 16.31; 3. Doug Gibbons, DIL, 16.68; 4. Ryan Blume, ANA, 17.18; 5. Tom Knudson, HAV, 17.21; 6. Steve Beery, BEL, 17.24.

300 Hurdles - 1. Steve Beery, BEL, 40.72; 2. Devin Healy, BC, 40.76; 3. Pat Wirtzberger, HAV, 42.42; 4. Tyson Parman, HAV, 42.92; 5. Brad Smith, Be, 43.09; 6. JT McIntyre, BC, 43.69.

400 relay - 1. Livingston, 43.95; 2. Dillon, 44.79; 3. Anaconda, 45.01; 4. Belgrade, 45.06; 5. Butte Central, 45.08; 6. Havre, 45.36.

1,600 relay - 1. Livingston, 3:27.93; 2. Lewistown, 3:33.44; 3. Dillon, 3:33.50; 4. Havre, 3:34.27; 5. Belgrade, 3:34.71; 6. Anaconda, 3:35.01.

High jump - 1. Kevin O'Leary, BC, 5-10; 2. Brad Westmoreland, BEL, 5-8; 3. Ben Quay, DIL, 5-8; 4. Eric Vosen, HAV, 5-8; 5. Jacob Bausch, LIV, 5-6; 6. Ryan Horne, HAV, 5-6.

Triple jump - 1. Nick McGree, BC, 42-4; 2. Jake Stagnoli, BC, 41-4; 3. Kyle McIntyre, BC, 40-8; 4. Brad Westmoreland, Be, 40-7; 5. Rusty Jones, BEL, 39-9; 6. Roger Macblon, BRO, 39-7.

Discus - 1. Justin Hartley, LIV, 148-5; 2. Jake Kallestad, BEL, 142-1; 3. Carson Perkins, LEW, 139-4; 4. Jim Verlanic, ANA, 135-1; 5. Harley Borjas, DIL, 131-2; 6. Matt Crowe, BC, 130-8.

GIRLS

Team scores

Havre 110, Anaconda 100, Lewistown 82. Dillon 80, Belgrade 62. Browning 37, Livingston 34. Butte Central 23.

Friday's results

400 - 1. Autumn Domitrovich, ANA, 59.93; 2. Jenny Hunt, DIL, 1:00.26; 3. Laura Anderson, LEW, 1:00.36; 4. Alicia Overcast, HAV, 1:00.73; 5. Elizabeth Coughlin, BEL, 1:01.50; 6. Cara Laslovich, ANA, 1:01.60.

800 - 1. Alicia Overcast, HAV, 2:22.60; 2. Jenny Hunt, DIL, 2:22.68; 3. Christina Laslovich, ANA, 2:23.75; 4. Tessa Boehnke, BEL, 2:26.45; 5. Candice Rodrigues, LEW, 2:26.45; 6. Melissa Finkbeiner, BEL, 2:32.55.

3,200 - 1. Waseni Shawl, BRO, 12:12.67; 2. Dari Briere, HAV, 12:33.10; 3. McKayla Patterson, HAV, 12:47.48; 4. Kelsey Malsam, HAV, 12:51.05; 5. Lindsay Hill, BEL, 13:06.13; 6. Jessie Moodry, ANA, 13:58.51.

High jump - 1. Casea Pollington, HAV, 5-0; 2. Lauren Tognetti, LEW, 4-10; 3. Carmen Neuens, HAV, 4-10; 4. Brailey Williams, BEL, 4-8; 5. Dara Shea, BC, 4-8; 6. Jessica Greany, BEL, 4-8.

Long jump - 1. Kim McGree, BC, 16-4; 2. Carmen Neuens, HAV, 15-4; 3. Rachel Frost, BEL, 15-2; 4. Brittney Brophy, BC, 15-2; 5. Tara Cecrle, LEW, 15-1; 6. Kayla Shepard, DIL, 14-11.

Discus - 1. Darcy Hahnkamp, DIL, 126-6; 2. Liz Castro, DIL, 124-3; 3. Tamara Guardipee, BRO, 108-0; 4. Shannon Bosley, LIV, 106-2; 5. Kayla Retting, LEW, 106-1; 6. Bianna Ternes, Ana, 100-10.

Saturday's Results

100 - 1. Autumn Domitrovich, ANA, 13.06; 2. Stacie Johnson, LIV, 13.29; 3. Rylee O'Connell, HAV, 13.32; 4. Sperry DeRosier, BRO, 13.35; 5. Kelsey Smith, HAV, 13.39; 6. Laura Anderson, LEW, 13.42.

200 - 1. Autumn Domitrovich, ANA, 26.07; 2. Laura Anderson, LEW, 26.60; 3. Stacie Johnson, LIV, 26.87; 4. Olivia Rider, LIV, 27.13; 5. Kelsey Smith, HAV, 27.23; 6. Sperry DeRosier, BRO, 27.27.

1,600 - 1. Waseni Shawl, BRO, 5:33.21; 2. Tess Boehnke, BEL, 5:39.52; 3. Candice Rodrigues, LEW, 5:42.09; 4. Darcy Briere, HAV, 5:47.59; 5. Kelsey Malsam, HAV, 5:49.86; 6. Joanna Vandaveer, BC, 5:50.60.

110 HURDLES - 1. Emily Hager, DIL, 17.15; 2. Sammie Barkell, ANA, 17.35; 3. Kristan Mantooh, LEW, 17.52; 4. Jessie Greany, BEL, 17.75; 5. Lindy Musick, LEW, 18.09; 5. Elizabeth Kelly, ANA, 18.12.

300 HURLDES - 1. Alicia Overcast, HAV, 46.72; 2. Cara Laslovich, ANA, 48.73; 3. Kristen Dulaney, ANA, 50.16; 4. Robyn Keyes, LIV, 50.63; 5. Emily Hager, DIL, 50.73; 6. Jessie Greany, BEL, 51.23.

400 relay - 1. Anaconda, 50.69; 2. Havre, 50.89; 3. Livingstown, 51.19; 4. Belgrade, 51.49; 5. Dillon, 51.55; 6. Lewistown, 52.59.

1,600 relay - 1. Anaconda, 4:06.83; 2. Belgrade, 4:10.10; 3. Dillon, 4:13.10; 4. Havre, 4:17.91; 5. Livingston, 4:21.51; 6. Lewistown, 4:25.75.

Triple jump - 1. Jillian Hoblitt, BEL, 33-2; 2. Laura Anderson, LEW, 33-0; 3. Hanna Benson, BEL, 32-6; 4. Kim McGree, BC, 32-4; 5. Brittney Brophy, BC, 32-2; 6. Alex Lipp, HAV, 32-1.

Javelin - 1. Erica Nyquist, ANA, 117-8; 2. Lauren Tognetti, LEW, 117-3; 3. Lena Suek, HAV, 107-2; 4. Lacy Bricker, DIL, 105-7; 5. Kacey Mantooh, LEW, 104-9; 6. Jenny Hunt, DIL, 99-3.

Shot put - 1. Darcy Hahnkamp, DIL, 36-11; 2. Liz Castro, DIL, 36-9; 3. Tamara Guardipee, BRO, 33-6; 4. Kayla Retting, LEW, 32-6; 5. Casy Folson, DIL, 31-9; 6. Jaylene Spannring, BEL, 29-7.

Pole vault - 1. Lauren Tognetti, LEW, 10-6; 2. Kelsey Smith, HAV, 9-6; 3. Rachael Dulaney, ANA, 8-6; 4. Tay Anderson, LEW, 8-6; 5. Kristen Dulaney, ANA, 8-0; 6. Heidi Retting, LEW, 8-0.