Chinook claims coveted 9C boys title

At the District 9C track meet, the boys battled back and forth for the lead all day. And after trailing North Star for a good portion of the afternoon, it was the Chinook Sugarbeeters who came out on top. On Wednesday, the Havre Middle School was the home of the District 9C track meet. And with 172 points, the Beeters grabbed the No. 1 spot. The North Star Knights were No. 2 with 150 points, while the Big Sandy Pioneers were No. 3 with 106. The Turner Tornadoes were fourth with 62 points and the Hays Lodge-Pole Thunderbirds were fifth with 18, while The Box Elder Bears were sixth with two. "We knew it was going to be close," Chinook head coach Paula Molyneaux said. "And we knew we had to perform well in order to beat them (North Star). They had a good a day on the track and so did we, and fortunately we came out in that first-place spot. "I knew it was going to be close," North Star head coach Brian Campbell added. "I was hoping it was going to be a little bit closer than that, but they have more depth than we do. That's been our strength the last couple years, but that was their strength today." The Beeters got their points from all over. Both the short and long relays earned the No. 1 finish. The 400-meter relay finished in 47.10 and the 1,600 relay finished in 3:46.90 for the Beeters. Tyler Molyneaux played a key role for the Beeters, finishing second in the discus (120-4), second in the 200 meters (24.40) and first in the 100 meters with a time of 11.50. And Dylan Miller also performed, finishing second in the 100 meters (11.80), third in the 200 (25.00) and first in the 400 (53.10). As expected, Chinook dominated the sprints. Dillon Maddox was sixth in the 300 hurdles (45.20), fourth in the triple jump (27-2), second in the 400 (55.40) and second in the high jump (5-4). And Taylor Erskine finished second in the javelin with a toss of 140-8 and second in 400 with a time of 55.40. Kaylan Johnson was sixth in the long jump and triple jump, leaping 16-5 and 36-6. He was also second in the 800 meters (2:10.20) and second in the 1,600 meters (5:03.10). Dylan MacLean wasn't far behind, finishing fifth in the 1,600 (5:20.40), fourth in 800 (2:15.50) and second in the 3,200 with a time of 11:14.00. Brendal Wyatt and Willie Miller were also amongst the top performers on Wednesday for the Beeters. Wyatt was third in the 3,200 meters (11:21.10), fourth in the 1,600 (5:10.90) and fifth in the 800 (2:17.90). Miller was sixth in the 1,600 (5:24.20), fifth in the triple jump (36-9) and third in the 300 hurdles (44.80). Wrapping up the Beeters' top boys, Brandon Riphenburg was fifth in the discus (95-8), fifth in the 200 (25.70), sixth in the 100 (12.30) and sixth in the 400 (59.10). And Lane Schmitt was fourth in the 3,200 meter (11:52.90), while Connlin Brown was fifth in the shot put (32-6) and Geoff Qualls was fifth in the 3,200 meters (12:01.80). "Our numbers helped us," Molyneaux said. "But North Star has about the same amount of kids as we do. And North Star had their strengths and we had ours, ours just came a little later in the meet and theirs came earlier. This was just another solid team effort." The Knights were contenders, earning a lot of big points. Connor Kline led the Knights in five strong events. Kline was second in the long jump (17-7) and third in the triple jump (37-4). He was also first in the 110 hurdles with a time of 17.00, first in the 300 hurdles with a time of 43.50 and first in the pole vault, clearing 10-7. Kellan Warren was also big for the Knights, clearing 9-6 in the pole vault for a second-place finish. Warren was also first in the 800 (2:05.70), first in the 1,600 meters (4:49.90) and first in the 3,200 meters with a time of 10:40.90. This was the fourth straight year Warren won the 3,200, the third straight for the 1,600 and the second straight in the 800. Jordy Donoven and Dylan Crittenden were key on and off the track for the Knights. Donoven was fourth in the 400 meters (57.70) and third in the 800 meters (2:15.30). Donoven was also sixth in the high jump (5-2), third in the long jump (17-5) and second in the triple jump, jumping 37-7. Crittenden was third in the 110 hurdles (17.60), second in the 300 hurdles (44.00) and tied for third in the high jump (5-4). Zack Halter, Shelby Sizemore and Calvin Vaughn also placed for the Knights. Halter was sixth in the discus (94-8), fifth in the javelin (128-5), fifth in the 300 hurdles (45.10) and second in the 110 hurdles (17.20). Sizemore was fifth in the 110 hurdles (21.20) and Vaughn was sixth in the 110 hurdles (23.10). North Star's 400 relay was fifth (54.90) and its 1,600 relay was third (4:11.60). "They all performed well and competed well," Campbell said. On the Pioneer squad, Blake Brumwell, Kruz Mcdermott, Taylor Ophus and Ryan Miller scored the majority of the points. Brumwell was fifth in the long jump (16-8) and third in the javelin (136-1). He was also second in the shot put (39- 5) and first in the discus with a throw of 141-7. Mcdermott finished third in the 1,600 (5:10.60) and tied for third in the high jump (5-4). Mcdermott also finished first in the javelin with a throw of 149-3. Ophus was fifth in the high jump (5-4), fourth in the javelin (133-10) and third in the discus (117-10). Ophus also finished first in the shot put with a toss of 42-10. Miller was fourth in the 100 meters (12.10), fourth in the 200 meters (25.20) and fourth in the 300 hurdles (44.80). Adam Quinn, Kaden Beck and Zac Leader scored the remainder of the Pioneers points. Quinn finished the 100 in fifth place (12.30) and the 400 in fifth place (57.70). Beck placed fourth in the shot put (35-0) and Leader placed sixth in the 800 meter (2:19.90). The Tornadoes may not have had the numbers to compete for a top spot, but Travis Hofer kept them close, scoring 46 points in five individual events. Hofer earned four No. 1 finishes, and got his name in the Turner record books twice. Hofer was first in the 200 (24.30), first in the long jump (19-6) and first in the triple jump (38-6). Hofer was also third in the 100 meters with a time of 11.80, breaking the Turner school record. He also placed first in the high jump, clearing 5-10 and tying the previous school record. "This was one of his best track meets," Turner head coach Brenda Mohar said. "This kid trains and he works. He is doing something all the time and is doing something to better himself all the time. He goes beyond a coaches dream, you don't have to tell him to do this or that, he's just a hard worker and that's what you like to see as a coach." But Turner also got points from Dusty Mohar, Tom Mohar and Rylan Hofer. Dusty Mohar was fourth in the 110 hurdles (20.40) and Tom Mohar was fourth in the discus (96-2). Rylan Hofer was fourth in the long jump (16-9). "We pick our events and that's what we work on," Brenda Mohar said. "They concentrate on their best events and that's how we can compete with these other teams. We can't just throw a team together, we have to figure out which kids can do the best and hope for the best." The top six athletes from each event Wednesday will move on to the Northern C Divisional meet next Thursday in Great Falls.