Beeters power to another 9C championship

Chinook won yet another boys title at the annual District 9C track and field meet, and the Sugarbeeters did so in dominating fashion.

Wednesday, the Havre Middle School track welcomed in the 9C track programs from across the Hi-Line. And it was the Beeters who claimed the No. 1 spot with an impressive 210 team points. The North Star Knights followed with 131 for a second-place finish, while the Box Elder Bears brought just five athletes and still managed 55 points and a third-place finish. The Big Sandy Pioneers were fourth with 53, the Turner Tornadoes were fifth with 41, and the Hays-Lodge Pole Thunderbirds were sixth with 15.

“We need to keep this momentum,” Chinook head coach Paula Molyneaux said. “You get going and you really want to carry that from week to week. The boys all came out and competed well, and this was a big day. You have preliminaries and finals, and everything in between, and it will be a big day down at divisionals as well. We just need our guys to step up and keep competing.”

Chinook has talent scattered across the roster, and in every event, but the Beeters really shined in the sprints, middle distances and throws.

Dylan Surber made his mark on the 9C and will be a heavy favorite at divisionals and state this year. Surber was the No. 1 runner in the 100, 200, 400 and 800 meters. He ran the 100 in 11.79, the 200 in 24.00, the 400 in 52.20, and the 800 in 56.95, turning a lot of heads with his quickness on the track. But Zach Molyneaux took second in the 100 with a time of 11.90, while Ty Simenson was fourth with a time of 12.56, and Gavin Gunderson was fifth with a time of 12.80. Simenson was second in the 200 with a time of 25.10, while Gunderson was fourth with a time of 25.90. Gunderson took third in the 400 with a time of 56.95, while Travis Roth was third in the 800 with a time of 2:14.19, and Jesse Dannels was sixth in the 800 with a time of 2:34.87.

The throwers were just as impressive for the Beeters. Molyneaux won both the discus and javelin, as he threw the discus 144-4 and the javelin 141-3. Molyneaux also had a toss of 42-8 in the shot put, good enough for a second-place finish. Tanner Gomke took third in the shot put (37-11), fourth in the javelin (115-4), and fifth in the discus (93-11), while Robert Klingaman took third in the discus (101-9) and second in the javelin (126-9).

Geoff Qualls shined in the high jump and long jump. Qualls took first in the high jump with a height of 5-8, and first in the long jump with a distance of 18-9. Qualls also took second in the triple jump with a distance of 38-1, while Dannels took fifth with a distance of 32-3. Adding to the mix, Roth took second in the 1,600 with a time of 5:10.20, while Cody McCracken was fourth in the 3,200 with a time of 12:08.10 and Dannels was sixth with a time of 12:47.10.

Qualls also took first in the 300 hurdles with a time of 43.77 to round out his impressive day. McCracken was fourth with a time of 49.01. Both relay teams took first place, with the short relay finishing in 45.50 and the long relay finishing in 4:07.00.

“When the running events come up, we gain ground,” Coach Molyneaux said. “We have a really nice sprinting crew, and it is always nice when you have five guys in the 100-meter. We also had two in the 200 and two in the 400 to bring in points. But our throwers did a nice job too, they brought in several points for us with top finishes.”

North Star hasn’t had the numbers to close the gap on the Beeters over the last few years, but they did get great production from the athletes they do have.

Cooper Spicher took first in the 110 hurdles with a time of 17.52, while taking first in the triple jump with a distance of 39-8, second in the long jump (18-9), third in the 100 (12.49), and third in the 200 (25.55). Quinn Spinler also had a nice afternoon. Spinler took second in the 110 hurdles (17.79), and second in the 300 hurdles (44.08). Spinler took fourth in the 400 (57.00) and fifth in the 200 (26.10). But Spinler also stepped up and won the pole vault, clearing 9-0 for the Knights.

Payton Peterson was sixth in the 200 (26.20) and sixth in the 400 (57.25), but also took third in the high jump with a height of 5-2, and took third in the long jump with a distance of 17-1. Matt Helmbrecht was fourth in the high jump (5-0), as well as sixth in the long jump (15-1), and third in the javelin (117-10), while Jaxon Simonson was fourth in the discus (36-3) and fourth in the shot put (36-3). Chris Lavery was also second in the discus (101-10) and sixth in the shot put (32-11), while Thatcher Smith was sixth in the triple jump (29-2) and javelin (108-4). Gavin Spinler took second in the pole vault with a height of 9-0, while both relays took fourth place. The short relay finished in 53.45 and the long relay finished in 4:23.95.

“The boys last year, was the first time not getting a team trophy since we became North Star,” North Star head coach Brian Campbell said. “And to get back on the stand and to get a second-place trophy was fantastic. We aren’t deep, but we are going to get deep, as I don’t lose a single senior next year.”

Box Elder made up for its lack of numbers with great effort. Will Ketchum was a major bright spot, as he took first in the 1,600 with a time of 5:04.90, first in the 3,200 with a time of 10:48.80, and second in the 800 with a time of 2:12.08. Brandon The Boy wasn’t far behind, as he took second in the 3,200 with a time of 11:27.00, third in the 1,600 with a time of 5:21.75, and fifth in the 800 with a time of 2:25.67. Shane Ketchum finished the discus in sixth with a distance of 86-0, while the 400 relay was fourth (53.50), and the 1,600 relay was second (4:07.40).

Big Sandy got a first-place finish from Kaden Beck in the shot put (44-5), as well as a second-place finish from Trevor Lackner in the 400 (55.40) and high jump (5-6). Eric Schwarzbach was fourth in the 110 hurdles (23.58), while Geno Menard was third in the 300 hurdles (48.99) and fourth in the high jump (5-0). The short relay was second (50.85) and the long relay was third (4:11.17).

Turner’s Dylan Welsh placed sixth in the 100 (13.07), fourth in the triple jump (33.9), and fifth in the long jump (16-5). Bret VanValkenburg was fourth in the 800 (2:14.49) and fifth in the 400 (57.20), while Alvaro Gonzalez was fifth in the 1,600 (5:36.20) and fifth in the 3,200 (12:31.50). Lucas Reed was fourth in the long jump (16-10), and the short relay team was third (50.90).

The Thunderbirds even had a strong showing on a day where everybody was performing at a very high level.

Cody Kirkaldie was fourth in the 1,600 (5:32.85) and third in the 3,200 (11:40.80). And Sterling Whitecow was sixth in the 1,600 (5:40.00), as well as fifth in the shot put (33-7) and javelin (113-9).

The top five in each event advance to next week’s Northern C in Great Falls.