Longhorns sweep Northern C track meet in Great Falls

Last week, the Fort Benton Longhorns dominated the field at the District 9C track meet in order to wrap up a three-peat, after winning a third straight district championship.

While a three-peat is nice, a four-peat is even better and by besting the field at the Northern C Divisional for the fourth consecutive year, that's what the Longhorns pulled off thanks to the 125.5 points they scored Thursday in Great Falls at Memorial Stadium. Belt finished second with 86, followed by Simms in third with 48, Winnett-Grass Range in fourth with 43.5 and Chester-Joplin-Inverness, which finished fifth with 34 points.

And just like last week at the 9C district meet, the Fort Benton girls weren't alone in winning the team championship, as the Fort Benton boys mimicked the girls once again by winning the boys Northern C championship.

The Longhorns finished with 127 points, well ahead of second-place finisher Belt (63). Great Falls Central was third in the competition 52 points and in fourth was Chinook with 34. North Star was also in the mix finishing sixth with 31 points, as were the CJI boys, who got seventh after totaling 29 points.

On their way to another Northern C title, the Fort Benton girls dominated in the jumping events, sweeping all three as Nicole Axtman won the high jump (4-08) and the triple jump (33-02). Axtman, who also helped the 400-meter relay team win another divisional title (51.91), also finished third in the long jump behind teammate Leah Gannon, who claimed the divisional crown in the long jump after a mark of 16-09. Gannon was on both Fort Benton relay teams, which each took first. Allie Wallace joined Gannon on both and she also won a divisional title in the 300 hurdles, while finishing third in the 100 hurdles to CJI freshman Tatum Hull.

Hull was a key contributor in the effort for the Hawks, as she won the 100 hurdles (16.38) in addition to finishing in the top four in three other events, the 100 (3rd), 200 (4th) and long jump, where she finished second to Gannon with a jump of 15-08.

After being part of five first-place finishes at the 9C track meet, Gannon had another stellar day at the Northern C, getting third in the 400 and 800, in addition to first-place points in the relays and the long jump. Janae West also had an outstanding individual performance for North Star and she capped it off by winning the javelin with a throw of 120-03.

In the boys track meet, Fort Benton continued its strong postseason run and sparking the Longhorns to victory was a number of strong showings on the track. Billy Ullery helped set the tone for Fort Benton by winning the 200 with a time of 23.04 after also finishing runner-up in the 100 (11.54) to Spencer Richter of CJI (11.43). Damon Bird racked up some key points in the distance events, as he swept the 800 and 1,600 thanks to times of 2:03 and 4:57 respectively. Bird was also part of the Longhorns 1,600-relay team, which also finished first thanks to a time of 3:38. On top of all that, Bird was also third in the 400.

In the field events, Nick Marais led the way for Fort Benton as he won a divisional title in the high jump (5-10) and he was also third in the long jump. Hayden Diekhans (2nd) and Garett Diekhans (4th) both placed in the triple jump, adding points to the Longhorns total, however, the top spot went to Evan Dahinden of CJI, who jumped 41-03.

North Star's Jaden Sargent also took home a divisional crown in the 3,200, as he won the event with a time of 10:49.98, finishing just ahead of Robbie Gliko of Belt, who ran it in 10:49.99.

The top six finishers in each event advanced to the Class C state track meet next Friday and Saturday in Laurel, unless they had already pre-qualified during the season.

Northern C Divisional

At Memorial Stadium

Thursday

GIRLS

Team scores – 1. Fort Benton 125.5; 2. Belt 86; 3. Simms 48; 4. Winnett-Grass Range 43.5; 5. Chester-Joplin Inverness 34; 6. Valier 31.5; 7. Chinook 21; 8. Denton-Geyser-Stanford 19; 9. Great Falls Central 17; 10. North Star 16; 11. Hobson 15.5; 12. Dutton-Brady 15; 13. Moore-Judith Gap 12; 14. Turner 11; 15. Sunburst 10; 16. Augusta 6; 17. Rot-Winifred 5; 17. Cascade 5; 19. Power 4; 20. Centerville 2.

100 – 1. Delaney, Zoe, Winnett-Gras, 12.95. 2, Connerton, Sami, Hobson, 13.07. 3, Hull, Tatum, Chester-Jopl, 13.12. 4, Hanson, Chevy, Simms, 13.16. 5, Brady, Camryn, Great Falls, 13.17. 6, Meissner, Adelle, Belt, 13.34.

200 – 1. Delaney, Zoe, Winnett-Gras, 26.67. 2, Paulson, Lindsey, Belt, 27.32. 3, Connerton, Sami, Hobson, 27.34. 4, Hull, Tatum, Chester-Jopl, 27.43. 5, Hanson, Chevy, Simms, 27.61. 6, Meissner, Adelle, Belt, 28.44.

400 – 1. Delaney, Zoe, Winnett-Gras, 59.70. 2, Paulson, Lindsey, Belt, 1:00.64. 3, Gannon, Leah, Fort Benton, 1:01.86. 4, Hanson, Kourtney, Chinook, 1:02.88. 5, Ramsey, Erica, Valier, 1:03.86. 6, Edwards, Trinity, Roy-Winifred, 1:04.39.

800 – 1. Delaney, Zoe, Winnett-Gras, 2:22.38. 2, Paulson, Lindsey, Belt, 2:27.63. 3, Gannon, Leah, Fort Benton, 2:29.44. 4, Edwards, Trinity, Roy-Winifred, 2:29.91. 5, Sievers, Sierra, Power, 2:30.10. 6, Clark, McKenzie, Fort Benton, 2:32.21.

1600 – 1. Willekes, Elyssa, Simms, 5:50.40. 2, Pimperton, Kolby, Belt, 6:02.65. 3, Mattson, Averie, Chester-Jopl, 6:08.48. 4, Holland, Brooke, North Toole, 6:08.92. 5, Valdez, Emma, Valier, 6:12.27. 6, Oniell, Kelli, Great Falls, 6:12.67.

3200 – 1. Willekes, Elyssa, Simms, 12:19.20. 2, Pimperton, Kolby, Belt, 13:01.36. 3, Holland, Brooke, North Toole, 13:05.20. 4, Hasler, Raynee, Chinook, 13:23.51. 5, Dilley, Shaylyn, Centerville, 13:44.05. 6, Valdez, Emma, Valier, 13:47.08.

100 Hurdles – 1. Hull, Tatum, Chester-Jopl, 16.38. 2, Clark, Abby, Fort Benton, 16.74. 3, Wallace, Allie, Fort Benton, 16.81. 4, Schraner, Brooke, Belt, 17.33. 5, Brady, Camryn, Great Falls, 17.42. 6, Woodhall, Adie, Denton-Geyse, 17.94.

300 Hurdles – 1, Wallace, Allie, Fort Benton, 47.60. 2, Paulson, Lindsey, Belt, 48.73. 3, Schraner, Brooke, Belt, 49.20. 4, Clark, Abby, Fort Benton, 49.56. 4, Christiaens, Kylie, Valier, 49.56. 6, Weber, Grace, Dutton-Brady, 52.02.

4x100 Relay – 1. Fort Benton 'A' 51.91. 2, Simms 'A' 53.22. 3, Belt 'A' 53.75. 4, Great Falls Central Catholic 'A' 53.87. 5, Winnett-Grass Range 'A' 54.89. 6, Cascade 'A' 55.04.

4x400 Relay – 1. Fort Benton 'A' 4:19.81. 2, Simms 'A' 4:26.64. 3, Belt 'A' 4:28.78. 4, Valier 'A' 4:33.06. 5, Power 'A' 4:34.70. 6, Chinook 'A' 4:36.18.

High Jump – 1. Axtman, Nicole, Fort Benton, 4-08. 2, Kimmel, Clara, Great Falls, 4-06. 3, Lackner, Teia, Valier, J4-06. 4, Cooper, Morgan, Belt, 4-04. 5, Bock, Abby, Valier, 4-02. 5, Browning, Sydney, Winnett-Gras, 4-02.

Pole Vault – 1. Bock, Abby, Valier, 9-00. 2, McCready, Taylor, Denton-Geyse, J9-00. 3, West, Janae, North Star, 8-06. 4, Jackson, Shelbie, Cascade, J8-06. 5, Clark, McKenzie, Fort Benton, 8-00. 5, Connerton, Sami, Hobson, 8-00.

Long Jump – 1. Gannon, Leah, Fort Benton, 16-09. 2, Hull, Tatum, Chester-Jopl, 15-08. 3, Axtman, Nicole, Fort Benton, 15-07.50. 4, Molyneaux, Megan, Chinook, 15-06. 5, Ramsey, Erica, Valier, 15-03.50. 6, Billmayer, Sarah, Turner, 14-11.50.

Triple Jump – 1. Axtman, Nicole, Fort Benton, 33-02.75. 2, Billmayer, Sarah, Turner, 32-04.25. 3, Hill, Bradi, Augusta, 32-03.25. 4, Clark, McKenzie, Fort Benton, 31-08. 5, Cooper, Morgan, Belt, 31-02.50. 6, Aflleje, Faith, Simms, 31-00.50.

Shot Put – 1. Randel, Cassidy, Denton-Geyse, 38-07. 2, Gliko, Raily, Belt, 31-10.50. 3, Weber, Grace, Dutton-Brady, 31-03.50. 4, Molinaro, Maci, Fort Benton, 31-03. 5, Stahl, Sierra, Moore-Judith, 31-02.50. 6, Hamilton, Kinley, Chinook, 31-01.

Discus – 1. Stahl, Sierra, Moore-Judith, 110-02. 2, Weber, Grace, Dutton-Brady, 109-08. 3, Kalanick, Cloe, Fort Benton, 100-04. 4, Miller, Jayden, Chinook, 99-11. 5, Krass, Shyan, Turner, 96-11. 6, Gunderson, Rachel, Chinook, 95-08.

Javelin – 1. West, Janae, North Star, 120-03. 2, Clark, McKenzie, Fort Benton, 114-00. 3, Molinaro, Maci, Fort Benton, 110-05. 4, Jones, Taylor, Simms, 102-08. 5, Gunderson, Rachel, Chinook, 102-04. 6, Sivumaki, Karlie, Simms, 102-00.

BOYS

Team scores – 1. Fort Benton 127; 2. Belt 63; 3. Great Falls Central 52; 4. Chinook 34; 5. Geraldine 32; 6. North Star 31; 7. Chester-Joplin-Inverness 29; 7. Power 29; 9. Winnett-Grass Range 28; 10. Big Sandy 24; 11. Augusta 16; 11. Centerville 16; 11. Turner 16; 11. Denton-Geyser-Stanford 16; 15. Moore-Judith Gap 4; 15. Sunburst 4; 17. Hobson 2; 17. Roy-Winifred 2; 17. Valier 2.

100 – 1. Richter, Spencer, Chester-Jopl, 11.43. 2, Ullery, Billy, Fort Benton, 11.54. 3, Newman, Drew, Great Falls, 11.65. 4, Taylor, Dylan, Denton-Geyse, 11.70. 5, Girres, Shane, Great Falls, 11.75. 6, Barcus, Brock, Valier, 11.77.

200 – 1. Ullery, Billy, Fort Benton, 23.04. 2, Taylor, Dylan, Denton-Geyse, 23.43. 3, Richter, Spencer, Chester-Jopl, 23.52. 4, Rettig, Caden, North Star, 23.82. 5, Evans, Kaimen, Belt, 23.87. 6, Duvall, Brady, Geraldine, 24.05.

400 – 1. Evans, Kaimen, Belt, 51.98. 2, Jessen, Jacob, Winnett-Gras, 53.05. 3, Bird, Damon, Fort Benton, 53.06. 4, Taylor, Dylan, Denton-Geyse, 53.61. 5, Harmon, Jack, Turner, 53.83. 6, Duvall, Brady, Geraldine, 54.09.

800 – 1. Bird, Damon, Fort Benton, 2:03.64. 2, McDaniel, Aidan, Belt, 2:04.99. 3, Harmon, Jack, Turner, 2:05.81. 4, Wichman, Shane, Moore-Judith, 2:06.87. 5, Hannum, Trajan, Chinook, 2:07.55. 6, Bird, Devin, Fort Benton, 2:07.96.

1600 – 1. Bird, Damon, Fort Benton, 4:57.87. 2, Hannum, Trajan, Chinook, 4:59.13. 3, Sargent, Jaden, North Star, 5:03.74. 4, Gliko, Robbie, Belt, 5:03.77. 5, Hepfner, Cole, Belt, 5:04.58. 6, Genereux, Jeremiah, Big Sandy, 5:06.87.

3200 – 1. Sargent, Jaden, North Star, 10:49.98. 2, Gliko, Robbie, Belt, 10:49.99. 3, Roth, Ryan, Big Sandy, 10:50.65. 4, Smith, Cody, North Toole, 10:53.84. 5, Genereux, Jeremiah, Big Sandy, 10:54.22. 6, Hepfner, Cole, Belt, 11:03.63.

110 Hurdles – 1. Jessen, Jacob, Winnett-Gras, 16.00. 2, Diekhans, Garett, Fort Benton, 16.09. 3, Girres, Shane, Great Falls, 16.21. 4, Langston, Adam, Belt, 16.48. 5, Schnabel, Connor, Fort Benton, 16.64. 6, Vogl, Hunter, Belt, 16.66.

300 Hurdles – 1. Jessen, Jacob, Winnett-Gras, 40.63. 2, Welsh, Cody, Turner, 42.10. 3, Vogl, Hunter, Belt, 42.12. 4, Widhalm, Jackson, Power, 42.55. 5, Dahinden, Evan, Chester-Jopl, 42.75. 6, Diekhans, Garett, Fort Benton, 43.92.

4x100 Relay – 1. Great Falls Central Catholic 'A' 44.87. 2, Fort Benton 'A' 45.90. 3, Power 'A' 46.49. 4, Centerville 'A' 46.89. 5, Belt 'A' 47.33. 6, Valier 'A' 47.45.

4x400 Relay – 1. Fort Benton 'A' 3:38.84. 2, Belt 'A' 3:44.96. 3, Chinook 'A' 3:45.07. 4, Great Falls Central Catholic 'A' 3:45.40. 5, Centerville 'A' 3:45.96. 6, Power 'A' 3:48.02.

High Jump – 1. Marais, Nick, Fort Benton, 5-10. 2, Smelser, Brady, Power, 5-08. 3, Schneider, Cord, Chinook, 5-06. 3, Neideregger, Toby, Chinook, 5-06. 5, Thomas, Zack, Hobson, J5-06. 6, Diekhans, Hayden, Fort Benton, 5-04.

Pole Vault – 1. Zylks, Joey, Power, 12-09. 2, Schnabel, Connor, Fort Benton, 12-00. 3, Rettig, Caden, North Star, 11-06. 4, Thompson, Jace, Fort Benton, J11-06. 5, Meeks, Caleb, Geraldine, 10-06. 6, Lane, Tim, Fort Benton, 10-00.

Long Jump – 1. Girres, Shane, Great Falls, 20-08.50. 2, Cotton, Grant, Centerville, 20-04.50. 3, Marais, Nick, Fort Benton, 20-02.50. 4, Rettig, Caden, North Star, J20-02.50. 5, Wing, Brendan, Belt, 19-11. 6, Dahinden, Evan, Chester-Jopl, 19-10.

Triple Jump – 1. Dahinden, Evan, Chester-Jopl, 41-03.50. 2, Diekhans, Hayden, Fort Benton, 41-00. 3, Girres, Shane, Great Falls, 40-11. 4, Diekhans, Garett, Fort Benton, 40-08. 5, Cotton, Grant, Centerville, 40-06.25. 6, Wing, Brendan, Belt, 39-10.

Shot Put – 1. McKinlay, Mavrick, Geraldine, 47-10.50. 2, Ambuehl, Noah, Great Falls, 46-11. 3, Schneider, Cord, Chinook, 44-07. 4, Diekhans, Garett, Fort Benton, 44-06.50. 5, Bolles, Ezra, Augusta, 43-04.75. 6, Proulx, Brock, Big Sandy, 41-03.50.

Discus – 1. Bolles, Ezra, Augusta, 138-01. 2, McKinlay, Mavrick, Geraldine, 134-02. 3, Proulx, Brock, Big Sandy, 120-07. 4, Hennes, TJ, Belt, 117-04. 5, Schneider, Cord, Chinook, 116-07. 6, Nerat, Daniel, North Star, 116-01.

Javelin – 1. McKinlay, Mavrick, Geraldine, 156-05. 2, Proulx, Parker, Big Sandy, 155-07. 3, Gannon, Stephen, Fort Benton, 147-11. 4, Scherrer, Kolton, Augusta, 147-03. 5, Russell, Ryan, Roy-Winifred, 145-01. 6, Thompson, Jace, Fort Benton, 144-10.