Area thinclads lay it on the line at Class B, C state meets

The track and field season has come down to the final weekend of the season. And the Class C state track meet in Missoula will be a big one.

The District 9C will be represented by Fort Benton, Chinook, North Star, Big Sandy, Chester-Joplin-Inverness, Box Elder and Turner at the state meet. Fort Benton looks to cap off its strong season after their boys' team finished second and their girls' team took first at the Northern C Divisional last week.

"I would not bet against the Longhorns. Their boys team is as strong as any that I can remember," said North Star head coach Brian Campbell. "Fort Benton will be strong on the girls side as well."

However, the Longhorns will face stiff competition against athletes from over 70 schools this weekend. On the boys' side, schools that have the best chance to win the state title include Manhattan Christian, Seeley-Swan, Twin Bridges, Richey-Lambert and Northern C Divisional champion Belt. On the girls' side, Fort Benton will compete against favored Seeley-Swan.

If the Longhorns are going to bring home a state title, they will need their individuals to bring home some hardware themselves. William Ullery will have a strong chance to bring home a state title in the sprints as he took first in the 100-meter sprint and took second in the 200 at divisionals. He will also compete in the long jump after placing fourth at divisionals.

Many other Longhorns should have strong chances of winning a state title. Hayden Diekhans will compete in the triple jump after winning the divisional title with a distance of 44-03.25. He will also compete in the 200 and long jump this weekend. Nick Marias will compete in the long jump after winning the divisional title last week. He will also compete in the high jump and triple jump. Jace Thompson won the pole vault at divisionals and also qualified for the long jump this weekend.

The Fort Benton boys' relay teams will also look to finish their season with a state title. The 1,600 relay team won the divisional title with a time of 3:37.30 and the 400 relay team took second at divisionals with a time of 44.84 seconds.

Many other male Longhorns will compete this weekend. Dane Byle will look to win the discus after taking home the divisional title last week. Devin Bird qualified for this meet's 400 and 800 after a strong showing at the divisional meet. Nick Woods will race in the 100-meter hurdles this weekend.

Many athletes from the Fort Benton girls' team should have a shot at winning a state title. After breaking the divisional record last week in the long jump, Aspen Giese hopes to end her career with a state championship. She will also race in the 200 and 400. Abby Clark also looks to carry over her momentum from the divisional meet, where she won the 100-meter hurdles, the 300-meter hurdles and the high jump.

Other lady Longhorns hope to finish their seasons strong. Maci Molinario will compete in the shot put, discus and javelin. Jasmine Wilson will compete in the discus and javelin as well. Cloe Kalanick will throw in the discus and Allie Wallace will race in the 300-meter hurdles. The Fort Benton girls' relay teams hope to continue their strong seasons after they won the divisional titles in both the 400 and 1,600 relays.

Chinook looks to carry its strong performance at the divisional meet into the state meet. One of their athletes that has a shot at a state title is Toby Niederregger in the high jump. He will also race in the 100 this weekend. The Chinook boys' 400 relay team also has a chance at a state title after they finished third at divisionals with a time of 46.60 seconds.

Brenden Fetter will also represent Chinook this weekend as he will race in the 200. Braxton Inman will race in the 300-meter hurdles this weekend. On their girls' team, discus divisional-champion Jayden Miller will throw in the discus as well as the shot put and javelin. Hallie Neibauer will race in the 200, 400 and 800 and Anna Terry will race in the 1,600 and 3,200.

Big Sandy will also compete at this weekend's meet. Cooper Taylor will race in the 100 and 300-meter hurdles. Kade Strutz will throw in the shot put and discus and Lane Demontiney will race in the 1,600 and 3,200. Eva Wagoner will have many chances for a high placement this weekend as she will race in the 100, 200, 100-meter hurdles and 300-meter hurdles. Both the boys' and girls' 400 relay teams will also race this weekend.

North Star will also compete this weekend in the state meet. Even though his team is young and inexperienced, Campbell expects them to compete hard.

"The members of our team are pretty young. I expect them to go and compete at a high level," Campbell said. "They earned the right to be at this meet just like everyone else and I expect them to battle with all the other competitors."

Campbell believes his senior Jaden Sargent has a chance to end his career on a high note. Sargent will compete in all the distance races this weekend as he will run in the 800, 1,600 and 3,200. Another strong runner for the Knights is Laynie Sattoriva, who will compete in the 400, 800 and pole vault. Gavin Clawson will also compete for the Knights this weekend in the shot put. Kaytlyn Domire will throw in the shot put and discus and Rainee Watson will compete in the discus as well this weekend.

CJI will be represented by athletes such as Bryce Kammerzell and Adam Grammar this weekend. Kammerzell will race in the 100-meter hurdles and Grammar will compete in the pole vault. Other Hawks competing this weekend include Ryder Cole in the pole vault and Kyle Harmon in the long jump and triple jump. On their girls' team, Abby Fraser will compete in the 100 and javelin. Turner will only be represented by Shyan Krass this weekend as she will compete in the 1,600, 3,200 and discus.

The Class C state track meet will run Friday and Saturday in Missoula. Many area athletes will also compete at the Class B state meet this weekend in Laurel.