Class C Tracksters Heading to State

Valley County track and field teams found themselves well represented at the Eastern C Divisional meet in Sidney on May 20. Combined, Hinsdale, Lustre Christian, Nashua and Opheim (Scobey-Opheim Unified) took 31 podium spots and nine first-place finishes. Six top-six spots were personal records.

The Hinsdale Raiders took second in boys competition with 89 points, behind Richey Lambert at 107.5. The girls team tied for fifth, earning 50 points and finishing behind Plentywood, 65; Saco, 60; Fairview, 57, and Savage with 53. The unified Scobey-Opheim boys placed third with 75 points and the girls tied with Hinsdale for fifth place with 50 points. The Lustre Christian boys team took seventh with 26 points while the Lion girls tied for 13th place with five points. Nashua’s Tia Dees put her girls team on the board with two points and a 15th place finish.

HINSDALE RAIDERS

“Our kids showed up and continued to compete the way they have all year,” said Hinsdale head coach Taylor Olson. The Raiders are sending Loden Idler, Jesse Lee and Trey Johnson to state for the boys competition while Kaitlyn McColly and Zora Holt will represent the girls team in Missoula.

Idler won the 100m with a time of 11.58 and Lee placed third with a time of 11.86. Lee edged Idler in the 200m as the two took first and second with times of 24.10 and 24.47. Lee earned a second in the 400m with his time of 53.67. Johnson set a personal record of 17.09 and finished second in the 110m hurdles and placed fourth in the 300m hurdles with a time of 47.96. Olson said, “It has been fun having success in sprints and hurdles.”

The three Raiders also found success in the field events. Lee set a personal record and won the shot put with a throw of 45’2. He placed third in the high jump after clearing 5’6. Idler earned a second place finish in the pole vault, clearing 11’6 and Johnson finished 10th in the event after clearing 10’0. Idler also earned a first-place finish in the long jump, setting a personal record of 19’10.5.

Holt finished fifth in the 3200m run, finishing in 13:50.10 while McColly turned in four first-place finishes. The senior won the 100m hurdles in 15.28, a second-and-a-half ahead of the second-place finisher, and the 300m hurdles in 46.71, more than three seconds ahead of her nearest competition. McColly cleared 10’0 to win the pole vault and leapt 16’8 to win the long jump. She set a personal record of 34’10 in the triple jump but was edged out of first place by Savage’s Brooke Reuter who beat McColly by a quarter-inch.

Olson is anxious to see his kids compete at the state level. “I am confident we will see some personal bests,” he said. He expects McColly to face tough competition from Charlo and Fort Benton athletes, while the Fort Benton and Seeley Lake athletes will challenge his boys team.

OPHEIM (Unified Scobey-Opheim)

Cole Taylor and Bo Anderson earned points for the unified Scobey-Opheim boys team and will move on to the State meet this week, while Carrie Taylor earned two trips to the podium for the girls team.

Anderson set a personal record and finished in third place in the triple jump after notching a 38’7 distance. Cole Taylor earned fourth in the 1600m run with a time of 5:06.46 and fourth in the 3200m run, finishing in 11:27.72. He also ran the third leg of the first-place 4x400 relay team, which finished in 3:44.73.

Carrie Taylor earned her trips to the podium in the throwing events. The sophomore finished sixth in the discus with a throw of 90 feet even, and took fourth in the javelin with her throw of 101’2.

LUSTRE CHRISTIAN

Jasiah Hambira earned third-place finishes in the boys’ 200m and 400m runs. He ran the 200m in 24.67 and the 400m in 55.53. The Lions sophomore placed fourth in the long jump with a leap of 18’10.5 and won the high jump after clearing 6’0.

Senior Tiara Whitmus will represent Lustre Christian at the state meet in the discus and javelin. She finished in fourth in the discus with a throw of 102’8 and sixth in the javelin with her throw of 95’8.

NASHUA

Porcupine Tia Dees set a personal record in the discus. The sophomore threw for a distance of 97’4 which earned her fifth place at the Divisional meet. “Tia Dees had another strong showing at divisionals,” said head coach Janice Rorvik. “She threw the shot put 34’ besting her last personal record by 1 ½ feet. Our division has some really great throwers and she ended up placing seventh with that throw. She would have had to throw the state qualifying mark to make it to state out of our division this year.” The coach added she hopes to see Dees continue to improve and make it to the state podium.

Coach Janice Rorvik told the Courier a number of her athletes set personal records at the meet. She encourages fans to keep an eye on Keelyn Skolrud, who set a personal record in the 100m dash. “We have a great bunch of young athletes,” she concluded, “and the future of Porcupine track is looking very bright.”

The MHSA State AA & C Track and Field Meet will be held at the Missoula County Public Schools Stadium in Missoula this Thursday through Saturday, May 27-29.