Track preview for area teams

Class AA

Flathead

Coaches: Dan Hodge, 31st as head coach of the boys; 34th year overall; Jerry Boschee, fifth as head coach of the girls; 12th year overall

Last year: Flathead boys finished eighth at state with 36 points; won the Western AA Divisional; FHS girls won state with a 116 total; won the Western AA Divisional for a fifth straight time

Key returners: FHS girls - Liz Myers, sr., accounted for 20 points at state last year by finishing third in the 300 hurdles, fourth in the 100 and 200 dash and ran on both relay teams that finished second; Tabitha Spencer, sr., second in the javelin; Sam Gunlikson, jr., sixth in the 100 hurdles, second in the long jump; Sarah Griffith, jr., third in the triple jump and 400 relay; Elysia Andrews, jr., fifth in the 1,600; Shannon Ross, jr., fourth in the 800; Janae Lister, jr., sixth in the 400; Rebecca Johnson, so., sixth in the discus; FHS boys - Beau Watkins, sr., fifth in the 200 and ran on fifth place 400 relay; Elliot Welder, sr., fifth in the 3,200; Sean Clark, sr., fifth in the 800; John Fairweather, sr., fourth in the 800 and fifth in the 1,600; Reed Watkins, jr., sixth in the 400; Dan Ogden, jr., fifth in the shot put; Scott Cassel, sr., 400 relay; Jareth Wilson, sr., 400 relay.

Outlook: The FHS boys return 19 1/2 state points out of 36 and have 118 on the roster. "Those are the kids who have to provide the nucleus for us right now," said Hodge. "Those are the athletes that will have to lead the way." Under Hodge, the Braves have won 13 divisional titles and six state championships. They have finished second at the divisional eight times and have been state runners-up seven times. The FHS girls have 75 out this spring and return 22 letterwinners. "Kinda up in the air right now," said Boschee of what he expects this season. "I would hope our jumps would be our strength. In every event, we have at least one kid at the top and who I expect big things from. As far as depth, it's real questionable right now."

Class A

Columbia Falls

Coaches: Wes Knutson, 10th as head coach of the girls; 23rd overall; Mark Beckwith, 17th as head coach of the boys

Last year: Columbia Falls girls placed second at divisional with 116 points and third at state with 52; Columbia Falls boys second at divisional with 113 points and second at state with 45

Key returners: C-Falls girls - Jessica Boyer, jr., fourth at state last year in the 1,600 and sixth place 1,600 relay team; Amber Lampman, jr., 1,600 relay; Danielle Vukonich, jr., 1,600 relay; Shanelle Swift, sr., fifth in the high jump (in 2004, was injured last year); Emily Stoltz, so., third in the high jump and sixth in the pole vault at divisional; Jylisa Fields, so., sixth in the long jump; Sarah Sturz, jr., fifth in the 400 relay; Lampman, 400 relay; Fields, 400 relay; C-Falls boys - returning state participants: Nick Beckwith, sr., discus; Greg Macijunas, sr., discus; Kevin Boyer, sr., triple jump; Jack Scherman, sr., 300 hurdles, high jump, 1,600 relay; Jason Sternad, jr., 400 relay; Daniel Byrd, sr., hurdles; Jared Jimmerson, jr., 400 relay; Kyle Jangula, jr., triple jump; Bobby Opp, sr., 400 relay.

Outlook: "Excited about our numbers (40 on the roster)," said Knutson. "It appears we'll be a little more solid in the field (events), and we have Boyer on the track. I'm hoping for good things from her." The Columbia Falls boys have 47 participants, with a good turnout of freshman (14). "That's really nice for us," said coach Beckwith. "I think we'll do pretty well." A couple of newcomers - Keith Catt, jr., throws; Cory Pete, sr., 800, 1,600 and 3,200; and Michael Taylor, jr., 800, 1,600 and 3,200 - could make a difference. Steffen Anderson, sr., pole vault and javelin; is another promising prospect.

Bigfork

Coach: Sue Loeffler, 32nd year as head coach

Last year: Bigfork girls finished third at the divisional with 96 points and fourth at state with 45; Bigfork boys placed sixth at divisional with 24 points and finished 25th at state with one point

Key returners: State qualifiers for girls - Brooke Andrus, sr., first in the 800, 1,600 and 3,200 and third in the 1,600 relay; Caitlin Roberson, sr., 1,600 relay and 400 relay; Charlene Miller, so., 1,600 relay; Brittany Hall, so., 300 hurdles; Kayla Fox, sr., discus; Mary Hall, sr., 400 relay; Leslie Johnson, sr., 400 relay; Breana Brendsel, sr., 400 relay; Bigfork boys - Eric Wehrman, sr., sixth in the 110 hurdles, 300 hurdles and both relays; Shawn Reed, sr., high jump and short relay; Erik Torgeson, sr., both relays; Chad Edwards, sr., both relays; non-state qualifiers Cody King, sr., pole vault; Aaron Vogel, jr., pole vault; Andrew Whittaker, so., short relay, 100, pole vault.

Outlook: "I think we'll do OK," said Loeffler of the girls. "Divisional-wise, we won't be as tough; we don't have the depth. State-wise, we have higher point-getters. We've been in the hunt (at state) the last two-three years." The Valkyries will be strong in distance events and the hurdles with Hall. Both relays "should be decent," said Loeffler. Regarding the boys, Loeffler said: "We'll be OK in the sprints. We have a lot of young kids who will do well." Bigfork has 28 boys competing and 23 girls.

Libby

Coaches: Ed Tabis, 18th year as head coach of the girls, 20th year overall; Rod Tempel, 28th year as head coach of the boys

Last year: Libby girls finished 18th at state with 4 points, fifth at the divisional with 61 points; Libby boys fifth at state with 36 points, fourth at the divisional with 88 points

Key returners: Libby girls - Divisional placers: Karen Byrns, jr., high jump, triple jump, 1,600 relay; Jaesika Nelson, jr., 200, long jump; Shantell McLinden, so., 1,600 relay; Rachel Morrow, so., 1,600 relay; also, Crystal Carr, so., throwing events; Shantell McLinden, middle distance; Rachel Morrow, middle distance; Rachel Cernick, fr., jumps and hurdles; Devon Hoyer, fr., multiple events; Rachael Sweedman, fr., distance events; Ariel Wooden, fr., distance and field events; Libby boys - State placers: Kyle Baker, jr., second in high jump and third in javelin; Andrew Orr, sr., third in long jump; divisional placers - Baker, Orr, Rusty Naccarato, sr., 100 and javelin; Richard Brumbaugh, jr., javelin; Mike Decker, sr., pole vault and both relays.

Outlook: Libby girls will field a young squad with 24 of the 32 on the roster freshmen or sophomores. "We'll be stronger in the field events," said Tabis. "The kids are working hard, are attentive. I'm pleased with all of them." The Libby boys could surprise this spring. "We have a lot of kids back," said Tempel. "We'd like to get back into the top three of the division." The Loggers will again score a lot of points in the javelin and will be much improved in the sprints.

Polson

Coaches: Bruce Thomas, closing in on his 20th as head coach of the girls; Bob Gunderson enters 30th as head coach of the boys

Last year: Polson girls finished fourth at the divisional with 82 points and sixth at state with 30; Polson boys claimed the divisional title with 132 points (marked the 11th straight year the Pirates have brought home a divisional trophy) and finished 16th at state with 12.

Key returners: Polson boys - state qualifiers from last year are: seniors Kevin Love, pole vault, and Andy Nelson, 110 hurdles, 300 hurdles, 400 relay, 1,600 relay (sixth place); juniors Bryce Picard, 100, 200, 400 relay, 1,600 relay; Ted Morigeau, 400 and 1,600 relay; Chris Ogle, 400, 800, 1,600 relay; and sophomores Cody Doyle, 110 hurdles, and Logan Torgison, 1,600, 3,200; Polson girls - state participants from last year: Daniel Rowe, jr., first in the high jump (5-2); Kara Walker, sr., first in shot put (40-8); Tanna Bull, jr., 400; Merilee Mowbray, so., 400 and both relays; Brittany Gardner, jr., shot put, discus and javelin; Jennifer Gallatin, sr., discus; Alex Noble, so., 3,200.

Outlook: The Polson boys have 25 athletes out with 11 letterwinners in that group. "All of the returning lettermen have excellent changes at placing at the divisional and state meets this year," said Gunderson. "Our team goal will be to place in the top two at the divisional track meet and to have at least one individual champion at the state track meet." The Polson girls have 23 on the practice roster, which is the most ever for Thomas at this time of year. "A lot of freshmen and newcomers," he said. "We'll see how it all plays out." Thomas says he las a lot of field event people, but fielding competitive relay teams might be challening.

Whitefish

Coach: Derek Schulz, second year with girls; 11th year with boys

Last year: WHS boys finished third at state, 43 points, and third at the divisional, 90; WHS girls took first place at the divisional, 143 points, and ninth at state, 28.

Key Returners: For the girls - Courtney Ferda, fourth at state in the 100 and 200 and ran on the second place 400 relay; Erin Greiner, fourth in the triple jump; Marni Hale, fifth in the triple jump and 400 relay and ran on the fourth place 1,600 relay; Carmel Johnston, sixth in the pole vault; Lauren Kuennen, sixth in the 400 and both relays; Alex White, 1,600 relay; Ashley Ferda, 400 relay; Libbie Anderson, 1,600 relay; WHS boys - Todd Harthan, sixth in the shot put at state; Chris Hicks, first in the long jump (21-2), triple jump (45-1/2) and high jump (6-6) and fourth in the 300 hurdles (40.66). Hicks won five events at the divisional meet: long jump, triple jump, high jump, 200 and 300 hurdles.

Outlook: "We return a pile of people," said Schulz on the girls side. "A lot of the core of our scoring. We struggled with injuries last year. Our priority (this year) is to get in shape. We'll put most of our focus on May. May Matters, that's our slogan. That's where the difference is made in track. Regarding the WHS boys, "We return some key players," said Schulz. "Also really happy to have a couple guys back who weren't with team last year (Taylor Ferda missed season with back injury and Kyle Becker had mononucleosis. Both are seniors.) "We have Chris Hicks; anyone in the state would love to have him on their track team," said Schulz. "We're looking to build around him."

Class B

Eureka

Coach: Joe Lewicki, 11th season as head coach

Last year: Girls won the District 8-B meet with the boys second; girls third and boys eighth at the Western B Divisional; girls ninth, boys 14th at state

Key returners: Melanie Finch, so., 400 and 1,600 relays, and Theron Truman, sr., 800, both competed at state; Cory Greenwood, so., 110 and 300 hurdles; Mandi Truman, jr., 1,600 and 3,200; Eryn Adams, sr., 200 and pole vault; Megan Hannay, so., shot put and discus; Heather Stewart, jr., 1,600 and 3,200.

Outlook: "We have some talented freshmen, some seniors out for the first time," said Lewicki. "It will be interesting to see how things turn out this season." For both the boys and girls, sprints and distance events will be strong points. Numbers are down with eight girls and 15 boys on the roster.