Growing new tradition: Wolfpack boys claim second division title

The pilot of the small airplane flying low overhead Legends Stadium probably saw the reflection of gold shining up from the black track.

That was the Glacier boys making their victory lap.

Tradition continues to grow in one of Montana's track towns.

The Wolfpack won the program's second Western AA title, this time in the comfort of their hometown on a sunburst Saturday.

Glacier had another three-time individual winner and piled onto a big first-day lead, earning the division trophy with 134.5 points. The program now has two team titles and a third place finish at divisionals in four years.

"I'm really proud of where the program's at. We're going to hopefully continue to get better every day, whether we're champions or not," Glacier boys head coach Arron Deck said.

"That's the culture we want to establish and live by."

Helena Capital was second with 96 points. The Flathead boys, with the winning long relay team and a distance runner who had the race of a lifetime, were third with 81.5.

The Flathead girls earned their best finish at the Western AA meet since 2007, eking out second place by only one point over Missoula Big Sky.

"I'm so happy. We've been fourth the last two years so our goal was to crack into the top three this year and here it is," said Bravettes head coach Kirtlye Lohof. "Good day to have your best meet."

The Helena High girls won with 121 points. Glacier was fourth with 80.

The top six placers in each event advanced to the state meet in Butte on Friday and Saturday.

Glacier senior Tanner Morrison won the boys discus for the third year in a row with friends and family cheering alongside, including his main motivator, old brother Calder, a 2008 Flathead graduate.

"My brother has helped me a lot. He started throwing first and I followed him," Morrison said. "I'm glad I did it."

Classmate Jacob Leininger completed his hurdles sweep with a win in the 110s and followed with a runner-up finish in the 400. Kyle Griffith took second in the triple jump and Matt Iavicoli was third; Troy Fraley was fourth in the 1,600; Tyson Hubbard was fifth in the 200 and Aaron Mitchell placed sixth; Jake Tudahl placed fifth in the discus. The Wolfpack long relay team took fifth.

Flathead sophomore Kwyn Johnson etched her name in the school record book in the triple jump with a winning leap of 36-9 1/4. Johnson erased the old standing mark of 36-7 3/4 set by both Angie Harold (1992) and Halladay Quist (2003). Johnson also placed fourth in the 100 hurdles. Teammate Rhiannon Sturgess took sixth.

Tess Brenneman came away with two runner-up finishes, in the 100 and 400, and a third place in the 200.

Flathead's Dani Davis was fifth in the 100 and Paige Bouma was fifth in the 1,600. The Bravettes' long relay team pulled out a runner-up finish in the final race of the day that pushed the team into second place along with Johnson's triple jump.

Lexy Boschee of Glacier won the high jump and took second in the triple jump. Heather Fraley was third in the 1,600 and Rachael Hart followed in fourth. Leah Cook was fifth in the triple jump. The long relay team of Fraley, Anna Deleray, Kearston Hedges and Mercede Erickson won impressively.

Almost 20 minutes after the finish of the boys 1,600 race, coaches and fans were still exalting one of the fastest and closest distance races in recent memory.

It was a classic showdown between Flathead sophomore Zach Perrin, seeded first, and Missoula Sentinel senior Jake Turner, seeded second.

Both had been close to breaking the 4:20 mark all season, but had yet to.

Turner led the first three laps on pace with Perrin right behind. After the bell sounded and there was 300 meters to go, Perrin made his move. He held a small lead all the way past the final corner into the straightaway as the crowd erupted.

What happened next was breathtaking.

In the final steps, Turner caught Perrin and his shoelace and dove through the finish line, leaving everyone in the stadium wondering aloud who won.

"That was one of the greatest races of my life. That was quick. Me and Zach just battled it out the whole race," said Turner. "He passed me at 300 and I was like ‘Oh no, this is my race. It's senior year. I'm not going to let it happen.' We come around that 100 and I just had the mentality to run reckless and see how I finish. Then at the finish line I caught my shoelace and tripped."

Officials had to use a photo finish to determine the winner. The black and white image showed Turner's outstretched chest thrust forward, less than a foot ahead of Perrin.

Turner clocked in at 4:17.53 and Perrin was 4:17.54. Both times are personal bests and the top two times in the state.

"He is an idol to me. He's going to do great," Turner said of Perrin. "It's great to have a competitor like him to push me like that. I'm looking forward to racing him at state."

"It's fun to have somebody there to push you," Perrin said. "I thought I had him coming down that last 100. Then I couldn't believe at the last second when he just dove. It was crazy."

The Flathead boys long relay team of Perrin, John Collins, Ian Gillespie and Michael Managhan pulled out another dramatic win with Collins crossing the finish ahead of Helena Capital's final runner by a hair. Managhan also placed third in the 400. Collins was fifth in the 110 hurdles and Nick James was fourth. Austin Jones took fourth in the discus.

After the final results were announced and the team trophies were dealt, the Glacier boys continued a little tradition of their own.

With the bright trophy in tow, the group of smiling and laughing boys made the slow roundabout victory lap as the stadium emptied, leaving them as the last one's standing.

"There's no secret to success. Put the work in and do the right things during the season and in the offseason; that's the biggest message we push to our kids," Deck said. "We're trying to build a championship culture, a lot like what Flathead has. They've had a great tradition over the years. Coach (Dan) Hodge has a great staff. Kalispell is a track town."

BOYS

Team scores - Glacier 134.5, Helena Capital 96, Flathead 81.5, Missoula Big Sky 78, Missoula Sentinel 62, Helena 42, Missoula Hellgate 33.

Individual results

100 - 1, Michael Duncan, BSky, 11.09. 2, Jake Messerly, Sent, 11.23. 3, Gunnar Brekke, Cap, 11.38. 4, Jacob Grover, Cap, 11.44. 5, Sean Blomquist, Hele, 11.46. 6, Aaron Hoppe, Helg, 11.48.

200 - 1, Jake Messerly, Sent, 22.66. 2, Aaron Hoppe, Helg, 23.15. 3, Jacob Grover, Cap, 23.29. 4, Jordan Umsted, Hele, 23.32. 5, Tyson Hubbard, Gla, 23.83. 6, Aaron Mitchell, Gla, 23.96.

400 - 1, Michael Duncan, BSky, 50.25. 2, Jacob Leininger, Gla, 51.25. 3, Michael Managhan, Fla, 51.85. 4, Killian Smith, Cap, 51.92. 5, Sawyer Moranville, Cap, 52.69. 6, Kyle Nickol, Cap, 52.72.

1600 - 1, Jake Turner, Sent, 4:17.53. 2, Zach Perrin, Fla, 4:17.54. 3, Adam Peterman, Helg, 4:28.64. 4, Troy Fraley, Gla, 4:30.48. 5, Matt Barker, Hele, 4:32.48. 6, Thomas Lund, Hele, 4:33.66.

110 hurdles - 1, Jacob Leininger, Gla, 14.83. 2, Beau Berg, Cap, 15.26. 3, Austin Lindquist, BSky, 15.43. 4, Nick James, Fla, 15.55. 5, John Collins, Fla, 15.96. 6, Brian Sinrud, Cap, 16.07.

1600 relay - 1, Flathead (Zach Perrin, Ian Gillespie, Michael Managhan, John Collins), 3:30.12. 2, Helena Capital, 3:30.14. 3, Missoula Big Sky, 3:31.72. 4, Missoula Sentinel, 3:34.42. 5, Glacier, 3:37.68. 6, Helena, 3:39.69.

Triple jump - 1, Michael Duncan, BSky, 45-4 1/2. 2, Kyle Griffith, Gla, 45-0 1/2. 3, Matt Iavicoli, Gla, 42-7. 4, Nico Graham, BSky, 41-9 1/2. 5, Zach Murphy, Sent, 41-5. 6, Austin Lindquist, BSky, 40-1.

Discus - 1, Tanner Morrison, Gla, 159-3. 2, Coltan Pipinich, Cap, 148-2. 3, Darby Maier, BSky, 145-10. 4, Austin Jones, Fla, 139-4. 5, Jake Tudahl, Gla, 136-1. 6, Nate Hinrichs, Hele, 135-9.

GIRLS

Team scores - Helena 121, Flathead 93, Missoula Big Sky 92, Glacier 80, Missoula Sentinel 60, Missoula Hellgate 53, Helena Capital 28.

Individual results

100 - 1, Morgan Braby, BSky, 12.56. 2, Tess Brenneman, Fla, 12.99. 3, Callie Kanthack, Hele, 13.01. 4, Megan Daniels, Helg, 13.24. 5, Dani Davis, Fla, 13.27. 6, Jaclyn Rauthe, Fla, 13.34.

200 - 1, Morgan Braby, BSky, 25.38. 2, Liz Harper, Sent, 26.07. 3, Tess Brenneman, Fla, 26.27. 4, Elle Tinkle, BSky, 26.32. 5, Megan Daniels, Helg, 26.65. 6, Callie Kanthack, Hele, 26.68.

400 - 1, Liz Harper, Sent, 57.53. 2, Tess Brenneman, Fla, 58.56. 3, Elle Tinkle, BSky, 58.88. 4, Allison Morrison, Hele, 59.27. 5, Amanda Jaynes, Sent, 59.63. 6, Kaitlyn Oliver, Hele, 59.64.

1600 - 1, Paige Gilchrist, Helg, 5:07.96. 2, Leah Esposito, Hele, 5:14.34. 3, Heather Fraley, Gla, 5:15.24. 4, Rachael Hart, Gla, 5:24.48. 5, Paige Bouma, Fla, 5:27.12. 6, Taylor Rather, BSky, 5:29.25.

100 hurdles - 1, Liz Harper, Sent, 14.96. 2, Natalie Zimmer, BSky, 15.76. 3, Rachel Lindley, BSky, 16.17. 4, Kwyn Johnson, Fla, 16.24. 5, Monica Grimsrud, Hele, 16.46. 6, Rhiannon Sturgess, Fla, 16.66.

1600 relay - 1, Glacier (Kearston Hedges, Heather Fraley, Mercede Erickson, Anna Deleray), 4:04.80. 2, Flathead, 4:10.13. 3, Missoula Hellgate, 4:11.03. 4, Helena, 4:11.83. 5, Missoula Sentinel, 4:12.55. 6, Missoula Big Sky, 4:12.68.

High jump - 1, Lexy Boschee, Gla, 5-5. 2, Alisa Gilchrist, Hele, 5-5. 3, Allison Morrison, Hele, 5-5. 4, Kristen Daugherty, BSky, 5-3. 5, Brittany Erickson, BSky, 5-1. 6, Mallory Grimsrud, Hele, 5-1.

Triple jump - 1, Kwyn Johnson, Fla, 36-9 1/4. 2, Lexy Boschee, Gla, 35-9. 3, Kristen Daugherty, BSky, 35-8 1/2. 4, Kim Mauer, BSky, 35-1 1/2. 5, Leah Cook, Gla, 34-9. 6, Kalei Scholl, Cap, 34-0 3/4.

Discus - 1, Anna Pershouse, Sent, 121-7. 2, Taylor Corne, Cap, 121-4. 3, Taylor Amestoy, Hele, 111-9. 4, Natalie Schmitt, BSky, 107-3. 5, Taylor Kanthack, Hele, 104-11. 6, Mallory Grimsrud, Hele, 100-7.