Prep Track: Talent galore for Whitefish's ARM Invitational

More than 750 of the top athletes in the Northwest will be at Whitefish High School today for the 15th annual ARM Invitational.

A total of 17 teams from as far as Havre are scheduled to compete at the track meet beginning at 10 a.m. for field events and 10:30 for track.

“It’s gonna be terriffic,” Whitefish track coach Derek Schulz said.

“There’s state placers or potential state placers in every race.”

Seven records were broken at last year’s meet, and with the amount of talent expected to arrive this year, more are expected to go down.

Distance runners Zach Perrin of Flathead and Troy Fraley of Glacier are expected to attack the records set last year in the 1,600- and 3,200-meter races by Columbia Falls’ Derrick Williams.

The jump pits will be lively too, with Flathead’s Matt Tokarz and Glacier’s Kyle Griffith expected to challenge long-standing records in the long and triple. On the girls’ side, Glacier’s Leah Cook will look to defend her meet record in the triple jump against Class AA-record holder Kwyn Johnson of Flathead. There’s also a bevy of talent expected to compete in the long jump.

“We might need to move the lines back,” Schulz said.

Whitefish has a ton of talent on its team, led by state champion Marlow Schulz on the girls side and sprinter/middle distance runner Logan Harwood on the boys side.

Bigfork’s Makena Morley, who set the meet record in the 1,600 last season, is expected to compete again, along with state champions and state contenders in the javelin and pole vault.

“This is the kind of meet that pulls out the best competition,” Schulz said.

“This gives us the best glimmer of what a state caliber type of competition brings. By the time you put all the athletes together, you’re looking at the same number of kids, and the same quality of competition (as a state meet).”

The meet, which for many teams serves as a strong warmup to next week’s Archie Roe, has brought in a high quality of competition over the years, boasting some of the state’s finest on its record board. Polson’s Trevor Gunlock and Bree Fuqua hold the longest records, setting them back in 2000, while the meet has also seen speedsters like Havre’s Steve Heberly and Cut Bank’s Deni Fitzpatrick and all-around athletes like Glacier’s Lexi Boschee, who set three records last season.

“Over the years this meet has grown into that,” Schulz said.

“We’ve had tons of really good kids in this meet.”