Western AA divisional track loaded with talent
For many, the Western AA divisional track meet today and tomorrow at Legends Stadium is one last chance for some of the brightest athletes in the state to extend their season.
The top six qualifiers, or athletes who meet qualifying marks, will advance to the state meet on May 30-31 in Great Falls.
“Overall, it should be a pretty competitive meet,” Glacier boys track coach Arron Deck said.
“As far as the division goes it’s a very competitive division.”
The boys competition features some of the top athletes in the state at any class, including a field of jumpers from Kalispell.
Flathead’s Jess Beaman leads the state in long and triple jump and Braves’ teammate Matt Quist has jumped three inches higher than the rest of the state in the high jump.Glacier’s Lonnie Sherman leads the state in the pole vault. Each will see their best competition of the season so far, with athletes from Missoula and Helena nipping at their heels.
Some of the top throwers will also be on hand.
“It’s easy to get caught up in the deep lists, at this time of year it comes down to competing,” Deck said.
“If you look across the board, (the events are) all competitive. They’re all so tightly packed it could go one of four ways pretty easy. I know our athletes are looking forward to it.”
On the track, there’s plenty of speed to go around in the boys races.
Missoula Hellgate’s Colin Dolese and Helena Capital’s Kyle Nickol hold top times in the state this season and the runners with the top five 400-meter times in the state will all be on the track.
Glacier’s Logan Jones and Evan Epperly have the top 100 times in the West.
“There’s some seniors we’ve battled the last couple of years,” Deck said.
“It’s kind of fun to watch them compete as seniors now. We’ve been watching them compete head to head for four years now.”
For the girls, Flathead’s Rhiannon Sturgess has been one of the state’s best hurdlers all season and teammates Emma Andrews and Megan Russell have made their marks in the jumps.
Glacier’s strengths have been in the field, led by Shauna Williams, Katie Wiley and Tessa Krueger.
Helena, with Callie Kanthack in the sprints and Carly Smiedala in the middle- and long-distance races, looks formidable. As does Missoula Big Sky’s deep lineup of talent on the track and in the field.
“Different teams have their specialties,” Flathead girls coach Tom Gillespie said.
“Big Sky, Glacier and Helena have the best depth to make a run for the divisional title.”
For many of the athletes, just winning isn’t the goal. To move on to next week, you just have to qualify.
“One nice thing is there’s still two ways to qualify. Either get top six in any given event or still hit that qualifying mark,” Gillespie said.
“You might end up getting eighth in the 800, but if you hit the time, you’re still able to go to state. It really helps if one division or the other is really loaded.
“There’s a lot of kids right on that cusp. Where they’re not quite qualified and they’re right at sixth or seventh place. We’re really hoping this is their weekend. We’re hoping they peak at the right time.”
Field events begin at 2 p.m. today with track events starting at 3 p.m. Events start at 10:30 on Saturday.
Class A
Whitefish looks to repeat its performance from last season at the Northwestern A divisional track meet today and Saturday in Frenchtown.
The Bulldogs won both team titles last year on the way to big success at state, and have formidable squads again.
Senior standout Marlow Schulz leads the way for the girls, entering as the class leader in the 100, 200 and 400 and second in the 800.
On the boys side, Bulldogs senior Sean Foley is one of the state leaders in the 100, long jump and pole vault and Keaton Grove in the 110 and 300 hurdles.
Luke May is the only boy in Class A to throw at least 190 feet in the javelin.
Class B
Bigfork’s Makena Morley will try to continue her dominance in the distance events at today and Saturday’s Western B divisional meet at Missoula Big Sky.
Morley, the state leader in the 800, 1,600 and 3,200 and anchors the class leading 1,600 relay team, is running a full slate for just the second time this season. However, the fatigue didn’t seem to show last week with dominant performances at the 7B divisional meet, and events will be split over two days.
Teammate Emily Cheroske ran the fastest 400 in the class last week and the Bigfork boys bring loads of talent on the track and in the field.
Eureka’s Khaz Yanak is one of the top boys triple jumpers in the state and the Lions’ Emily Billow is one of the best in shot put.
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The Class A and B state track meet is May 30-31 in Butte. Class C is May 30-31 in Great Falls.