Street: Montana Gatorade girls track athlete of year

The Daily Inter Lake

Columbia Falls javelin thrower Angellica Street is the 2018-19 Gatorade Montana Girls Track & Field Athlete of the Year.

Gatorade made the announcement on Thursday in a press release.

“I thought it was a possibility,” Columbia Falls girls track coach Jamie Heinz said.

“She has the fourth best jav throw in the nation for this season (high school girls).

“She works so hard to accomplish her goals,” Heinz praised.

“Her ultimate goal is to qualify for the Olympic Trials next summer after she graduates.”

To do so, Street needs to have a throw of around 168-feet.

“She’s very humble, sometimes embarrassed by her accomplishments,” Heinz said.

“Her winning that award is a reflection on our entire program.”

Columbia Falls activities director Troy Bowman said the school’s star athlete is deserving of Gatorade recognition.

“She’s a good student, she’s every part of the CFHS (character, focus, honor and strength) Honor Code that we adopted several years ago. She fits all of that.

“She’s just a junior, so we get her back next year,” Bowman added.

“It’s a great honor for her definitely. This could also open a lot of doors, opportunities for her.”

Bowman said the school will receive a banner from Gatorade in the next couple weeks with Street’s name on it to be displayed in a prominent location.

“It will be awesome to have it in our gym,” he said.

Street enjoyed a spectacular spring season. She won the Class A state javelin title with a throw of 156 feet, 11 inches on May 24th in Laurel. That distance also broke the all-class record of 152-8, which was set in 2016 by Hailey Poole of Colstrip.

Her season best in the javelin was 158-8, set at a dual meet with Glacier in May.

Street also placed third in the shot put at state with a distance of 37-7.

She is the first Gatorade Montana Girls Track & Field Athlete of the Year to be chosen from Columbia Falls High School, according to the Gatorade press release.

Street’s javelin coach is Mike Lyngstad, a Columbia Falls and Montana grad and a former Big Sky Conference record holder in that event.

“His knowledge is bar none,” Heinz said.

“A lot of her success is a reflection of his coaching.”

Lyngstad just completed his fourth year with the field events at CFHS. He’s been an assistant coach for 53 years.

“Very coachable,” Lyngstad said of Street.

“She’s a good student, liked by everyone.”

He said Street, who was already throwing the shot put and discus, wanted to try the javelin her freshman season.

“Grabbed it for first time, threw it over 120,” he said.

“She has an extremely quick arm, and she’s strong, a strong girl.

“A hard worker, never satisfied,” he continued.

“She wants to get better and better by the end of the day.”

Off the field, Lyngstad said she is “so easy going, liked by every one. She never has a bad word to say about everyone.

“I really believe she has an excellent shot in the 170 range next year,” he said.

“Then she would probably get an invitation to the Olympic Trials.”

Street is currently en route to El Paso, Texas, where she will attend an invite only javelin camp starting on Monday.

“Work on her speed down the approach,” Heinz said of what she needs to focus on next.

“Get her faster down the runway. That will translate to a further distance with the javelin.”

The Gatorade award not only recognizes outstanding athletic excellence, but high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the track.

Street is a B student in the classroom and serves as a youth coach.

The state recognition makes Street a finalist for the Gatorade National Girls Track & Field Athlete of the Year award to be announced later this month.

“Angellica Street is unbeatable in the javelin and her progress this year was amazing,” Corvallis head coach Spencer Huls said.

“I think that her arm speed is unmatched and that she’s worked extremely hard to improve her form to go along with the incredible arm speed and strength.”

The Gatorade Player of the Year program, now in its 34th year, annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states that sanction high school sports and awards one National Player of the Year in each sport. From the 12 national winners, one male and one female athlete are each named Gatorade High School Athlete of the Year. In all, 607 athletes are honored each year.

Street joins recent Gatorade Montana Girls Track & Field Athletes of the Year Camila Noe (2017-18, Bozeman High School), Annie Hill (2016-17, Glacier High School), Christina Aragon (2015-16 & 2014-15, Billings Senior High School), and Erika McLeod (2013-14, Butte High School) among the state’s list of former award winners.

As a part of Gatorade’s cause marketing platform “Play it Forward,” Street also has the opportunity to award a $1,000 grant to a local or national youth sports organization of her choosing. She is also eligible to submit an essay to win one of twelve $10,000 spotlight grants for the organization of choice, which will be announced throughout the year.