Glacier boys garner silver

BUTTE — The Glacier Wolfpack had the dogs to win a second State AA boys track and field championship Saturday, at Bulldog Memorial Stadium.

Missoula Sentinel just had a few more.

Getting a shocking 100 meters win from Hudson Lembke, the Spartans scored 89 points to claim their second straight championship and fourth in six tries. Glacier, hoping to send a championship trophy with retiring coach Arron Deck, finished second with 80.

It was still a good run (and jump) for the Pack.

“Would have loved first,” said sprinter Jake Turner. “That Sentinel kid that came out of Lane 9 to win the 100 — impressive. They came to play today. They came to play.”

Lembke ran a solid 11.00-second prelim for the Spartans Friday, but Sentinel had not projected to score in the event. That changed in a hurry — 10.97 seconds to be exact.

Billings West’s Clint Ambuehl and Belgrade’s Evan Major were next; Helena Capital star Thomas Carter, who won the 200 Saturday, was fourth. Great Falls sprinter Reed Harris pulled up early with a leg injury.

There was still drama at the end, with Glacier going 1-4-5 in the triple jump early and Aiden Krause taking second in the discus late.

Suddenly Sentinel’s lead was down to four, 83-79.

“Gave us hope,” Turner said. “We were down by over 10 points. (Krause) got second, got us eight points, and gave us hope in the relay. We just couldn’t hang with them.”

Sentinel took third — Gallatin won it — and Glacier, sixth.

Gallatin took home the third place trophy with 71 points. Tyler Gilman won the 300 hurdles for the Raptors in 39.06, while Glacier’s Caleb Bernhardt ran his career best, 39.52, but finished third. Sentinel’s Drew Klumph was second, and edged Bernhardt (14.84 to 14.93) for the 110 hurdles title as well.

Sam Ells also ran well, taking second in both the 800 (to Sentinel’s Keagen Crosby) and 3,200, after winning the 1,600 Friday. Bozeman’s Weston Brown passed him on the final stretch of the two-mile, winning in a personal best 9:27.07. Ells was maybe two strides back, at 9:27.88.

“Sam Ells had an unbelievable finish to his high school career,” Deck said. “I don’t ever recall anyone doing all three distances and doing them as well as he did.

“To ‘triple’ in Butte is another story. A lot of people have tried it, but not had that success.”

Reuben Hornby added a point for Glacier in the javelin; and then there was the triple jump.

The Flathead Valley ruled: Tate Kauffman won his duel with Flathead’s Dylan Zink; Flathead’s Carter Bullins was third, and Glacier’s John Pyron and Ty Olsen followed.

“The first four jumps were all back and forth,” said Zink, who like his teammates was rocking a white hoodie with Flathead coach Dan Hodge’s picture on the front.

Zink started with a mark of 44 feet, 4 inches; Kauffman went 44-7. Zink got 45-2, then 45-3.5; Kauffman scratched twice and then went 45-6.75. Everyone put Pryon PR’d.

“Ty came in halfway through the year and just figured out how to do it, you know?” Kauffman said. “Kind of like me last year. John and I are really good buddies, and .… Yesterday he hyperextended his knee really bad in the high jump. He still went out there and competed his hardest. I’m just happy we all made it on the podium.”

“The boys came this weekend and battled,” Deck said. “Extremely proud of them. We knew we were going to have to score around 80 points to get it done. That’s competition. Sentinel also showed up, so credit to them.

“Top to bottom, everyone on the roster that came to Butte hit their PR. That’s all you can ask.”

Flathead ended up seventh, with 30 points: 26 came in the long and triple jumps. The Braves also took fourth in the long relay.

Helena’s girls were way too much, scoring 144 points to 110 for Billings West and earning their first title since 2000. Far back in third was Hellgate with 47.

The Bengals’ Odessa Zentz was stellar, adding an 800 win to her record-setting 400 from Friday. Helena’s Logan Todorovich won the 100 hurdles, edging Sentinel standout Brooke Stayner; West’s Taylee Chirrick bested Stayner in the 300 hurdles as well.

Jaiden Wulff of West, who set the all-class record in the 100 during Friday’s trials, did the same in Saturday’s 200. Her winning time of 24.75 is shades better than the 24.81 Conrad’s Loni Perkins ran in 2003.

Wolff also anchored a short relay that won in 47.55, taking the all-class record of 47.56 run by West in 2018 off the books.

Flathead scored 21 points to finish ninth; Glacier’s girls tied for 10th with 14.

Lilli Rumsey Eash led the Bravettes on the track Saturday, taking third in the 3,200. Hellgate’s Kensey May won it to complete a distance double.

Flathead’s Rylee Thompson hit a PR of 36-5.5 to take third in the triple jump.

For Glacier, Sidney Gulick took third in the 300 hurdles, and ran anchor on the long relay that finished fifth.