Keeping Score: Track records, home run heat, and baseball wins

Welcome everybody to the Keeping Score podcast presented by Corwin Motors, I am your host, Josh Amick. 

This week, a Flathead runner sets an unprecedented mark at the Archie Roe event, another softball crosstown matchup takes place and Columbia Falls and Whitefish baseball team’s continue stacking wins as they get ready for a matchup against each other later this week. So, without further ado, let’s get into this week’s highlights you might have missed.  

We are going to switch things up this week and kick things off with the track at the Archie Roe event where my Poster Player of the Week Will Hollensteiner won all five of his events. 

He started with a win in the field at the long jump, going past 21 feet before joining the Braves 400-meter relay team for a meet record time of 41.19 seconds with teammates Colin Smith, Lane Chivers and Ben Bliven — who also went unbeaten on the day with a 4-for-4 performance. The Braves broke the record they set a year ago.  

Then Hollensteiner set another meet best in the 400 with a Class AA-best 48.10, more than a second over the old record set in 2004 by Whitefish’s Cody Henning. Five records fell in total, all on the boys side. Will added another win in the afternoon in the triple jump and the long relay.

Bliven joined both relays and claimed wins in the 100 and 200 meters with no records set — though he already owns both from 2024. In the team totals though, Glacier got the edge on Flathead with 126 points. Flathead finished second at 112.5, followed by Columbia Falls at 78.

Ethan Anderson stepped up for the Wolfpack with a meet record and personal best in the 300 hurdles at 38.64, and second place in the 110 hurdles. Cole Opre added a win in the pole vault for the Pack, Ben Winters won in the shotput.

On the girls side, Hellgate nabbed the win followed by Glacier, Flathead and Columbia Falls. Lauren Bisson won the 800 for the Wolfpack with a personal best time ahead of teammate Dacia Benkelman. Benkelman added a win with a personal best in the triple jump.

The Wolfpack also got wins from Breanna Barnes in the pole vault at 10-6, she beat Columbia Falls’ Soli Bullemer on criteria.  Flathead’s Alivia Rinehart took the 100 hurdles to add another win to her already impressive resume.

Moving on to softball, the Wolfpack completed the regular season sweep with a 19-2 win over the Bravettes in another crosstown matchup on Thursday. Olivia Warriner continued her amazing season, hitting two homers and driving in seven runs on the day. 

Warriner opened up the scoring in the top of the first with a three-run blast that just carried the fence in straight away center field. Her second homer left no doubt, crushing the ball out to left-center for a two-run shot.  

Flathead found their offensive footing in the bottom of the third as Glacier put Chloe Farrell in the circle. Reese Conley reached on an error that helped Mackenzie Brandt home. Conley scored later in the inning on a passed ball.  

Farrell shut the Bravettes down over the final two innings, including a three-strikeout fourth where she threw just 10 pitches. She finished with five strikeouts. At the plate she went 2-for-2.

Glacier spilt their games with the Helena schools later in the week, picking up a 17-0 win over Capital and losing to Helena 4-0. Warriner homered again and drove in five runs, plus combined with Olivia Gibbons on a two-hitter as Glacier thumped the Capital Bruins. Both Nakiah Persinger and Khirsten Terrell scored three times each. 

In their game against Helena the offense was held to just one hit and a walk, both by Taylor Vivian in a great pitching outing from Faith Howard.

Flathead was swept by both Helena schools, losing 10-0 to Helena and 11-10 to Capital. Mackenzie Brandt had a huge day at the plate for Flathead, hitting a grand slam in the fourth inning that put her team up 5-4, and a two-run double in the fifth that made it 8-4.  

Olivia Nyman hit a lead-off homer to put the Bravettes up 9-6, but the Bruins surged back in front and pulled out a close win.

In their game against Helena, Faith Howard dominated in the circle again, only allowing one hit, a single by Nyman as they cruised to a win. 

Columbia Falls had another strong week, Annika Reid had three hits and drove in four runs, Katie Bulawsky struck out every batter she faced and the Wildkats went on to run-rule Browning twice, 17-0 and 15-0, to sweep a Northwest A doubleheader. 

In the opener Reid twice hit RBI singles during the same nine-run third inning for the Kats; her second hit made the score 12-0. Bulawsky’s perfect outing lasted three innings because of the mercy rule. She struck out nine, throwing 47 pitches, and helped her own cause with two runs batted in and two runs scored.

In the nightcap Tayler Lingle had three hits and drove in three runs, while Addy Bowler had three hits, scored twice and drove in two for the Kats. Ella Branstetter allowed one hit and one walk in three innings, fanning six.

Whitefish softball lost a tough game 15-0 to Libby. The Bulldogs were held without a hit.

Switching over to baseball, Logan Stewart and Bear Barker combined on a six-hitter, Tait Orme’s RBI double sparked a four-run fourth inning and Whitefish downed Ronan 6-1 Thursday. Stewart started and went four innings, allowing three hits, two walks and a run. He struck out seven. Barker allowed three hits in three innings, fanning four.  

Calvin Eisenbarth went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and three RBIs to lead the Whitefish Bulldogs to a 17-2 win over the Plains-Hot Springs Savage Horsemen for another win last week. 

Whitefish (11-2) wasted no time offensively, the first eight Bulldogs reached base, highlighted by Finn Ryan’s RBI triple that capped a 9-run first inning. The Bulldogs added eight more runs in the second inning and closed out the     in three innings due to the mercy rule.  

Columbia Falls picked up a pair of wins as well to keep pace with the Bulldogs. They beat Browning 18-0 and held on for a close 6-5 win over Eureka. 

Jory Hill scored three runs, Treysen Murphy had two hits, and the Wildcats needed just two and a half innings to down Browning in an error-filled contest.  No Wildcat had more than one hit or one RBI, but Columbia Falls took advantage of 12 errors by Browning.

Columbia Falls scored three runs in the third and fifth inning and staved off a Eureka Lions comeback to hold on to a 6-5 victory. 

Jory Hill had one hit and drove in two runs, Reggie Sapa picked up three hits and scored a run as the Wildcats (11-1) won their sixth-straight game. Sapa closed out the game, pitching the final 1 2-3 innings with no hits or runs to pick up the save.  

Bigfork downed Plains-Hot Springs 17-1. Bigfork’s Holland Jantzen threw five sharp innings, Hayden Mayer hit a pair of doubles, and the Vikings put away the Savage Horsemen with a nine-run sixth.  Ryeln Rodriguez had two singles, two RBIs and three runs scored for the Vikings, Sam Plummer also drove in two runs with Cavin Wiest scored three times. 

Moving over to Legion baseball, The Kalispell AA Lakers walked the bases loaded and scored two runs on an error in the 11th inning to end a back-and-forth contest against the Helena Senators in game one of a doubleheader, winning 10-8. The Lakers picked up the sweep in game two, winning 8-3.

Luke Nikunen collected two doubles and scored twice in game one for the Lakers (7-3). Oscar Kallis reached base four times, with two doubles and two walks, driving in a pair.

Nikunen took the bump in game two, allowed three hits and two earned runs, striking out four across six innings to pick up the win.  

Battery mate Andre Cephers provided the pop for the Lakers, connecting on a 2-run home run that capped off a six-run fifth inning that put the Lakers ahead 6-3. Cephers finished with two hits and crossed the plate twice. Kaeden Kahler picked up three hits and two RBIs.

The last highlight to showcase is Tennis, Leilani Lennarz and Creed Norick earned victories from the No. 1 singles spots as Glacier downed Missoula Big Sky and Butte in high school tennis Friday. 

Lennarz led a singles sweep for the Wolfpack; the Glacier girls singles did not drop a set over the two duals. Carl Bitney and Sam Engellant also grabbed a pair of wins for the Wolfpack boys at the top doubles position. The Wolfpack downed Big Sky 6-2 and Butte 7-1.

That is going to wrap up this week’s episode of the Keeping Score podcast presented by Corwin Motors. Thank you all for tuning and as always full game recaps can be found on the Daily Inter Lake’s website and full track meet results can be found on athletic.net. We will see you all next week, take care. 

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