Montana State B & C Track Meets (Day 1)

Track & field athletes in Montana have been competing for state titles since 1905. Back then the meet was held in Missoula and all the schools competed against each other and competition was for the boys only. Today, both boys and girls compete in four classes determined by enrollment, AA, A, B & C, and there is competition for both boys and girls. The meet has grown over the years so that two sites are needed for the event. The 2009 AA & B meet is being held at Legends Stadium adjacent to Kalispell's Glacier High School. The A & C meet is being hosted by Butte at the Bulldog Memorial Stadium.

At the State C Girls meet, several northeast Montana athletes scored points in finals held Friday.

The 400 meters was won by senior Kourtney Danreuther of Big Sandy with a time of 58.85. The Peerless Panthers got a 3rd place finish from senior Shelby Snare with a time of 1:00.47 and a 6th place from junior Mary Kelly who clocked a time of 1:01.64.

The 3,200 meter record set back in 2005 by Jayme Larson of Opheim (11:30.00) held for another year. Sophomore Mariah Gondeiro of Belt won the race with a time of 11:56.07. Mackenzie O'Dore, a sophomore from Joliet, who's mother competed for the Outlook Bluejays as Alane Garneau, finished 2nd with a time of 12:09.87. Scobey senior Brittney Selvig finished sixth with a time of 13:00.07.

The long jump was won by Jessica Denney, Bridger with a leap of 16-01.25. Second place went to Morgan Klose of the Fairview Warriors, 16-0.25 and the Circle Wildcats scored a fifth place finish by Tina Van Horn, 15-09.25.

Qualifying heats were run in a number of the shorter sprints on Friday. The following girls will be running in the finals on Saturday:

100M
Morgan Klose, Fairview, 13.33 Soph.
Shelby Snare, Peerless, 13.38 Sr.

200M

Morgan Klose, Fairview, 27.39 Soph.
Shelby Snare, Peerless, 27.71 Sr.
Mary Kelly, Peerless, 28.45 Jr.

110M hurdles

Stephanie Nollmeyer, Savage, 17.02
Tina Van Horn, Circle, 17.73

400M relay
Peerless, 52.65
Savage, 52.27

Big Sandy leads the girls team standings after the first day with 38 points. Highwood is in second with 18, followed by Joliet with 16. There's a tie for 4th in the team standings with Belt & Ennis scoring 14 points.

On the boys side, champions were crowned in several of the field events.

In the long jump, James Wemple of Alberton won the event with a leap of 22 feet 5 1/4 inches. Shae Stein of Nashua was 2nd at 20 feet 5 1/2 inches.

In the discus, senior Ryan McNally of Ennis finished at the top with a throw of 150 feet 9 inches. Senior Calvin Odom of Opheim was 3rd at 133 feet 1 inch.

The javelin was won by senior Mike Poucher of Terry with a throw of 166 feet 9 inches. His win was only by a margin of 2 inches over Brian Manning, a senior from Culbertson. Medicine Lake/Froid sophomore Brady Berntson finished 3rd with a toss of 159 feet 9 1/4 inches.

Alberton senior James Wemple fell just a quarter inch short of tying the Class C record in the long jump. He went 22 feet 5 1/4 inches. Tyler Bucklin of Outlook has held the record since 1995. Shae Stein of Nashua was second with a leap of 20 feet 5 1/2 inches.

A long standing record held by a northeast Montana athlete will be challenged on Saturday. Dave Weltikol of the Flaxville Cardinals went 6 feet 9 inches at the State C meet in Missoula back in 1979. It remains as one of the older records on the books.

Qualifying heats were held for several of the sprints and hurdles races Friday. Steven Schmidt, a senior from Medicine Lake/Froid turned in the fastest qualifying times in both the 100 & 200 meter races. He clocked an 11.46 in the 100 and 23.1 in the 200.

In the 110 meter hurdles trials, seniors Chris Weber of Bainville and Dylan Solberg of Scobey qualified for the finals. Solberg with a time of 16.19 and Weber with a 16.71. The Class C record in the event was set 40 years ago at the English distance by Terry Schlabs of Medicine Lake, a time of 14.6 seconds.

The 400 meter relay teams from Culbertson, Medicine Lake/Froid and Circle each qualified for Saturday's finals. Culbertson turned in the fastest time of the three at 45.68, Lake/Froid clocked in at 45.92 and the Wildcats at 46.69.

Hinsdale/Saco is leading the boys team standings after the first day of competition with 24 points. Harlowton is in 2nd with 22 while Hot Springs is third at 16.

At the State B track meet at the Legends Stadium in Kalispell, there was just one final where a male competitor from northeast Montana scored. Pres Harris of Plentywood finished 6th in the 400 meters in a time of 51.69. The event was won by Nate Debruycker of Columbus with a clocking of 50.87.

Manhattan leads the boys standings after the first day with 26 points, followed by Powell County in 2nd with 20.

On the girls side, Haley Thompson of Plentywood scored the first title for the Wildcats. She won the 400 meters in a time of 58.21. Amanda Sansaver of Wolf Point was 5th in a time of 59.86.

Thompson put more points on the board for Plentywood with a 4th place finish in the pole vault. She went 9 feet even while the event was won by Rheanna Padden of Thompson Falls with a vault of 9 feet 6 inches.

Thompson had a busy day, turning in the 2nd fastest qualifying time in the 100 meter trials at 13.01. Shayna Connell of Wolf Point also qualified for the finals in that event with a time of 13.55.

In the 200 meter trials, Haley Thompson again qualified for the finals Saturday with a time of 26.67. Amanda Sansaver of Wolf Point will join her in that race after clocking a 27.42.

In the team race, Darby is in the lead with 18 points followed by Whitehall at 17. Three Forks is third with 14 1/2 points. The Plentywood Wildcats are in a 3 way tie for fourth with Florence/Carlton and Thompson Falls. Each team has put 13 points on the board.

Northern B Divisional Track Meet

The 2009 Northern B divisional boys and girls track meet was held Saturday May 23 at Glasgow. Northeast Montana had a number of athletes who used the meet to qualify for the upcoming state meet.

Plentywood qualified 4 boys and their 1600 meter relay team:

400 - 4th Pres Harris, 52.38
800 - 2nd Pres Harris, 2:03.35
1600 relay - 6th 3:47.75.
Discus - 5th Shane Barry, 126-0
Shot put - 4th Zach Kavon, 44-5¾
Javelin - 5th Matt McCoy, 163-9

The Wildcat girls are sending 4 girls and their 1600 meter relay team:

100 - 2nd Haley Thompson, 12.93
200 - 2nd Haley Thompson, 26.33
400 - 1st Haley Thompson, 59.53
1600 relay - 3rd Plentywood 4:18.53
High jump - 6th Jenny Kavon, 4-8.
Long jump - 3rd Jenny Kavon, 14-11½
Pole vault - 1st Haley Thompson, 9-3
Discus - 2nd Allison Stadstad, 103-7
Shot put - 5th Allison Stadstad, 34-2
Javelin - 2nd Mandi Spoklie, 121-7

The Poplar Indians are sending two boys to the state meet:

1600 - 1st Richard Knowlton, 4:48.56
3200 - 1st Richard Knowlton, 10:28.37
Javelin - 6th Channing Kirn, 160-7

The Wolf Point Wolves will be represented by 2 male athletes at state:

Long jump - 5th Michael Iwen, 18-9¼;
Shot put - 5th Jordan Moran, 43-7

The Wolf Point girls have 3 individuals going to state along with the 400 and 1600 meter relay teams:

100 - 3rd Shayna Connell, 13.32
200 - 3rd Amanda Sansaver, 26.93
400 - 3rd Amanda Sansaver, 1:00.0
800 - 5th Tiar'e Little Head, 2:31.41
400 relay - 3rd 52.04
1600 relay - 2nd 4:13.13

Glasgow took the boys team title Saturday, followed by Malta and Fort Benton in 2nd and 3rd. Plentywood and Poplar tied for 9th while Wolf Point finished the meet in 12th.

The Malta M'ettes took the girls team honors, with Glasgow finishing 2nd, Choteau 3rd and Plentywood 4th. The Wolf Point Wolves finished 7th.

Doin' It On The Dirt!

Not everyone can afford a trip to Daytona or Indianapolis to watch a race these days, but don't worry, you won't be forced to get your motorsports fix totally on television. The 2009 Bump N Run racing season kicks off June 6th and 7th in Eastern Montana. Races in Glendive and Plentywood are the first on this season's schedule with races Saturday evening in Glendive and Sunday afternoon in Plentywood.For those who have never been, Bump N Run has been described by some as Dukes of Hazzard driving on a tight, twisty dirt track. The cars are similar to those seen in demolition derbies, stripped of glass and extraneous parts with roll bars and other safety equipment added. The top speed on the track is held down by the turns and jumps, but there's still plenty of action. You'll see some bumping and spin outs along the way and maybe even a roll over.
The first race on Saturday June 6th in Glendive is set for 5pm at the Dawson County Fairgrounds. The races Sunday June 7th in Plentywood begin at 1pm. Plentywood's track is at the Sheridan County Fairgrounds, just east of the city.

For those coming from a distance to Plentywood, there is public camping at the Sheridan County Fairgrounds as well as at nearby Bolster Dam.

The photos for this story came from the official site of the Montana Bump N Run Association and were taken at last year's season opening race in Plentywood. Contact information for entries and further information about upcoming races is included on that website as well.

Make sure you check back to the MonDak Sports Blog for race results.

Announcing a new blog

I've decided to expand my presence in the blogosphere with a site devoted to sports in Montana and North Dakota. The primarly focus will be on high school sports in northeast Montana and northwest North Dakota, but I plan to include coverage of other events as warranted. Watch this site for pics and results this summer from area American Legion baseball action as well as rodeo, motorsports and anything else which pops up.

If you're a sports fan in the region with a digital camera, feel free to e-mail pics of your favorite teams and athletes in action. The e-mail address for MonDak Sports is mondaksports@yahoo.com.