FRENCHTOWN — The Western B and Western C both held Day 1 of their divisional track and field meets on Thursday afternoon in Frenchtown. The Eureka boys and Bigfork girls have control of the Western B team races, while Seeley-Swan’s boys and Twin Bridges’ girls lead the Western C.
Eureka’s boys only won two events on Day 1, but their depth was on display. Alex Lowe won the 1,600-meter run in 4 minutes, 49.43 seconds, while teammate Hunter Steele placed fifth. Chet McCully was the other winner for Eureka. He cleared 13-feet in the pole vault to take home first place.
Stetson Miller nearly unseated Deer Lodge’s Austin Forson in the shot put, but his toss of 48 feet, 3 inches came up just two inches shy of Forson’s mark. Colter Szymoniak took third for Eureka.
Bryn Morley and Anya Young set the tone early on for Bigfork’s girls. Young won the 800- and 3,200-meter runs in 2:27.17 and 11:49.16, respectively. Morley, who did not run in the 800, won the 400-meter dash in 1:00.23, which set a new season-best for her.
Bigfork also used their depth to their advantage. Jordan Nelson placed second behind Morley in the 400, and Shae Anderson took fourth. Scout Jessop claimed fourth in the 800, while the Bigfork 400-meter relay team won by nearly three seconds. Their time of 50.63 is currently the top time in Class B.
Seeley-Swan’s boys have a plethora of talent in the sprints. The Blackhawks won a tight battle in the 400-meter relay over Manhattan Christian by crossing the line in 44.82, which stands as the top time in Class C. Manhattan Christian’s 45.04 is currently second.
The Blackhawks’ Hunter Shelmerdine and Logan Maughan placed second and third in the 400 behind Ennis’ Corbin Wood. Wood’s time of 51.29 is the top mark in Class C this season. Maughan won the 1,600 in 4:43.89 just narrowly fending off Charlo’s Wills Degrandpre.
Noxon’s Levi Brubaker won the triple jump with a leap 42-06 1/2. Brubaker currently has the No. 3 triple jump in Class C.
The Twin Bridges girls claimed the lead after Day 1, even though they won just one event — the 400-meter relay. The Falcons’ time of 51.3 is the top mark in Class C, while runner-up Charlo’s 51.58 is second.
Other placers for the Falcons include Megan Bausch, who finished second in the 400 and sixth in the triple jump, Bailey Stockett finished third in the discus and fifth in the javelin, and Blu Keim finished sixth in the discus. Michaela Madden also placed fourth in the triple jump.
While Twin Bridges holds the lead in the team race, Drummond’s Morgan Radtke put on a show in the field events. Radtke set a new Class C-best in the triple jump with a leap of 37-06 1/2, nearly two feet farther than defending state champion Jourdain Klein of Ennis. The Class C state record of 37-10 3/4 is in sight for Radtke at next weekend’s State C track and field meet. Klein’s jump of 35-09 moved her into second in Class C. Radtke also defeated Klein in the high jump. Both cleared 5-04, but due to misses Radtke was the winner.
Full results of Day 1 of the Western B/C divisional track and field meets can be found here.
