The boys 100- and 200-meter dashes at the State B track and field meet are expected to be hotly contested. Big Timber’s Casey Gunlikson owns the fastest 100 time in the classification at 10.89 seconds and is the only athlete under 11 seconds this season. The Class B record of 11.01 is in jeopardy this weekend.
It’s athletes ranked Nos. 2-10 that have very little separation. Jethro Thorne from Florence and Ryder Meyer of Fairfield both clocked in at 11.42 early in the season and sit less than three tenths of a second behind No. 2 Austin Hernandez of Huntley Project.
It’s no surprise to see Forsyth’s Johnstone Twins atop the rankings, either. Cade owns the third-fastest time in the 100 at 11.19 and sits just .01 behind Gunlikson in the 200. Cade also has Class B’s top 400-meter dash time. Paul Johnstone is third in the 200 and was the only athlete this season to hit the Class B qualifying standard in the 800, running 2 minutes, 0.02 seconds.
Gunlikson and Cade Johnstone will take aim at the Class B 200 record, as well, this weekend. The Class B record of 22.22 was set in 1986 by Troy Estell of Fort Benton, but both Gunlikson and Johnstone have posted times faster that this season. Gunlikson’s time of 22.02 is second among all classifications, while Johnstone’s 22.03 is third.
State B notes
- Last year, Deer Lodge’s Austin Forson broke the Class B state record in the discus previously held by his brother. The senior has a shot to better that state record this weekend. Forson has thrown 190 feet, 4 1/2 inches this season, easily surpassing his state record throw of 178-08.
- Other sprinters to watch this weekend are Fairfield’s Dawson Allen in the 100, 200, 110-meter hurdles, and 300-meter hurdles, Townsend’s Kameron Rauser in the 200, 400, and 110 hurdles, and Florence’s Jethro Thorne in the 100, 200, and 400.
- Paul Johnstone and Joliet’s Ry Olson were the only two Class B athletes to crack the 22-foot mark in the long jump during the season. Olson got the best of Johnstone at last weekend’s Southern B divisional in Laurel.
- Jefferson sophomore Avery Stiles has his sights set on the Class B state record of 6 feet, 9 inches in the high jump. Stiles, who had ACL surgery that kept him out of basketball season, cleared 6-07 in his first meet of the season back in April.
- The Bigfork girls team is among the favorites to claim the Class B team title. Sprinters Haile Norred, Jordan Nelson and Madison Gardner are expected to rack up points, while Bryn Morley and Anya Young will handle the longer distance races. Morley already holds the Class B state record in the 1,600-meter run, which she set as a freshman.
- Baker’s Wrenzsi Wrzesinski leads Class B in the 300-meter hurdles by more than two seconds and has more than a half-second lead in the 100-meter hurdles. Wrzesinski won both hurdle races, as well as the 100, at last year’s state meet.
- The 400-meter dash should be tight throughout. Glasgow’s Emily Kolstad owns the classification’s top time at 59.7 seconds, but Columbus’s Amber LeBrun (59.71), Norred (59.86) and Morley (1:00.23) are well within striking distance.
- Three Forks long jumper Sinclair Oliver will take aim at the Class B record of 18-00 1/4. Oliver took seventh at last year’s state meet, but her jump of 17-07 1/2 is Class B’s best by more than a foot.
- Huntley Project’s Emily Poole could very well sweep the throwing events in Laurel this weekend. Poole owns the top javelin and discus throws in Class B, while also sitting third in the shot put behind Deer Lodge’s Amy Fjell-Hagan and Ariel Clark. Poole’s older sister Hailey owns the Class B record in the javelin set in 2016.
