LAUREL — The Dillon girls track and field team’s 2018 Class A state championship took every effort the Beavers could get.
Dillon scored 59 points on the weekend to best Miles City and Belgrade, who both scored 50. Dillon tallied only four points on Friday, but sprinters Tylia DeJohn and Hayle Sundquist held up to their end of the bargain, as DeJohn won the 200-meter dash and placed second in the 100, while Sundquist won the 100 in 12.66 seconds and finished third in the 200.
The sprints were expected, but it was in the field that the Beavers got a huge boost. Kyndall Peterson entered as Class A’s top triple jumper but improved by nearly two feet in her victory. Peterson’s jump of 36 feet, 2 1/2 inches came on her final attempt of the competition.
“I just thought that this was going to be my last jump ever, just needed to bomb one, get it out there,” Peterson said afterward. “Since last year, we were really hoping that we could make something happen at state. If I can contribute to that, that’s awesome.”
Belgrade and Miles City each made a strong push for the team title, but settled for a tie in second place.
Dillon held off Belgrade in the 400-meter relay, picking up 10 big points. Brynley Fitzgerald, who ran on Dillon’s state-champion relay team, finished sixth in the discus.
Corvallis wins Class A boys title; Miles City’s Vanderlaan sweeps
Corvallis used athletes all over the track and field to claim the State A boys team title.
Jake Jessop won the 400-meter dash in 50.83 seconds, holding off Livingston’s Jack Waddell at the line. Waddell finished in 50.86. Teammate Jakob Dalbey finished fifth in the event. Jessop also finished third in the 800-meter run.
Anders Watt added a third-place finish in the 1,600-meter run and a fourth-place finish in the 3,200-meter run, while teammate Grant Martin finished fourth in the 1,600 and second in the 3,200.
Ridge Albright won the high jump on Friday and the Blue Devils jumpers continued to impress on Saturday, as triple jumper Logan Lewis finished second with a jump of 43 feet, 2 1/2 inches.
Zach Jessop added a victory in the javelin with a throw of 181-04, helping Corvallis to 79 points, outpacing second-place Miles City’s 62.
Miles City’s runner-up finish was full of fireworks. Friday afternoon, the Cowboys’ 400-meter relay team set a new Class A state record with a time of 42.62 seconds. Miles City didn’t quite equal the time in finals but won in 42.72, anchored by Keith Vanderlaan.
“We actually weren’t shooting for that,” Vanderlaan joked about the record.
Vanderlaan then added victories in the 100-meter dash (10.97 seconds) and 200-meter dash (22.36).
“I put in the work all season, my teammate Kip (Krebsbach), he took third, he’s been pushing me all season,” Vanderlaan said.
Polson’s Bea Frissell cruises to pair of distance victories
Polson junior Bea Frissell climbed over the hump to win the 1,600- and 3,200-meter runs at the State A track and field meet. Last season, Frissell finished second in the 800 and 3,200 and third in the 1,600.
“I keep thinking back to all of the work that I’ve put into it, and it feels really amazing,” Frissell said. “All those winter runs and running along the river during the season — it’s been a lot of work, and it’s been a lot of fun and it feels really good.”
Just a junior, Frissell will have the chance to go for consecutive titles next season.
State A notes
- After winning the high jump on Friday, Lewistown’s Marissa James won the 100-meter hurdles in 15.09 on Saturday.
- Corvallis junior Calla Haldorson didn’t quite get the state record she was searching for, but she cruised to a state title in the discus with a throw of 143-10. It’s Haldorson’s third consecutive state title in the discus.
- Butte Central’s Lindsay McGree held off Frenchtown’s Alivia Williams to win the Class A girls long jump. McGree won with a jump of 17-03 3/4, while Williams finished second with a leap of 16-11 1/2.
- Levi Taylor completed his sweep of the distance races with his victory in the 3,200 in 9:43.80. Taylor won the 1,600 on Friday.
- Polson’s Colton Cote sprinted to victory in the 110-meter hurdles, crossing in 14.84, and finished fourth in the 300-meter hurdles.
- Sidney’s Carter Hughes grabbed another state championship, this time in the discus. Hughes’ throw of 174-01 was nearly 25 feet better than second-place finisher Jayden Holley of Glendive.
