LAUREL — Columbia Falls junior Angellica Street stands alone in the Montana record books.
Street claimed her second consecutive State A girls javelin title with a throw of 156 feet, 11 inches on Friday at the State A track and field meet at the Laurel Sports Complex. Street broke her own State A record and the all-class state record previously held by Colstrip’s Hailey Poole at 152-08.
“I definitely get super nervous, I don’t know why, but I get super anxious and all that before I even throw,” Street said. “(Winning) was probably main goal, plus the other records.”
Street entered the event as the overwhelming favorite and did not disappoint. She carried a big lead into finals but had yet to reach the 150-foot mark. Street uncorked the state record on her final throw of the day but said she had another number in mind for Friday afternoon.
“I’m fine with the 156,” Street said. “Next year I’m trying to get over the 160 range, for sure.”
Street hasn’t had much competition in the event over the past two years, so she finds the will to better herself from within. She’s also had an eye on the national leaderboard, as Street sits No. 4 in the nation with her best mark of the season, according to www.athletic.net.
“That was probably one of my goals again (Friday), was trying to rank myself even higher than I was,” she said.
The three girls in front of Street nationally are all seniors, so Street could potentially be the top returning javelin thrower in the nation next season.
Sidney’s Carter Hughes claims 3rd consecutive State A shot put title
Carter Hughes claimed his third consecutive State A boys shot put title, but it didn’t come without drama.
Hughes entered the finals in second place behind Hamilton’s Jacob Campbell. The pressure began to mount for the two-time defending champion when Campbell still carried the best mark into the second round of throws in finals.
“My first three throws weren’t great. I usually like to try to get a good one early, but that wasn’t happening (Friday),” Hughes said.
Hughes, though, came through when he needed to most. On his second throw in finals, Hughes unleashed a put of 56-07 to take the lead from Campbell. That mark would hold up for Hughes to earn him his third shot put title in as many years.
“That was probably the best competition I’ve been a part of,” Hughes said. “You’ve got to earn it. That was great having to come in and make a big throw.”
Hughes will be continuing his throwing career at the University of Minnesota. His older brother, Garrison, pole vaults at the University of Nebraska, so the two will be on competing teams at the Big Ten Conference Championships.
“It’s going to be a lot of fun there. Their throws team, their coach, they’re awesome over there. I’m hype,” Hughes said. “I get to see him, it’s nice. We still support each other, obviously, even though we’re going to be on different teams. My cousin also pole vaults at Minnesota, so it’s nice to have those family connections there.
Laurel’s Levi Taylor claims 2 state titles
Levi Taylor’s first state title on Friday afternoon ended with Taylor face down on his home track. Taylor stumbled and lost his feet after leaning at the line to win the 800-meter run over Frenchtown’s Tyler Schmautz.
Taylor and Schmautz battled down the backstretch, but neither could find separation from the other as the finish line drew near. Taylor then lunged across the line just ahead of Schmautz, causing him to tumble to the ground. The race required a review before determining Taylor had won. His time of 1 minute, 57.211 was just .006 seconds ahead of Schmautz, who finished in 1:57.217.
“I was just running down the backstretch just looking for all the gears I could find,” Taylor said. “I leaned too far and my legs came out from under me.”
Taylor then won the 3,200-meter run, though the pace was slower than expected. Taylor again had to battle, as Lewistown’s Sam Fulbright stuck to Taylor’s hip for the majority of the race. However, Taylor would pull away slightly during the final lap, crossing in 9:54.28.
Taylor will look to sweep the distance races with a win in the 1,600-meter run on Saturday. He’s taking aim at the State A record in the event.
“My goal for (Saturday) is to get the Class A mile record, so I kind of wanted to conserve a little bit (Friday),” Taylor said of his 3,200.
Lewistown’s Anna Zimmer wins shot put, sister Kylie finishes 2nd
It didn’t seem to matter to Lewistown’s Anna and Kylie Zimmer which one of them won the State A girls shot put. They were just having fun competing with each other one last time.
“It’s been a lot of fun, I don’t know what I’m going to do next year,” Kylie said.
Anna ended her high school shot put career with her first state title, beating younger sister Kylie by slightly more than an inch. The two shared several long embraces, and a few tears, at the conclusion of the event.
“It’s a little bit of excitement, a little bit of a disappointment. I think it’s disappointing when you know you have more in you,” Anna said of her performance.
“There’s not that fire, that ‘oh my gosh, I need to beat her’ because, I don’t know, we’re sisters,” Kylie said. “I want her to do the best. I think it’s great she’s a senior winning.”
Anna and Kylie were the only two girls with throws longer than 40 feet on Friday. Anna won with a throw of 41-01.75, while Kylie finished second with a throw of 41-00.25.
Dillon boys off to strong start
Dillon entered the weekend as one of the favorites for the State A boys track and field team title. The Beavers picked up some valuable points on Friday afternoon.
Dillon had individual winners in the high jump, long jump and 400-meter dash. Alfred Peterson won the high jump at 6-06, while teammate Michael Haverfield finished second. Zane Johnson won the long jump with a leap of 21-09.25, and teammates Alfred Peterson and Zach Ingram finished fifth and sixth.
Dillon capped the day with a win in the 400, as Dylan Cervelli crossed in 49.21 seconds to claim his first state title.
“It was awesome. I knew they were going to take it when I saw (Peterson) clear 6-06. When I heard about (Johnson) I was just super excited for him,” Cervelli said.
Dillon leads after Day 1 with 41 points. Laurel is in second with 26 points and Lewistown is in third with 25.
For results and team scores after the first day of the Class A state track and field meet, please click here.
