These athletes were at the top of their field

Chinook sophomore Tate Niederegger, senior Mariah Swank and senior Britney Nelson finished their respective sports season on top of the podium as state champions.

Sophomore Tate Niederegger was back in the Championship this season following a runner up finish during his freshman campaign.

Niederegger defeated Jamie Mullens of Saint Ignatius 5-2 in the final.

"It's a dream come true," said Niederegger. "The team did a great job individually and even brought back the first place team trophy."

After coming so close a year ago expectations are high and a lot is asked of an athlete, "Their is a lot of pressure, dedication and commitment to be successful and there were a lot of expectations and pressure put on a 15 year old man to perform and Tate handled the pressure well, did what he needed to do and it paid off for him," stated Chinook coach Perry Miller.

Senior Mariah Swank won a thrilling championship match to defend her single's title earned a year ago."

Swank cruised to the finals dispatching her first two opponents in straight set 6-0, 6-0 wins. The quarterfinal and semifinal and final matches didn't cause much stress as the senior won 6-2,6-0 and 6-2, 6-2 to make it to the finals.

Swank would play an epic two sets to claim her second straight B/C title.

Lone Peaks Luisa Locker gave everything she had in the final but in the end it would be another straight set victory for Swank. This time however it was about as tough as it could be 7-6 (10-8), 7-6 (14-12).

Nelson won the shot put in Great Falls last spring with a heave of 37'7." She matched the effort and claimed back to back state titles. In addition to the shot put, Nelson finished on the podium in the discus for the third straight season finishing third with a flip of 116'9".

The javelin has been her Achilles heel this season but in the final meet of her senior season she shined with a fifth place finish. "I didn't expect that at all," said Nelson

Chinook head coach Paula Molyneaux has guided Nelson all four years and helped settle the senior in her final meet, "Britney had a great season. She was feeling a little nervous at state on day one, but got through that and threw the disc 116'9 to place third. It was a good start and she relaxed on Saturday throwing her season best in the javelin at 111'6 placing her fifth. Then she just kept on rolling and threw an equal throw to last year's 37'7 to win the shot."