Wind blows but many local athletes shine at Cal Wearley and Lions Track and Field meets

Track and field teams across Blaine County were back at it again this past week.

Girls and boys teams from Chinook, Harlem, Hays Lodgepole and Turner all completed in the annual Cal Wearley track and field meet this last Wednesday in Havre.

All told 32 teams and more than 500 competitors took part in the largest track meet of the season as far as competition goes.

Teams from the Class 'A', 'B' and 'C' ranks made up the field. At the end of the day 20 girls teams would score points while 25 boys teams would place a competitor.

Saturday the Sugarbeeters, Tornadoes and Wildcats were all back in Havre for the Lions Invitational.

The level of competition was exceptional at both meets and gave our local competitors a great chance to compete at a high level early in the spring as they work towards a successful showing at the District, Divisional and State meets next month.

Athletes on the track and in the field had to battle more than each other as a strong wind affected competitors on both days.

Wednesday the wind was joined by much cooler temperatures and provided one more obstacle for teams to overcome.

Despite the conditions several local athletes had great success over the course of the two meets.

On the girls side of the ledger it was the Chinook Sugarbeeters placing eighth at the Cal Wearley with 28 points, the Harlem Wildcats finished fifteenth with 10 points on the day.

Saturday the Chinook girls tallied 44 points for a fifth place finish in the 16 team, Class A, B and C meet. The Tornadoes finished twelfth with 12 points while the Wildcats were thirteenth with four points.

For the boys it was the Harlem Wildcats leading the teams from Blaine County.

Harlem scored 18 points at the Cal Wearley to earn a tenth place finish. The Sugarbeeters tied for twelfth with 11 points.

The Turner Tornadoes along with the Hays/Lodge Pole Thunderbirds finished in a tie for fourteenth with 10 points each.

Saturday at the Lions Invitational it was the Harlem Wildcats again leading the way as they scored 38 points to earn a sixth place finish.

The Turner boys collected 12 points to finish thirteenth while Chinook was fourteenth with 9 points.

Chinook senior sprinter Kailey Kleinjan has been a steady point collector for the 'Beeters since her freshman year and paced the team at the Cal Wearley and Lions meets.

Kleinjan turned in a split of :13.18 in the 100 meter dash final to finish third in the event. The race was tightly contested as the winning time was just :0.1 faster and thirty-four hundredths of a second separated the top six finishers.

Kleinjan was back at it later in the day as she competed in the 200 meter dash finals. This time she would finish second with a time of :28.2.

The 'Beeters 4x100 meter short relay also has been very successful early in the season.

Freshman Megan Molyneaux, sophomore Abby Ellison, junior Rochelle Chaffin and Kleinjan completed the four exchanges and finished the lap with a time of :56.0 to finish third in the highly contested event.

Kleinjan turned in another solid effort Saturday as she finished second in the 100 meter dash with a fast time of :13.20. Molyneaux was fourth in the race finishing in :13.4 to earn a fourth place finish.

In the 200 meter final it was Kleinjan finishing second in :27.60 and Chaffin in fourth at :28.60.

The 'Beeters short relay ran another solid race finishing fourth in a time of :54.80.

Freshman Kourtney Hanson has given the 'Beeters a lift in the distance races as she earned an impressive second place finish at the Cal Wearley battling the wind and covering the four laps in 6:09.00 to earn a fifth place finish.

Hanson was back at it Saturday as she picked up a second place finish with a time of 6:11.80.

Ellison continued her strong start to the season in the jumps as she finished third in the triple Wednesday with a leap of 31'11.5". Saturday she picked up a fourth place finish in the jump with a mark of 30'8.5"

Ellison also scored points for the 'Beeters in the long jump Saturday finishing fourth with a leap of 14'4".

The Harlem girls were again led by the efforts of senior Emma Humphreys in the throws.

Humphreys, a state qualifier in the shot put recorded a fifth place finish in the event at the Cal Wearley with a toss of 31'2.25".

Humphreys shined in the discus throw as she earned a second place finish with a flip of 99'6". Saturday at the Lions Invitational she recorded a throw of 86'9" to finish fourth in the event.

Turner sophomore Jaye Anderson has done very well on the track and in the field. Saturday Anderson turned in a 400 meter time of 1:09.70 to finish fifth in the event.

Anderson also continued her good start to the season in the jumps finishing fifth in the long jump covering a distance of 14'0.25".

Harlem Wildcat junior Damon Adams is off to a great start in the sprints this spring.

Adams has been a consistent performer in both the 100 and 200 meter dashes while also running the anchor leg on the short relay for the Wildcats.

At the Cal Wearley, Adams ran very well finishing second in the 200 meter dash with a time of :24.00.

Earlier in the day Adams finished third in a highly competitive 100 meter dash. Adams finished in :11.7 seconds and all six placers were under the twelve second mark.

Saturday Adams was again in fine form. He finished third in the 100 meter dash with a time of 11.60.

Adams later found the top spot on the podium with a first place finish in the 200 meter dash. Adams recorded a time of :23.20 to win the event.

Junior Reece Hutton performed very well in the field for the Wildcats.

Wednesday his heave of 39'1.5" earned him a fourth place finish in the shot put.

Saturday Hutton turned in an effort of 42'5" to finish third in the event. Hutton also added a fifth place finish in the discus with a flip of 118'3".

Turner sophomore Eddie Harmon continued to excel in the middle distance races.

Harmon won the 800 meter run Wednesday with a two lap time of 2:15.30. Chinook senior Kyler Johnson turned in a time of 2:16.8 to finish tied for third.

Saturday Harmon again won the event, this time with a mark of 2:09.70. Johnson finished sixth with a time of 2:12.90.

Hays/Lodge Pole junior Isaiah RunsAbove added another top finish to his season in the 1600 meter run, winning the event in 10:53.40. Johnson ran a solid race as well finishing third with a time of 11:00.30.

Saturday Johnson improved his effort with a second place finish in the 1600 meter run covering the four laps in 4:57.70 to finish second.

Adams also anchored the Wildcats 4x100 meter short relay team that also included Hutton, junior Tyus Hammett, and junior Tevin Messerly.

The four made their way around the track in 49.70 to finish fourth. The Turner quartet of Harmon, Cody Welsh, Devin Schuhmacher and Jonathan Wu finished fifth with a split of :51.60.

Hammett also scored points for the Wildcats with a third place finish in the high jump. Hammett cleared 5'8" to finish fourth in the event.

Junior Tevin Messerly completed the scoring for the Wildcats picking up six points in the triple jump covering 36'10" with his hop, skip and jump to finish third.