'Beeter Boys 4th, Girls 10th at Cal Wearley, Chinook, Harlem, Hays/L.P. in Great Falls Saturday

It was a huge week on the track and in the field for all four of our local schools. On Tuesday the Sugarbeeters, Wildcats, Thunderbirds and Tornadoes were all in Havre at the Middle School Track & Field Complex for the rescheduled Cal Wearley Invitational. Saturday the teams from Chinook, Hays/Lodge Pole and Harlem were in Great Falls at the newly remodeled Memorial Stadium for a huge State Tournament Preview Meet hosted by the Belt Huskies and Fairfield Eagles.

With the season quickly winding down and the post season just around the corner, coaches are busy getting their athletes in position to shine come Districts. The Jason Groseclose Memorial Track and Field Meet was held in Rudyard on Monday and the North East Top 10 took place in Glasgow on Tuesday. Full results will be posted in next weeks Blaine County Journal.

This spring weather has once again proved that Mother Nature is still in charge, forcing the postponement or cancellations of many scheduled events across the board in all high school spring sports. The Cal Wearley was originally scheduled for the first weekend in April, but was postponed until this past Tuesday. Moving the premier event of the early season to near the end of the schedule put much more significance on individual performance with athletes establishing their post season rankings. As such, organizers made some changes to help the athletes out along the way.

The Cal Wearley is typically one of the biggest meets of the year and this years field provided the stiffest competition any of the teams had seen to date. The Chinook Sugarbeeters turned in an outstanding team performance for both the boys and girls. The 'Beeter boys finished 4th overall in the 27 team field scoring 64 points, just two points behind third place finisher Malta. The Sugarbeeter girls were 10th with 17 points. The Harlem Boys finished 14th , The Hays/Lodge Pole Thunderbird Boys were 18th while the Lady Cats finished 18th. The Tornado boys and girls teams competed hard in every event they were entered but failed to register a point.

Saturday in Great Falls the Sugarbeeters, Wildcats and Thunderbirds took part in the Fairfield/Belt State Preview Track & Field at Memorial Stadium. This meet was by far one of the biggest meets in recent memory with 40 teams taking part and a field of more than 800 athletes. Despite the huge numbers, several local athletes found their place on the podium. The 'Beeter girls finished 13th while the boys were 21st. The Lady Cats finished 23rd and the Wildcats checked in at 24th.

The Sugarbeeters had plenty of athletes score points over the course of the two meets. Senior Toby Niederegger led the way with a win in the High Jump Tuesday at the Cal Wearley. Niederegger cleared 6'2" to win the event. Niederegger also netted points for the 'Beeters in the 100 Meter Dash, finishing second Tuesday with a time of :11.92. The senior standout added a fifth place finish in the Long Jump as well.

Senior Hunter Molyneaux captured Gold at the Cal Wearley, winning the Long Jump with a leap of 20'0.5". Saturday in Great Falls he finished fifth (19'6.5"). Freshman Oliver Standiford turned in an outstanding effort in the High Jump, clearing 6'0" to finish second in the event and automatically qualify for the State C Track and Field Meet in Great Falls, May 27-28. Hays/Lodge Pole junior Devonte Sullivan cleared 5'8" in the High Jump to finish third in the event. Also in the High Jump Saturday in Great Falls Chinook junior, Levi Jensen, earned a fourth place finish, clearing 5'10".

In the Boys Shot Put Chinook junior Tyler Schoen recorded a mark of 41'0" establishing a new personal best while earning a fourth place finish. Harlem senior Mikkel Rider finished sixth on Tuesday with a mark of 38'5". On Saturday Rider had a throw of 40'6.5" but finished off the podium in eleventh place. Rider also added a pair of sixth place finishes to the Wildcat tally in the Javelin. He threw 135'1" on Tuesday and 138'3" on Saturday.

In the 800 Meter run it was Chinook freshman Landen Beck, fifth place at the Cal Wearley on Tuesday with a time of 2:13.98. Beck later added a fourth place finish in the 1,600 Meter Run, completing the four laps in 5:11.29. Saturday in Great Falls, Beck improved his 1,600 Meter time by nearly six full seconds, finishing in 5:05.65 good for eighth in the huge meet.

Tuesday in the 110 Meter Hurdles, Harlem senior Darrius Longknife picked up a fourth place finish with a time of :18.67. Chinook junior Levi Jensen was a step behind, finishing fifth with a time of :19.15. Saturday Jensen turned in a time of :18.22 improving by almost a full second While Longknife also bettered his time with a :18.36. In the 300 Meter Hurdles it was Chinook junior, Braxton Inman, finishing fourth on Tuesday with a :45.40. Jensen finished fifth with an effort of :45.52.

Both of the Sugarbeeter Boys Relay teams earned points at the Cal Wearley. The 4x400 Meter team turned in four solid laps with on point exchanges to finish fourth in the event with a time of 3:58.69. The 4x100 Meter Relay Team was sixth, crossing the fish line in :47.38. The team included Schoen, Inman, junior Caden Sullivan and freshman Carson Nissen.

For the girls the Sugarbeeters and Wildcats each had podium placers over the weekend. The Sugarbeeters were paced by the efforts of sophomore Hallie Neibauer, junior Anna Terry and freshman Alexus Seymour.

Neibauer turned in a two lap time of 2:31.03 to finish second in the 800 Meter Run at the Cal wearley on Tuesday. Freshman teammate Alexus Seymour clocked in at 2:36.17 to finish fifth in the event. Saturday in Great Falls Seymour took a second and a half off her time, crossing the finish line in 2:34.69 to earn a sixth place finish at the State Preview Meet.

Neibauer also earned a third place in the 400 Meter Run Saturday in Great Falls, completing the lap in 1:02.84. On Tuesday at the Cal Wearley it was Seymour picking up fourth points, crossing the finish line in 1:08.01.

In the distance races it was Harlem senior Taya Trottier turning in an effort of 5:50.80 in the 1,600 Meter Run to finish sixth. Chinook junior Anna Terry finished in a personal best time of 5:54.01 to finish eighth. Tuesday in Havre Terry was sixth in the event with a time of 6:12.28. Terry also earned a sixth place finish in the 3,200 Meter Run at the Cal Wearley with a time of 13:18.50. On Saturday Terry took a whopping 21 seconds off her time to cross the finish line in fifth with an effort of 12:57.79.

Lady Cat sophomore Kaitlyn Johnson earned a third place finish Tuesday in Havre with a time of :51.30. Saturday in Great Falls Lady Cat senior Chloe Messerly recorded a throw of 102'5" in the Javelin to finish fourth. Chinook junior, Belle Elliot, picked up a third place finish in the High Jump, clearing 4'8" to round out the scoring for the 'Beeters.

The Tornadoes got solid efforts from sophomores Ryan Doyle and Trent Billmayer in the distance races while freshman Cassidy Grabofsky led the girls in the field events. The Thunderbirds were represented well by junior Daniel Henry in the distance races as well as Kaleb Walker in the throwing events.

Harlem Head Coach Kim Faulkinberry was overjoyed with her teams effort, "We told our kids that these are huge meets and not to be intimidated, just go out and compete and they did just that. We had some kids qualify for the Top 10 meet in Glasgow from these two meets. We will look to fine tune and continue to work hard with districts on the horizon."

Chinook Head Coach Kendal Harwood was equally excited, "We nearly have three high jumpers above 6 feet with Levi (Jensen) clearing 5'10". Oliver (Standiford) and Toby (Niederegger) were a little dinged up and are trying to heal for Top 10 in Glasgow. The team is climbing the mountain right now and I believe we will be reaching the peak at the perfect time.

Cal Wearley Invitational

Tuesday, April 26, 2022 - Havre, MT (Top 10)

Girls Results (27 Teams)

400 Meter Dash - 4.) Alexus Seymour, Chinook - 1:08.01; 8.) Raelynne Briere, Harlem - 1:10.21.

800 Meter Run - 2.) Hallie Neibauer, Chinook - 2:31.03; 5.) Alexus Seymour, Chinook - 2:36.17.

1600 Meter Run - 6.) Anna Terry, Chinook - 6:12.28.

3200 Meter Run - 6.) Anna Terry, Chinook - 13:18.50; 9.) Rylee Martin, Hays/L.P. - 16:42.80.

300 Meter Hurdles - 3.) Kaitlyn Johnson, Harlem - :51.31.

4x400 Meter Relay - 6.) Chinook (Sasha Gallus, Alexus Seymour. Anna Terry, Hallie Neibauer) - 4:51.97.

High Jump - 7.) Belle Elliot, Chinook - 4’08.00”; 10.) Keonna Medicine Bear, Harlem - 4’06.00”.

Boys Results (27 Teams)

100 Meter Dash - 2.) Toby Niederegger, Chinook - :11.92; 8.) Amari Stanley, Harlem - :12.34; 9.) Tyler Schoen, Chinook - :12.43.

400 Meter Dash - 8.) Ryan Doyle, Turner - :58.51.

800 Meter Run - 5.) Landen Beck, Chinook - 2:13.98; 7.) Ryan Doyle, Turner - 2:16.28.

1600 Meter Run - 4.) Landen Beck, Chinook - 5:11.29; 10.) Trent Billmayer, Turner - 5:29.23.

110 Meter Hurdles - 4.) Darrius LongKnife, Harlem - :18.67; 5.) Levi Jensen, Chinook - :19.15.

300 Meter Hurdles - 4.) Braxton Inman, Chinook - :45.40; 5.) Levi Jensen, Chinook - :45.52.

4x100 Meter Relay - 6.) Chinook (Carson Nissen, Caden Sullivan, Braxton Inman, Tyler Schoen) - :47.38.

4x400 Meter Relay - 4.) Chinook (Toby Niederegger, Hunter Molyneaux, Brenden Fetter, Braxton Inman) - 3:58.69; 6.) Harlem (Landen Gray, Troy LongKnife, Shayne Stiffarm, Darrius LongKnife) - 4:07.43.

Shot Put - 4.) Tyler Schoen, Chinook - 41’00.00”; 6.) Mikkel Rider, Harlem - 38’05.00”; 9.) Quentin Edwards, Chinook - 37’07.00”.

Discus - 10.) Mikkel Rider, Harlem - 107’01”.

Javelin - 6.) Mikkel Rider, Harlem - 135’01”.

High Jump - 1.) Toby Niederegger, Chinook - 6’02.00”; 2.) Oliver Standiford, Chinook - 6’00.00”; 3.) Davontae Sullivan, Hays/L.P. - 5’08.00”; 8T.) Darrius LongKnife, Harlem - 5’06.00”; 8T.) Amari Stanley, Harlem - 5’06.00”.

Long Jump - 1.) Hunter Molyneaux, Chinook - 20’00.50”; 5.) Toby Niederegger, Chinook - 18’11.00”; 8.) Brenden Fetter, Chinook - 18’01.25”.

Triple Jump - 8.) Carson Nissen, Chinook - 36’08.00”.

Fairfield Belt State Preview

Saturday, April 30, 2022 - Great Falls, MT (Top 15)

Girls Results (40 Teams)

200 Meters Dash - 13.) Hallie Neibauer, Chinook - :29.50.

400 Meter Dash - 3.) Hallie Neibauer, Chinook - 1:02.84; 11.) Alexus Seymour, Chinook - 1:07.07.

800 Meter Run - 6.) Alexus Seymour, Chinook - 2:34.69; 7.) Taya Trottier, Harlem - 2:37.16.

1600 Meter Run - 6.) Taya Trottier, Harlem - 5:50.80; 8.) Anna Terry, Chinook - 5:54.01.

3200 Meter Run - 5.) Anna Terry, Chinook - 12:57.79.

300 Meter Hurdles - 10.) Kaitlyn Johnson, Harlem - :52.56.

4x100 Meter Relay - 14.) Chinook (Aspyn Colby, Cheyenne Weigand, Sasha Gallus, Hallie Neibauer) - :57.48.

4x400 Meter Relay - 10.) Chinook (Sasha Gallus, Anna Terry, Alexus Seymour, Hallie Neibauer) - 4:58.32.

Shot Put - 8.) Chloe Messerly, Harlem - 31’09.00”.

Javelin - 4.) Chloe Messerly, Harlem - 102’05”; 11.) Kaitlyn Johnson, Harlem - 90’10”.

High Jump - 3.) Belle Elliot, Chinook - 4’08.00”; 14.) Keonna Medicine Bear, Harlem - 4’04.00”.

Boys Results (40 Teams)

100 Meter Dash - 13.) Braxton Inman, Chinook - :12.15.

1600 Meter Run - 8.) Landen Beck, Chinook - :5:05.65.

110 Meter Hurdles - 10.) Levi Jensen, Chinook - :18.22: 11.) Darrius LongKnife, Harlem - :18.36.

300 Meter Hurdles - 10.) Levi Jensen, Chinook - :45.26; 14.) Braxton Inman, Chinook - :46.30.

Shot Put - 11.) Mikkel Rider, Chinook - 40’06.50”.

Javelin - 6.) Mikkel Rider, Harlem - 138’03”.

High Jump - 4.) Levi Jensen, Chinook - 5’10.00”; 13.) Oliver Standiford, Chinook - 5’04.00”.

Long Jump - 5.) Hunter Molyneaux, Chinook - 19’06.50”.