We've Got The County Covered
We've Got The County Covered
With the weather cooperating, all four Blaine County Track and Field teams had a chance to compete. Tuesday April 25 the Harlem Wildcats, Hays/Lodge Pole Thunderbirds and Turner Tornadoes were in Glasgow for a makeup meet. The highlight of the day was Harlem senior Keonna Medicine Bear prequalifying in the girls High for the Class B state track and field meet. Medicine Bear cleared 4'10" to win the event. Saturday the Chinook Sugarbeeters joined the Harlem Wildcats and 29 other teams for the Mustang Invitational at Memorial Stadium in Great Falls.
There were several outstanding efforts Tuesday in Glasgow. In addition to Medicine Bear winning the High Jump, the Wildcats had a strong performance all around. Eighth grader Branlin Foote won the Boys 3,200 Meter run with a time of 10:39.86. Foote had previously qualified for the state tournament in the event. Foote added a third-place finish in the 1,600 meter run with a time of 4:58. Lady Cat freshman Cadence Fortin finished second in the high Jump Clearing 4'8".
The Hays/Lodge Pole Thunderbirds had a spectacular effort turned in by senior William Has the Eagle in the Boys Shot Put. Has The Eagle unleashed a Put of 40'11" to finish second in the event. Senior Kaleb Walker recorded a distance of 38'8" to finish sixth in the event. Senior Daniel Henry scored points for the Thunderbirds with a fifth place finish in the 1,600 Meter run crossing the finish line in 5:41.27.
The Turner Tornadoes were led by the efforts of freshman Bridgett Reed who placed in all five events. Reed won the girls 300 Meter Hurdles with a time off :48.85. She added a third place finish in the 100 meter hurdles, a fourth in both the 200 meters (:29.68) and the High Jump (4'6"). Reed placed fifth in the 100 Meter Dash as well (:14.52). Junior Ryan Doyle recorded a third place finish in the boys 800 Meter run with a time of 2:08.65. Junior Trent Billmayer completed four laps around the track to finish fifth in the boys 1,600 Meter Run.
Saturday in Great Falls the Chinook Sugarbeeters and Harlem Wildcats enjoyed beautiful weather while competing in ideal conditions. The boys 4x100 Meter relay team of Senior Tyler Schoen, senior Brenden Fetter, senior Braxton Inman and sophomore Carson Nissen qualified for the State C Track and Field meet in Laurel later this month. The team finished second with a time of :45.25.
Senior Anna Terry continued to dominate the girls 3,200 meter run. Terry who had previously qualified for the State C turned in a time of 12:19.70. Terry added a third place finish in the 1,600 meter run crossing the finish line in 5:39. Senior Brenden Fetter placed second in the Boys High Jump clearing 5'10". Senior Levi Jensen also finished second in the event matching Fetter's effort of 5'10". Fetter added a third place finish in the 100 Meter dash with a time of :11.53. Sophomore Landon Beck was third in the Boys 800 Meter run with a two lap time of 2:09.08.
The Wildcats were led at the Mustang Invitational by Foote and Medicine Bear. Foote finished second in the boys 3,200 Meter run with an effort of 10:33.21. Medicine Bear was fourth in the girls High Jump clearing a height of 4'8".
Chinook Head Coach, Kendall Harwood, was thrilled with what he saw Saturday, "They boys 4x100m relay team posted a state qualifying time and nearly beat Belt. We might experiment with changing up the running order to make the handoffs more efficient. Our throwers had a great day with nearly all of them beating personal records. Hannah had a great showing beating her goal of 30 feet in the shot by an entire foot. Tyler finally got into the 40s which is great for him."
"The meet weather was about perfect. Sunny and no wind. Our kids took a minute to get acclimated to it but once they did the day got rolling with a slew of PRs. One highlight was Brenden Fetter effortlessly triple jumping in the 40s. With a little more work I would expect a few more feet out of him."
Harwood has his team in position to finish the season strong, "We are now gearing up for a few meets this week and we expect to have this team in top shape for the post season. Looking forward to seeing how well all their hard work pays off. Boys getting 3rd was a big accomplishment at such a big meet. And the girl's 7th place finish was hard earned."
Harlem Head Coach Kim Faukinberry sees tremendous progress coming from her young team, "Keonna Medicine Bear qualified in the high jump on Tuesday in Glasgow with a jump of 4'10". We had many PR's at that make-up meet on Tuesday." As far as the Mustang Invitation Faulkinberry had this to say,."This past Saturday we were at the Mustang Invitational. The competition was huge!! Many top ranked athletes were there. While we didn't have many placers, we did have many PR's...even more than last Tuesday. Our kids are moving in the right direction at the right time. We as a coaching staff, are very proud of our young team's progress over the season. Tuesday we will take 2-3 to Top 10. Friday we will go to Wolf Point and we will finish the regular season on Saturday in Havre."
