Track athletes place at C-Falls Invitational

Three Bigfork athletes placed at the varsity level at the Columbia Falls Invitational March 31 despite the rainy weather.

Sophomore Jill Hamilton and juniors Brittany Hall and Andrew Whittaker all placed at the meet, the first for the Vikes and Vals this season.

“We had a lot of kids that it was their first track meet ever,” throwing coach Nate Hammond said. Coach Sue Loeffler echoed that statement.

“We have a young team. It was ugly weather, but fun for the younger kids to get their feet wet,” she said.

Bigfork had a total of nine girls and 10 boys compete in Columbia Falls, most at the junior varsity level.

Hamilton finished second in the 100-meter dash with a time of 13.5 seconds. Whittaker finished the 100 in 1.3 seconds and second place.

Hall placed in both the 100 and 300 hurdles. She took second in the 100, finishing in 18.2 seconds.

“I was real happy with my 100. I felt pretty strong, especially coming out of the blocks,” Hall said. As for her 300 finish, “I didn’t know what to expect.” Hall added that she did not have a pace set for the race either, and that the weather worked to her advantage.

The Vals were 7th as a team, out of 15 teams, with 20 team points. The Vikes totaled eight team points for a 12th-place finish.

Donny Tudahl competed at the varsity level, but did not place. He did, however, record a personal best in the shotput with a throw of 41-9.5 feet. Bigfork had a total of seven throwers compete. Six competed at the JV level, as the team was missing quite a few kids, according to Hammond.

Dustin Haines threw the javelin for the first time in Columbia Falls. He also competed in the 200 and 400. Haines finished the 400 in 56.2 seconds for first place and the 200 in 25.1 seconds.

Also doing well at the JV level was Prescott Mitchell. He tied for third in the pole vault and was second in the 100.

McKenzie Reeve ran real well, according to Loeffler. She took first in the 200 and was second in the 100. Shelby Deaton also ran JV for the Vals. She was fifth in the 200. Kayla Carlson finished fourth in the 800.

“We’ll have to wait and see,” Loeffler said about athletes moving up from JV to varsity as the season progresses.

Bigfork competes next in Kalispell, April 10. The meet is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. It hosts the Bigfork Invitational and Bigfork Relays the following two weeks.