Lady Dogs take second at state

Whitefish finished a successful season

on the track last weekend at the state Class A meet by bringing

home four individual titles and a second-place team trophy for the

Lady Bulldogs after battling a tough Corvallis team.

It was only the second second-place

finish for the girls team since 1984.

“It was an excellent showing,”

Whitefish coach Derek Schulz said about the Lady Bulldogs.

“Corvallis had a very strong team. It was going to take everything

to go right for us to beat them — that didn’t happen, it rarely

does. But I was really proud of our girls. A lot of years, this

team would have won the state title easily.”

Freshman phenom Marlow Schulz came home

from her first state meet with two individual titles. Schulz

cruised in the 800 on Friday, winning by more than two seconds as

she opened up her lead on the home stretch. She then rebounded from

a false start in the 200 to take second in the 400. The next day,

Schulz edged Hamilton’s Kelsi Almond in the 100 sprint for her

second individual title.

Coach Schulz noted that it’s rare to

see a runner win both the 100 and 800.

“It’s a remarkable accomplishment,” he

said. “I’m really proud of her.”

Teammate Amanda Foley was in the mix in

each of the sprints, taking third in the 100, fourth in the 200 and

fourth in the 400. She was also on both of the relay teams.

“Amanda had a great meet,” Schulz said.

“She placed in everything she could place in. She was limited to

five and placed in all five.”

The junior showed great leadership on

Friday after Marlow was disqualified in the 200 for her false

start. Foley was the first to run across the infield to console the

shaken freshman. Her soft words helped get her teammate’s focus

back before the 400 race later in the afternoon.

“They’ve built a strong relationship

this year,” Schulz said. “Amanda has grown so much in her approach

to sport and as a person, it’s been really great to see.”

It was important for Marlow to regain

her focus quickly if Whitefish was to stay in the race for a state

title.

“I have to give Marlow credit,” Schulz

said. “She understands the sport. She wasn’t her crying for herself

— she knew if we were going to make a run at Corvallis, we needed

every thing we could get.”

In the end, those lost points wouldn’t

have been enough to catch Corvallis, Schulz said, but it was

encouraging to see how the team regrouped and responded.

In the distance events, specialist

Jessica Sagen grabbed a state title in the grueling 3,200 after she

broke away from the pack on the final lap of a hotly contested

race. Sagen finished in 11:48.19, almost three seconds ahead of

Polson’s Mesa Starkey.

Using the team’s depth to their

advantage, Sagen, Bailey Eaton and Carly Schwickert jockeyed for

position as a group. The trio helped set up Sagen for a strong

finish in the final laps. Eaton crossed the line strong in sixth,

while Schwickert just missed the podium in seventh.

Saturday, Sagen claimed second in the

1,600, while Schwickert earned sixth.

“Those girls know what their doing,”

Schulz said. “Credit goes to event coach Bill Brist and you have to

look at the kind of people those girls are. They’re excellent

students combined with athletic ability — it’s a remarkable

group.”

Sagen said she was in disbelief after

winning the 3,200 title.

“I was so happy I couldn’t stop crying

afterward,” Sagen said. “It’s been a dream of mine for the past

four years. All of my off-season training paid off.”

She credited her teammates for blocking

in Starkey and allowing her to let loose on the final two laps.

“I wasn’t allowed to lead because I’d

get too tired,” she said. “Bailey is really good at tactics. In the

last 800 we could just open up.”

Sagen says she and the other senior

runners have set an example for the underclassmen of camaraderie

and sportsmanship.

“We’re always proud of each other, even

runners from other schools,” Sagen said.

Sagen will attend Stanford University

next fall and will be a walk-on for both the cross-country and

track teams. The Pac-12 school features two Foot Locker

champions.

“I just can’t stop running,” Sagen

said.

The girls relay teams each finished in

second place behind only Corvallis. The one-mile relay team of

Schwickert, Sagen, Foley and Schulz broke their own school record

with a 4:03.68.

As a team, the Lady Bulldogs earned 78

points, 25 back of Corvallis.

The boys earned 18 points overall.

Senior Drew Galbraith claimed the high

jump title after going more than a dozen rounds against Ronan’s

Jordan Franklin.

“After 13 rounds, I was so tired I was

begging for [Franklin] to finish me off,” Galbraith said

afterward.

It was Galbraith, however, that did the

finishing with a clean 6-4 leap. Franklin cleared 6-4 earlier, but

in the final do-or-die round he stalled on the take off.

“That was just an old-fashioned dual,”

Schulz commented. “To endure that and come out a champ — wow. It

was a pretty special moment. He deserved that with as hard as he’s

worked.”

Logan Harwood helped put points on the

board with his impressive run to third place in the 400 with a

50.55. Schulz thinks the sophomore has only begun to tap his

potential.

“Logan’s got huge talent,” he said. “We

have two more years of him — watch out.”

The coach commended the boys 1,600

relay squad for making the podium in fifth place. The team includes

Mac Roche, Tanner Brock, Gage Vasquez and Harwood.

The squad was placed in the slow heat

and was forced to chase the clock in their attempt to make the

podium.

“Those four guys laid it all out

there,” Schulz said. “It was the standout performance of the entire

meet.”

He applauded Roche’s senior leadership

on the relay team, noting that he brought focus to the young group

that includes a freshman, sophomore and junior.

In all, Whitefish qualified nine

freshman for the state meet.

“That’s a nice building block,” Schulz

said.

BOYS

Team scores: Columbia Falls 98,

Corvallis 72, Billings Central 62, Dillon 44, Belgrade 34, Libby

28, Browning 26, Lewistown 26, Ronan-St. Ignatius 24, Glendive 20,

Whitefish 18, Stevensville 17, Miles City 12, Hardin 11, Frenchtown

10, Livingston 10, Sidney 6 O, Laurel 5, Polson 1 O, Butte Central

1, Hamilton 1.

100 - 1, Taylor Martinson, BlC, 11.28;

2, Logan Dahinden, Bel, 11.36; 3, Charles Old Chief, Brw, 11.43; 4,

Robert Nalewaja, MC, 11.44; 5, Joshua Osborne, CF, 11.47; 6, Josh

Lords, Ste, 11.48.

200 - 1, Logan Dahinden, Bel, 23.02; 2,

Taylor Martinson, BlC, 23.31; 3, Anthony Correa, CF, 23.36; 4,

Charles Old Chief, Brw, 23.50; 5, Josh Lords, Ste, 23.51; 6, Eric

Malmquist, RSI, 23.59.

400 - 1, Anthony Correa, CF, 50.10; 2,

Charles Old Chief, Brw, 50.12; 3, Logan Harwood, Wfh, 50.55 4,

Colby Henderson, Cor, 51.05; 5, Chris Allen, Bel, 51.19; 6, Zannon

Stands, Har, 51.54.

800 - 1, Derrick Williams, CF, 1:55.17;

2, Colby Henderson, Cor, 1:57.22; 3, Justin Whitman, CF, 1:58.20;

4, Chris Jessop, Cor, 1:58.49; 5, Tucker White, BlC, 1:59.14; 6,

Mikey Wall, BlC, 2:00.26.

1,600 - 1, Derrick Williams, CF,

4:19.50; 2, Chris Jessop, Cor, 4:22.81; 3, Colby Henderson, Cor,

4:25.48; 4, Monte Cole, Liv, 4:29.49; 5, Tucker White, BlC,

4:32.00; 6, Mikey Wall, BlC, 4:32.88.

3,200 - 1, Chris Jessop, Cor, 9:42.16;

2, Derrick Williams, CF, 9:49.69; 3, Joey Vaughn, Bel, 9:49.81; 4,

Tucker White, FlC, 9:56.10; 5, Chase Stoker, Cor, 9:56.56; 6, Monte

Cole, Liv, 9:59.97.

110 hurdles - 1, Bo Descheemaeker, Lew,

15.37; 2, Austin Christopher, Ste, 15.67; 3, Kody Berget, Lib,

15.80; 4, Brady Baughman, Ftn, 15.83; 5, Tony Morales, Lau, 16.02;

6, Garrett Sellers, Lau, 16.03.

300 hurdles - 1, Kody Berget, Lib,

39.97; 2, Blaise Riebe, Dil, 39.98; 3, Brady Baughman, Ftn, 40.42;

4, James Stanton, BlC, 40.89; 5, C.J. Edgmond, Lau, 40.92; 6,

Kodiah Gimbel, CF, 41.26.

400 relay - 1, Billings Central (James

Stanton, Jacob Stanton, Ryan Burke, Taylor Martinson) 43.51; 2,

Dillon 43.83; 3, Columbia Falls 43.84; 4, Livingston 44.18; 5,

Belgrade 44.20; 6, Ronan-St. Ignatius 44.56.

1,600 relay - 1, Columbia Falls (Daniel

Jones, Derrick Williams, Justin Whitman, Anthony Correa) 3:25.89;

2, Billings Central 3:29.80; 3, Belgrade 3:30.23; 4, Ronan-St.

Ignatius 3:31.03; 5, Whitefish 3:31.56; 6, Livingston 3:32.47.

Discus - 1, Zeke Koslosky, Dil, 153-5;

2, Shayne Durbin, Lew, 152-11; 3, Ryan Armstrong, MC, 152-5; 4,

Bryce Benson, Gle, 150-0; 5, Jimmy Henderson, Cor, 146-0; 6,

Branden Butt, Cor, 142-4.

Javelin - 1, Logan Connors, Cor, 185-6;

2, Nate Thompson, CF, 181-9; 3, Stuart Landis, Cor, 180-11; 4,

Raymond Jessop, Cor, 170-9; 5, Eli Bachmeier, Gle, 169-2; 6, Seth

Ray, Ham, 168-4.

Triple jump - 1, Nate Thompson, CF,

44-6; 2, Jalen Bell, RSI, 43-6 O; 3, Kodiak Gimbel, CF, 42-7 º; 3,

Josh Torgerson, Sid, 42-3 º; 5, Jacob Stanton, BlC, 41-7 æ; 6,

Stuart Landis, Cor, 41-7.

Pole vault - 1, Gus Murdock, Har, 13-6;

2, Bryant Grimes, Gle, 13-0; 3, Tyler Berner, Cor, 13-0; 4, Austin

Williams, Dil, 13-0; 5 (tie), Zion Lee, Pol, and Jayme Kely, Sid,

12-6.

Shot put - 1, Monte Folsom, Dil, 53-10;

2, Shayne Durbin, Lew, 53-10; 3, Bryce Benson, Gle, 48-5; 4, Sawyer

Zimmerman, Lib, 46-9; 5, Clint Larowe, MC, 46-2 O; 6, Jake Simkins,

BuC, 45-7.

High jump - 1, Drew Galbraith, Wfh,

6-4; 2, Jordan Franklin, RSI, 6-4; 3 (tie), Wes Knox, Dil. Kodiak

Gimbel, CF, and Reese Jensen, Lib, 6-0; 6, Ryan Sullivan, Sid,

6-0.

Long jump - 1, Taylor Martinson, BlC,

226; 2, Charles Old Chief, Brw, 20-11; 3, Joshua Haynes, Ste, 20-8

O; 4, Tyler Troy, Lib, 20-5 O; 5, Jalen Bell, RSI, 20-4 º; 6, Nate

Thompson, CF, 20-3 æ.

GIRLS

Team scores: Corvallis 103, Whitefish

78, Sidney 58, Polson 48, Hamilton 37, Billings Central 30 O,

Belgrade 30 º, Lewistown 29, Ronan-St. Ignatius 20 O, Anaconda 18,

Glendive 15 º, Stevensville 14, Dillon 12, Hardin 11, Browning 6,

Laurel 6, Miles City 4, Livingston 4, Libby 2, Havre O.

100 - 1, Marlow Schulz, Wfh, 12.64; 2,

Kelsi Almond, Ham, 12.71; 3, Amanda Foley, Wfh, 12.83; 4, Anna

DiGiallonardo, Pol, 12.90; 5, Faith Kjelstrup, Gle, 12.91; 6, Sadi

Henderson, Cor, 12.92.

200 - 1, Paige Squire, Cor, 25.37 (Set

Class A record in Friday’s trials, at 24.83: old record 24.98,

Christy Otte, Billings Central, 1994); 2, Kelsi Almond, Ham, 26.21;

3, Anna DiGiallonoardo, Pol, 26.36; 4, Amanda Foley, Wfh, 26.37; 5,

Nikki Barron, Cor, 26.77; 6, Shaina Healey, BlC, 26.96.

400 - 1, Sadi Henderson, Cor, 56.91; 2,

Marlow Schulz, Wfh, 56.98; 3, Jackie Eliott, BlC, 59.41; 4, Amanda

Foley, Wfh, 59.72; 5, Breanne Kelley, Pol, 60.76; 6, Kelsi Almond,

Ham, 60.84.

800 - 1, Marlow Schulz, Wfh, 2:16.21;

2, Sammy Elliott, BlC, 2:18.81; 3, Ayden Eickhoff, Cor, 2:20.37; 4,

Claudia Hewston, Pol, 2:20.57; 5, Jaelene Zygmond, BlC, 2:23.35; 6,

Jordyn Yarborough, Liv, 2:24.25.

1,600 - 1, Ayden Eickhoff, Cor,

5:13.55; 2, Jessica Sagen, Wfh, 5:22.47; 3, Claudia Hewston, Pol,

5:23.08; 4, Mesa Starkey, Pol, 5:24.00; 5, Kaycie Stewart, Cor,

5:24.65; 6, Carly Schwickert, Wfh, 5:25.58.

3,200 - 1, Jessica Sagen, Wfh,

11:48.19; 2, Mesa Starkey, Pol, 11:50.50; 3, Olivia Wood, Ana,

11:55.76; 4, Rio Frame, Gle, 11:58.25; 5, Kaycie Stewart, Cor,

11:59.14; 6, Bailey Eaton, Wfh, 11:59.18.

100 hurdles - 1, Paige Squire, Cor,

14.72 (set Class A record in Friday’s trials, at 14.47: old record

14.64, Kalindra McFadden, Belgrade, 2003); 2, Lakyn Connors, Cor,

15.45; 3, Breanne Kelley, Pol, 15.78; 4, Shelby Erdahl, Bel, 15.94;

5, Kiera Bulluck, Lew, 15.98; 6, Melissa Lynn, Gle, 16.07.

300 hurdles - 1, Paige Squire, Cor,

43.76 (Class A record: old record 44.1 (hand time), Kasey Harwood,

Polson, 2004); 2, Kiera Bulluck, Lew, 45.79; 3, Shelby Erdalh, Bel,

45.99; 4, Lakyn Connors, Cor, 46.63; 5, Breanne Kelley, Pol, 47.63;

6, Megan Hawkins, Liv, 48.05.

400 relay - 1, Corvallis (Lakyn

Connors, Sadi Henderson, Ayden Eickhoff, Paige Squire) 49.44; 2,

Whitefish 50.16; 3, Belgrade 50.36; 4, Billings Central 50.59; 5,

Polson 51.50; 6, Hardin 51.79.

1,600 relay - 1, Corvallis 3:57.16

(Class A record: old record 4:00.31, Butte Central, 1991); 2,

Whitefish 4:03.68; 3, Billings Central 4:05.24; 4, Polson 4:08.44;

5, Livingston 4:14.65; 6, Belgrade 4:16.86.

Discus - 1, Josie Three Irons, Har,

123-4; 2, Whitney Leuenberger, Sid, 119-8; 3, Jacqueline Verlanic,

Ana, 117-11; 4, Meghan Kratofil, Ham, 116-5; 5, Carlie Jessop, Cor,

109-11; 6, Megan Armstrong, Gle, 108-10.

Triple jump - 1, Airika Blackburn, Sid,

36-3 º; 2, Ashley Farr, Sid, 35-4; 3, Alyssa Charlesworth, Gle,

35-2 O; 4, Adessa Durglo, RSI, 34-11 O; 5, Lakyn Connors, Cor, 34-9

º; 6, Jackie Elliott, BlC, 34-9.

Pole vault - 1, Mikayla Minow, Sid,

10-6; 2, Jalyssa Gorder, Sid, 10-6; 3, Camie Westfall, Ham, 10-6;

4, Aspen Evans, Cor, 10-6; 5, Alex Brammer, Dil, 10-0; 6 (tie)

Lacey Waid, Hav, Siadie SampsonGle, Jaye Ceynar, Hav, and Leighton

Hirsch, Bel, 9-0.

Shot put - 1, Whitney Leuenberger, Sid,

39-11; 2, Lindsey Halgren, Bel, 37-8; 3, Emylee, Lau, 37-7; 4,

Jorden Grasby, MC, 37-1; 5, Alycia Sims, Ste, 35-10 O; 6, Larrysa

Mannin, Gle, 35-3.

Javelin - 1, Greer Crabtree, Dil,

131-1; 2, McCalle Feller, Lew, 130-8; 3, Malia Estes, Ana, 124-11;

4, Britney Chilcott, Ste, 120-2; 5, Tayler Eubank, BlC, 117-6; 6,

Dayna Jensen, Lew, 115-11.

High jump - 1, McCalle Feller, Lew,

5-5; 2, Molly Brewer 5-4; 3, Adessa Durglo, RSI, 5-2; 4, Janessa

Benjamin, Bel, 5-2; 5, Chancey Auge, Lib, 5-2; 6 (tie), Jenny

Larsson, RSI, and Eva Krasowski, BlC, 5-0.

Long jump - 1, Adessa Durglo, RSI, 17-6

æ; 2, Kelsi Almond, Ham, 16-10 O; 3, Marti Eaglefeathers, Brw, 16-3

æ; 4, Airika Blackburn, Sid, 16-1 O; 5, Kelsey Brangoccio, Ham, 16-

æ; 6, Dylan Fowler, Bel, 16-0.