C-Falls track teams dominate at Libby meet

Both the Columbia Falls boys and girls track teams made short work of their competition in Libby over the weekend, easily outpacing their competition to earn first-place team titles.

The Wildcats earned nine first-place finishes, one second and finished third three times on their way to the title, finishing the meet with 322 team point to best Bigfork’s second place finish by 38.

Junior distance runner Joe Lamb and senior hurdler Zack Pletcher led the way for the Cats as Lamb finished first in both the 1,600 and 3,200 meter races while Pletcher won both the 110 and 300 hurdle races.

Drew Morgan earned first in the javelin with a toss of 169-feet, 8 inches, Parker Green won the discus with a throw of 123 feet, 1 inch and Isaac Balla leapt 19 feet, 1 inch to win the long jump.

The 400 meter relay team of Morgan, Danny Henjum, Pletcher and Kaeden Clewein finished first with a time of 44.67 seconds to qualify for the state meet and the 1,600-meter relay team of Henjum, Pletcher, Morgan and Richard Role posted a time of 3:41.25 to win their event.

Seth Umbriaco earned a second place finish in the 3,200 meter run while Morgan was third in the 100, Clewein was third in the 200, Role was third in the 800, Aaron Trueblood was third in the 300 hurdles, and Balla was third in the triple jump.

In girls’ action, the Wildkats put even more distance between themselves in the competition, earning 328 team points to beat second-place Libby by 104. The Kats finished the day with eight first-place finishes, one second and six third.

The Kats used a true team effort to pick up the title, with all six of their individual top finishes coming from different athletes.

Genevieve Delorme earned first in the 800 meter run with a time of 2:29.89, Angellica Street was first in the javelin with a toss of 130 feet, 5 inches, Stella Bistodeau cleared 4 feet, 10 inches to win the high jump, Josie Windauer cleared 8 feet to win the pole vault, Maddie Robison leapt 16 feet, 2 inches to win the long jump and qualify for state and Paige Burger won the triple jump with a distance of 32 feet, 2 inches.

The 400-meter relay team of Alexis Green, Rella Heinzen, Robison and Windauer won first with a time of 53.91 seconds and the 1,600-meter relay team of Green, Delorme, Robison and Windauer also won first with a time of 4:18.23.

Green was second in the triple jump while Madysen Hoerner was third, Heinzen was third in the 400, Cheyanne Johnston-Heinz was third in both the 100 and 300 hurdles, Street took third in the shot put and Hanna Sempf was third in the pole vault.

Both teams will be back in action Thursday at the Sapphire Twilight Invitational in Corvallis before hosting the Columbia Falls meet Saturday.