Track squads win Libby Invitational
Emma McAllister competes in the pole vault at the Libby Invitational last week. (Will Langhorne photo)
Columbia Falls track and field had a great week with a second place finish at the Flathead Invite triangular on Tuesday and a first place overall at the Libby Invite on Saturday.
In Kalispell, senior Lara Erikson took second in the 1,600 meters with a personal record of 5:23.14, less than a second behind Flathead’s Lilli Rumsey Eash. The time not only propelled Erikson into ranking first in the event for girls class A, but also pre-qualified her for state, making her “[the Wildcats’] first ticket to state right now,” said head coach Jamie Heinz.
Topping the podium for individual girls at the Flathead Invite were Wildcats Madysen Hoerner in the javelin with 107-feet, 6-inch jump, Alexis Green in the triple jump with 32-8.5, and Ally Sempf in the 200 meters with 27.86. First-place finishers for the boys were Cooper Babcock in the 110 meter hurdles with 18.53, Richard Role in the 800 meters with 2:07.82, Allec Knapton in the discus with 131-6 and the boys 400 meter relay featuring Isaiah Roth, Malaki Simpson, Benjamin Khodyrev and Jace Duval. “I was really happy with [Tuesday],” said Heinz. “The thing I see from us is, we compete hard no matter where we’re at or how we’re finishing and I think that says a lot right there.”
The Cats went on to sweep the Libby Invite on Saturday, taking first place for both boys and girls teams.
Leading the girls team with top place individual finishes were Alexis Green in the 100 meters with 12.89 and in the triple jump with 34-1; Ally Sempf in the 200 meters with 28.04, Siri Erikson in the 1,600 meters with 5:53.56, Lara Erikson in the 3,200 meters with 11:48.55, Mady Hoerner in the javelin with 106-7, and Rebekah Walker and Cheyanne Johnston-Heinz tied in pole vault with leaps of 8 feet even.
For the boys, Babcock took first in the 110 meter hurdles with 18.3, and Jaxon Heinz took first in the pole vault with 11-6 jump.
The Wildcats compete next at the Corvallis Twilight Meet for a competition under the lights at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 22, followed by the team’s first home event, the Iceberg Invite at 10 a.m. on the Columbia Falls track on Saturday.