Cats do well at Hamilton Invitational track meet
Arne Troy leads the pack in the 800 at the Hamilton Invitational. (River Blazejewski photo)
The Columbia Falls track and field team turned in a dominant showing across multiple events at the Hamilton Bronc Invite on Friday, April 4, highlighted by standout performances from senior sprinter Jack Phelps, senior thrower Lane Voermans, and senior jumper Isak Soyland. Columbia Falls won the meet in team scoring for both the boys and girls.
Phelps capped a stellar meet by claiming first place in the 200 meters with a personal best of 22.84 seconds. He also placed third in the 100 meters with a personal record of 11.46 and took second in the 400 meters with a season-best 51.82.
In the field events, Lane Voermans unleashed a season-best throw of 167 feet, 8 inches to win the discus. Isak Soyland also had a huge day, taking first in the long jump with a personal best of 20 feet, 8.5 inches. He added a third-place finish in pole vault (12 feet) and helped Columbia Falls dominate the jumps and vaults. Senior teammate Oliver Kress took second in the pole vault with a 13-foot PR, while sophomore Trip Ross cleared 11 feet for eighth. In the triple jump, senior Stanley Stremick soared to a first-place PR of 42 feet, 3 inches, while Lucas Fink added a tenth-place finish with a 37’2” PR.
The Wildcats had strong representation in the hurdles, with sophomore Banyan Johnston placing seventh in the 110-meter hurdles (17.09 PR) and tying for second in the high jump at 5’10”. Freshman Miles Colliander took fifth in the 300-meter hurdles with a personal best of 44.47.
In distance events, junior River Blazejewski ran two personal records — an eighth-place 4:55.63 in the 1,600 meters and an eighth-place 10:54.49 in the 3,200 meters. Senior Arne Troy added a PR in the 800 meters (2:14.90) for seventh.
On the girls side, junior Ashley Andrews clocked a season-best 2:33.65 in the 800 meters for fourth, while senior Chloe Savoy and junior Mila Johns finished in the top eight with personal and season bests respectively. Savoy and Johns also scored in the 1,600 meters, joined by senior Mya Badger, who placed 10th.
Junior Aubrey Smith contributed in the hurdles, placing ninth in both the 100 and 300-meter races with a season best in the longer distance. In the field, freshman Olivia Hook threw a personal record of 91 feet, 4 inches in the discus to take ninth. Senior Courtney Hussion tied for eighth in the high jump at 4 feet, 6 inches and cleared a personal best 9 feet in pole vault to place fifth.