Boys win Iceberg Invite, girls take second

In front of a home crowd and with chilly April weather, the Columbia Falls Wildcats turned in a dominant performance at the Iceberg Invite on April 17, capturing the boys team title and finishing second in the girls standings behind a wave of personal bests and first-place finishes.

The Wildcat boys racked up points in nearly every event to outpace a competitive field. Senior Jack Phelps led the way in the sprints, winning the 200 meters with a personal-best 22.57 and claiming the 400-meter title in another personal record of 50.36 seconds. He also anchored Columbia Falls’ 4x100-meter relay team to a second-place finish (44.50), alongside Jett Brandeberry, Jaydon Lapierre, and Trip Ross.

Brandeberry also placed seventh in the 200 (24.00) and ninth in the 100 (11.96), while Jadon Persinger added points with a seventh-place finish in the 400 (54.96). The Wildcats’ 4x400 relay finished just off the top two but gained experience for postseason positioning.

In the distance events, Aiyers Powell placed third in the 800 meters (2:05.83 PR), with solid support from the distance crew. Lucas Peterson claimed the 3200-meter title in 10:46.27 and later placed ninth in the 1600. Cosley Payne (11:27.02 PR) and Tiptin Tourville (12:31.72 PR) added depth in the longer distances, with nearly every runner posting season or career bests.

In the hurdles, freshman Miles Colliander had another stellar showing, finishing second in both the 110-meter hurdles (16.81 PR) and the 300-meter hurdles (43.70). Lucas Fink (46.67 PR) and Bjorn Pedersen (48.30 season best) also scored points in the 300.

Columbia Falls made a huge statement in the field events. Lane Voermans delivered a monstrous throw of 172-2 to win the discus and followed that up with a second-place finish in the shot put at 54-6.5 — both marks personal bests. Joe West took third in javelin (149-6), while teammates Brock Swope and Jackson Barker also finished in the top 10.

The pole vault continued to be a strength for the Cats. Oliver Kress (13-6) and Isak Soyland (12-6) went 1-2, while Trip Ross placed fifth. In the jumps, Soyland added a third in long jump (19-3.5), and Easton Brooks finished fourth with a personal-best 19-2. Jackson Barker led the triple jump contingent, placing third at 38-9, and Lucas Fink added a seventh-place finish.

On the girls side, Columbia Falls scored across every event group to place second in team standings.

Junior Aubrey Smith won the 100-meter hurdles in a season-best 17.76 and added a ninth-place finish in the 100-meter dash. Cora Hannan (1st, 300m hurdles, 52.33) and Tia Baker (2nd, 53.48 PR) continued the Wildkats’ hurdle dominance, with Abby Phelps placing fifth in the 300 (54.62 PR) and sixth in the 100 hurdles.

In the 800 meters, Chloe Savoy (2:29.79 PR) and Mila Johns (2:31.43) placed second and third, respectively. Savoy also finished second in the 1600 behind Libby’s Capri Farmer, while Findley Dezzani scored in both the 400 (4th, 1:08.65 PR) and 800 (6th, 2:41.23 PR).

Ashley Andrews (3rd, 1600) and Cora Hannan (5th) continued to show consistency in the distance events, supported by Hazel Alexander and Raylee Vanderweide, who both set new bests.

The Wildkats won the 4x100 relay in 53.40 and scored heavily in the pole vault, with Soli Bullemer (1st, 11-1 PR), Shelby Norman (4th), and Emalia Hartley (6th PR) all clearing high marks. Bullemer also placed third in long jump (15-4.5 PR) and third in triple jump (32-0), while Taryn Borgen won the high jump (4-9) and tied for third in triple jump.

In the throws, Rachell Ruther placed fifth in shot put (29-4.5 PR), and Amelia Kavanagh (6th, 89-10) and Selah Heinzen (9th) added depth in javelin.

The Cats also had a great showing at the Sapphire Meet in Corvallis on April 15, racking up numerous podium finishes and personal bests across nearly every event.

The boys team placed second overall in team scoring, anchored by a stellar performance from senior Jack Phelps, who took second in both the 100 meters (11.46) and 200 meters (23.01). Phelps also ran on both the 4x100 and 4x400 relay teams, which each claimed second place finishes. He was joined by Jaydon Lapierre, Trip Ross, and Jett Brandeberry in the 4x100 (43.99) and Lapierre, Ross, and Jadon Persinger in the 4x400, where the squad posted a personal best of 3:33.05.

Columbia Falls swept the pole vault podium, with senior Oliver Kress winning the event by clearing 13-9, a personal best. Isak Soyland finished second at 12-6, and sophomore Trip Ross hit 11-6 for third. Soyland also won the long jump with a mark of 20-8.5, showcasing the team’s exceptional versatility in the jumps.

In the hurdles, freshman Miles Colliander had a breakout performance, taking first in the 300-meter hurdles with a personal best 42.39 and finishing fourth in the 110 hurdles at 17.28. Sophomore Daniel Contreras added a sixth-place finish in the 300 hurdles (48.34).

Distance events were another area of strength for the Wildcat boys. Aiyers Powell ran a personal best 4:52.14 in the 1600 to finish fifth, while David DiGiallonardo of Polson won the race. Powell returned in the 3200 to place fifth (11:02.86) behind teammate River Blazejewski, who finished third (10:30.86).

Columbia Falls also placed well in the throws. Senior Lane Voermans threw 51-1 to take second in shot put, and Easton Brooks won the triple jump with a personal best of 40-2.5. Kanen Brickert added a seventh-place long jump (18-09), and the relay depth gave Columbia Falls a substantial points boost.

On the girls side, Columbia Falls finished third in team scoring thanks to strong performances in the distance events, relays, jumps, and vaults.

Ashley Andrews and Mya Badger finished second and third in the 800 meters, both hitting season bests in one of the meet’s most exciting races. In the 1600 meters, the Wildkats piled up points with five athletes in the top six: Mila Johns (2nd, 5:37.88), Findley Dezzani (3rd, 5:39.28), Cora Hannan (4th, 5:46), and Hazel Alexander (6th, 6:09.25), many of whom set personal bests.

The 3200 meters followed a similar pattern, with Chloe Savoy (3rd, 12:09.04), Johns (4th, 12:10.60), and Dezzani (6th, 12:41.96) all finishing strong with PRs.

In the field events, Columbia Falls once again showed its depth. Soli Bullemer vaulted 11-0 to take second in the pole vault and added a second-place finish in the triple jump (33-7.5). Senior Taryn Borgen placed second in the high jump (4-10), third in the long jump (15-1.5), and fifth in the triple jump (32-2.5), all strong contributions to the team score.

Rounding out the field events, Rachel Ruther took fifth in shot put (29-1.5), and Olivia Hook was fifth in discus (92-6.5). Amelia Kavanagh added a third-place javelin throw at 93-6, setting a new personal best, while Rylee Sweeney cleared 4-8 in high jump to finish fourth.

The 4x400 girls relay of Ross, Savoy, Smith, and Andrews placed third with a season-best time of 4:18.92.