Cats make their mark at state
Lane Voermans with his state A winning throw in the discus Friday.
The Columbia Falls boys and girls track and field teams closed out their season with several different standout performances at the Class A State Championships at Legends Stadium May 24-25.
On the boys side, Columbia Falls tallied 55 points to place fourth overall in a highly competitive team race. On the track, the Wildcats were led by senior sprinter Jack Phelps, who sprinted his way to silver and bronze in the state finals.
Phelps placed second in the 100 meters with a time of 11.34 seconds, just behind Frenchtown’s Cole Zeigler, who won in 11.14. Phelps followed that up with a fourth-place finish in the 200, clocking 22.60 and fourth in the 400.
In the field events, Columbia Falls got a massive boost from Lane Voermans, who uncorked a throw of 175 feet, 5 inches in the discus on his first attempt Friday to claim the state title.
“I really just focused on getting a decent mark, and it went a little bit farther than I thought it was going to for sure,” Voermans said. “After that, you can go for it.”
Voermans returned Saturday with a sixth-place finish in the shot put, landing a throw of 51-6.
Joining Voermans in the scoring column was teammate Joe West, who took sixth in the javelin with a mark of 163-1. In the triple jump, Columbia Falls added more points with a fourth-place showing from Stanley Stremick (43-4) and a sixth from Easton Brooks (42-5).
Stremick took second in the long jump (21-2) and Brooks was fourth (20-6).
In the high jump, Banyan Johnston was one of five athletes who cleared 6 feet to take fourth.
The Wildcats’ 4x400 relay team also reached the podium, finishing fifth in a loaded field with a time of 3:28.78.
In the team standings, Corvallis edged Frenchtown 76-75 for the boys team championship. Laurel was third with 64 points.
On the girls side, Columbia Falls scored 17 points to tie for 12th place in the team race. The Wildkats were anchored by junior Maddy Barker, who placed second in the triple jump with a leap of 35-5.5.
Rylee Sweeney cleared 5-0 in the high jump to finish fourth in a tightly contested event. Grace Sliman of Whitefish won with a height of 5-4.
Columbia Falls’ Chloe Savoy turned in a strong performance in the 800 meters, finishing sixth in 2:21.18. The middle-distance race featured blistering times, with Miles City’s Peyton Frame taking first in 2:12.35.