Superior starts season strong

Boys finish third; girls finish in eighth

It may be a new track season, but it was the same familiar faces atop of the leaderboard at the first track meet of the season.

At the Drummond/Alberton Invitational Thursday at the Dornblaser Field in Missoula it was last year's stars finishing in first place for the three county schools.

David Repke and Tyler Stenberg finished in first for the Bobcats, Alberton's James Wemple, who took third in state in the long jump, finished first in the event and Ryanne Burklund, the Tiger's only athlete who went to state last year, was St. Regis' highest finisher, placing third in the javelin.

While it never is a surprise to see Repke's name at the top of the scorer's sheet, the event he finished first in was a little surprising. Last year, Repke specialized in the long distance runs and competed in the 800 at the state tournament. Thursday, the senior must have traded in his long distance shoes for his sprinting shoes. Repke finished first in the 400-meter dash with a time just under 52 seconds.

“He's really came a long way athletically,” said Superior coach Tori Lucier about Repke. She said his goal this year is to break the school record of 49.75 seconds in the event. “He's pretty determined. If he stays healthy I'm sure he's going to get it,” she said.

Stenberg, who went to state last year in the triple jump, didn't waste anytime warming up this year. The sophomore finished in first in the triple jump with a distance of 41 feet, 4 inches. “That's a very good start,” said Lucier. She said last year Stenberg's farthest jump was 41 feet, 3 3/4 inches.

Alberton junior James Wemple started this year, where he left off last year. Wemple's winning distance of 20 feet, 6 3/4 inches broke his school record he set last year. “He's doing very well at this moment,” said Panther coach Rachael Clevenger. She said there is no telling what distance Wemple can achieve if “his legs hold up.”

Burklund also broke a school record that she had set last year. The senior's distance of 108 feet, 9 inches was far enough for a third place finish. Burklund went to the state tournament in the javelin last year. “I don't see any reason why she won't go again,” said first-year Tiger coach Gena Ferlan.

“I was really pleased with the results. You never know what to expect the first meet out,” said Lucier. The Bobcats boys' team were able to score 50 points to finish in third place and the girls scored 20 point to finish eighth. “I think we're a force to be reckoned with,” she said.

One Bobcat who got off to a fast start was Shelby Cooper. Cooper finished won the 200-meter dash with a time of 28.25 seconds. The sophomore also came in fourth in the 100.

“Overall I'm pleased with their results,” said Clevenger. She said although not a lot of her 31 athletes placed at the meet, most of them had good times and marks for the first tournament. She said the Panthers' are a young team and should be strong by divisionals.

Ferlan said that even though Burklund was the only Tiger to place at the meet, she saw a lot of potential in the other six competitors at the meet.

Eighteen teams competed at the meet. Thompson Falls won the boys' events with a score of 80 points. They were followed by Salmon, who finished with 66 points. Alberton scored 16 points and finished in 12th. Darby scored 106 points to win the girls' events. Florence followed with 75 points and Charlo finished in third. Alberton and St. Regis each finished with six points to finish in 14th place.

Superior will travel to Missoula Big Sky for the Missoula County Invitational Saturday. The Tigers' next track meet is April 17 at Charlo and Alberton is off until April 18, when they travel to Hot Springs. The Panthers will go to Missoula the next day for the Seeley Invite.