Trotters nab first at Plains track meet

The two Plains girls junior high track squads triumphed at the first track meet of the season Friday afternoon.

The Trotter A team racked up 193 points to grab first place - nearly 120 points ahead of second place Arlee Scarlets at the Plains Junior High Invitational Track Meet. The Plains B girls also finished at the top with 146 points, beating out Arlee, which accumulated 59 points at the half-day meet, which wrapped up just before 5 p.m. Friday.

One hundred and eighty-three athletes from eight schools participated in the meet, which began at noon. All but Arlee and Troy were from Sanders County. Dixon and Mission were invited but didn't show. Plains had the largest contingent of boys and girls, from sixth to eighth grade, with 48, followed by Thompson Falls, which had 10 fewer athletes. Shawni Vaught, one of three coaches for the Bluehawks and Lady Hawks, said they had only seventh- and eighth-graders, but she'd like the school to extend the players to sixth-graders to give them more experience at track before high school. Vaught mainly coaches the throwing sports, including her daughter Allison Vaught, who finished first with a 71-foot, 2-inch turbo javelin throw and fourth place with a 23-foot, 2-inch shot put. The Thompson Falls girls B team finished in third place with 46 points. The Trout Creek Eagles took fourth with 42 points, followed by Troy at 39, Paradise, 30, Hot Springs, 26, and Noxon with eight points.

The athletes in each boys and girls class competed in nine running, three throwing and two jumping events, finishing up the competition with the 400-meter and the 1,600-meter relay races.

In the girls A arena, The Noxon Lady Red Devils took third with 68 points. The T-Falls girls finished fourth with 39 points and Troy had four points. Hot Springs, Paradise and Trout Creek didn't get any points in the girls A competition.

The Troy Knights took first place in the boys A competition with 148 points. Thompson Falls finished in second with 97 and Plains third with 78. Hot Springs took fourth with 56 points, Arlee 39, and Noxon and Trout Creek tied with 16 points apiece. Paradise scored no points. Bluehawk Hawk Fratzke finished the day with three first places. He crossed the 100-meter dash finish line at 12.72, the 200-meter dash in 27.06, and threw the turbo javelin for 131 feet, 10 inches. He was also a member of the school's relay teams, which finished first in both distances.

Robert Earhart of the Horsemen took two firsts. He finished the 400-meter dash in 1:04.71 and the 800-meter run in 2:36.78. Earhart was a member of the 400-meter relay team, which took second place.

Drew Payne, a member of the Hot Springs Savage Heat boys A team, took first place with a 16-foot, 6 1/4-inch long jump. He also finished at the top with a high jump of 5 feet, 6 inches.

The Bluehawks B team battled their way to first place with 154 points, 37 points higher than the second place Horsemen, co-coached by Denny Starkey and Sandy Revier again this year.

In the boys B competition, Trout Creek Eagle Johnny Carter walked away with three firsts. In the shot put, he tossed the metal ball 31 feet, 9 1/2 inches. He heaved the discus 98 feet, 2 1/2 inches. And at the turbo jav, Carter finished with a throw of 133 feet, 3 inches. He also took sixth place with a high jump of 4 feet.

Trout Creek took third place in the boys B with 38 points, followed by Paradise at 31, Hot Springs 24, Arlee and Noxon with 20, and Troy at the end with 11 points.

For the Bluehawks B team, Devin Hendry took first in the 200-meter hurdles with a finish of 36.75. He also took the 400-meter dash at 1:11.59 and first at the 110-meter hurdles at 20.62. The Thompson Falls relay team finished first in the 1,600-meter relay, but in the 400-meter relay, first was the Plains team. Horseman Kolby Chisholm chalked up first in the 100- and 200-meter dashes, 13.31 and 29.38, respectively. He also took third in the 110-meter hurdles, finishing at 21.22, and tied Jon Baker, also of Plains, with a 4-foot, 4-inch high jump.

First in the high jump went to Thompson Falls' Dominique Holt, who achieved a distance of 4 feet, 8 inches. Holt took second in the 100-meter dash at 13.78, and second in the 200 at 30.40.

Noxon's Brandon Piazzola finished first with a long jump of 13 feet, 9 inches. Piazzola also took fifth in the 100-meter dash at 15.03.

First at the 800-meter run was Plains Horseman Garrett Horton, crossing the line at 2:59.47. Horton took sixth in the long jump at 11 feet, 3 inches. First in the 1,600-meter run was Travis Hart of the Bluehawks with a finish of 6:20.00. Hart took second in the 800 at 3:01.50.

In girls A action, Sierra Abromeit left the field with four firsts, including as a team member of the 400-meter run, which finished at 59.75 in front of Arlee. Abromeit crossed the 100-meter line in 14.72, the 200 line in 32.34, and won the 400-meter with a time of 1:13.50. Teammate Nicole Kunzer took three firsts - as part of the 1,600-meter relay team at 5:46.12, shot put at 25 feet, 5 inches, and the discus at 77 feet, 3 inches. Kunzer also took fourth in the 100-meter dash at 15.56.

Trotter Kelsey Beagley took first in the 100-meter hurdles, with a finish time of 20.06, and in the long jump, with a distance of 13 feet, 10 inches. Diamond LaDeaux, also of Plains, had two firsts. She threw the turbo javelin for 83 feet, 3 inches and finished the 800-meter run in 3:16.72. And teammate Kayla Revier finished with a first with a 24-foot long triple jump. She also took sixth with a 10-foot, 10-inch long jump.

Noxon Lady Red Devil Cara Stettler took first in the 1,600-meter run, finishing at 6:55.68. Stettler also took sixth with a 15.81 100-meter dash and was part of the third place 400-meter relay team, which finished at 1:03.91.

In the girls B contest, Ashley Holmes took first in the 100 dash, finishing at 14.93. She took home a third in the 200-meter dash at 33.47, second in the 100-meter hurdles at 20.19, and second in the 200-meter hurdles at 37.82. Teammate Felicia Earhart took first in the 1,600-meter run at 6:26.29. Earhart and Holmes were part of the 400-meter relay, which took first at 1:03.09. Earhart was also a member of the 1,600-meter relay, which took first with a time of 6:04.49. Plains' Jessica Hansen was also a part of both relays and she took second in the 100 dash at 15.47 and 200 dash at 32.69, and third with a 11-foot, 3 1/2-inch long jump.

Acacia Eaton of the Trout Creek Eagles finished with a first place in the shot put, throwing for 25 feet, 10 inches. Eaton also nabbed fifth in the discus at 49 feet, 8 inches, sixth in the high jump at 3 feet, 6 inches, and was part of the third place 400-meter relay team at 1:15.00.

The only Hot Springs first placer in the girls B competition was Alex Green, who threw the discus for 65 feet, 7 1/2 inches. Green also picked up fourth with a turbo toss of 58 feet, 6 inches, and fifth with a high jump of 3 feet, 6 inches.

The next junior high track meet was scheduled for Noxon, but because the field is still under snow, it was moved to Thompson Falls, however, because the T-Falls field is too wet, the meet now will be at Plains Friday at noon. Hot Springs will host the April 18 junior high invite, which will begin at 9 a.m.