Two win at top 10 track meet

Two county track stars proved they could not only compete with the best track athletes western Montana has to offer, but they could also beat them.

Last Tuesday, underneath a clear, blue sky at the Missoula County Stadium, Thompson Falls senior Brian Schenavar and Plains senior Ashton Vulles both won their events at the 10th annual Russ Pilcher Western Montana Top 10 track meet. The Russ Pilcher track meet brings together the best athletes from schools, regardless of class, across western Montana by selecting the 10 athletes who have had the best time, distance or height in their event at tournaments this year.

Schenavar not only won the pole vault, he also broke his own school record of 14 feet, 3 inches he set last year. After being the only one who could clear the bar at 14 feet, 6 inches, Schenavar set his sights on breaking the Class B state record of 14 feet, 9 1/4 inches set by Cascade’s Andrew Castle in 2002. Instead of just settling on breaking the record, Schenavar set the bar at 15 feet, the height he set out to reach at the beginning of the track season.

Although Schenavar failed in his three attempts to get over the 15-foot bar, he said it was the first time he had tried it at that height and he thinks it should be able to do it before the year’s out. Schenavar also thinks he can reach another of his season goals, winning the state championship. Schenavar’s 14-feet, 6-inch vault Tuesday was the highest in Class B this year. A foot higher than Huntley-Project’s Eric Buer’s vault.

Schenavar’s vault was also a foot higher than any of the six competitors he went against Tuesday. Schenavar, who finished third in the state last year, said it felt good knowing that he had just beaten the best, but it was no time to rest on his laurels. “It’s an honor, but then again there’s always the next track meet, so you have to come prepared to that,” Schenavar said.

Win or lose, Schenavar said it was a privilege to just compete at the meet. “It’s what I’ve been shooting for, every year since I’ve been a freshman,” he said. Schenavar said he was ranked 11th and barely missed out on the Top Ten meet when he was a sophomore, but made sure he was selected to it his junior year. “I used it as motivation,” he said.

A sore back couldn’t keep Vulles from off the top of the leaderboard in the javelin. Sore back and all, Vulles had a throw of 125 feet, 10 inches to beat the nine other competitors in the event. Three years of competing at the Russ Pilcher meet couldn’t diminish Vulles’ passion for the tournament. “It’s pretty exciting; you’re competing against the best in western Montana,” Vulles said. “To be able to beat that level of competition is thrilling,” she said.

“I’m usually around 130 feet,” she said. Vulles said that she tweaked her back at the beginning of the season and hasn’t fully recovered yet. Vulles’ throw Tuesday was nearly three feet further than the second-place finisher, Butte’s Kalli McCloskey’s throw, but over two feet shorter of Vulles’ best throw this year. Vulles’ mark of 128 feet, 1 inch earlier in the season is the best throw in the girls’ javelin in Montana this year, but still short of what she is capable of.

Last year at the district tournament, Vulles set the Plains record and the district record with a throw of 135 feet, 6 inches. Vulles said by the end of the year she should be able to reach this distance again. “I’m pretty competitive, so I think I can,” she said. Vulles also thinks she’ll be able to improve on her sixth-place finish at the state tournament.

Sanders County took 12 athletes to the meet; Thompson Falls had seven; Plains had four and Hot Springs had one. The lone Savage Heat Randi Arnold jumped 14 feet, 5 inches to finish in eighth place in the long jump. Hot Springs coach Dustin Herbert said it was an honor for Arnold to compete at the tournament and he didn’t know how long it had been since Hot Springs had anyone qualify for the tournament.

Bluehawk Jason Flemmer was competing in his second Russ Pilcher tournament and finished in third place in the javelin with a throw of 176 feet, 3 inches. Horseman sophomore Dillon Fryxell finished in fourth place in the high jump with a jump of six feet. Bluehawk senior Jason Shaw, competing in his first Russ Pilcher, had a throw of 49 feet, 3 inches to finish in fifth place in the shot put. “It was definitely something I wanted to do,” Shaw said. He said that the level of competition was pretty high.

Plains brothers Mitch and Trent Thompson both finished in sixth place. Mitch, a junior, had a throw of 166 feet, 3 inches in the javelin and Trent, a sophomore, had a throw of 151 feet, 11 inches in the discus.

Competing in his third Top Ten tournament, Bluehawk senior Shane Donaldson finished in ninth in the 3,200-meter run and seventh in the 1,600-meter run with a time of four minutes and 37.6 seconds. Lady Hawk long distance runner Beca Gunderson was competing in her second Russ Pilcher tournament and finished in eighth place in the 1,600-meter run with a time of five minutes and 41.6 seconds. Bluehawk senior Mike Morris shaved about three seconds off of his personal best time in the 800-meter run, finishing in ninth with a time of two minutes and five seconds. Thompson Falls’ Rheanna Padden finished in ninth place in the javelin with a throw of 113 feet, 10 inches. “Not so hot,” is how Padden described her day. Her personal best distance in the javelin is 123 feet, 7 inches, which is the third farthest throw in the girls’ javelin in Montana this year.

About 300 athletes competed in 34 events at the meet. Russ Pilcher, who coached track at Big Sky for 20 years, said that it was the most athletes that had competed at the meet in its 10-year history. He said he thinks the level of competition is what keeps the athletes coming back. “The best thing about this meet is that you have Class C, Class B, Class A, Class AA kids going head-to-head against each other. Those kids love that kind of competition,” Pilcher said.

He said the meet is like the state tournament, where only the best can compete. “You have the 10 best athletes in western Montana, lined up against each other to see who’s the best on the track on that given day,” Pilcher said. “You don’t often get that chance,” he added.