Hawk does it again

A small crowd gathered at the pole vaulting site during the 8B District Track Tournament at Kalispell Saturday. Most of the converging spectators were Thompson Falls athletes there to cheer on one of their own. Brian Schenavar had already secured first place at the pole vault with a height of 14 feet, 3 inches. Now the senior wanted to clear 15 feet to break his own record of 14 feet, 10 inches.

On the first try, he went below the bar. He smashed into the bar on the second attempt, but on the third he cleared it without a problem, setting a school and district record. The crowd cheered as he landed, but he was up in no time — all smiles. He had done what he set out to do in his final high school year.

Schenavar tried a 15-foot, 3-inch vault a few minutes later. He nearly made it on the third attempt, but hit the bar with his foot on the way down. “I thought I had it,” said Schenavar, who added that he’s looking to divisionals next week at Missoula to break his record once again.

Five of the top six placers in the boys pole vault were Thompson Falls Bluehawks. Third place went to Dylan Peterson of Eureka with a 10-foot, 10-inch vault, the same as Mike Kidwiler and Steve Block, both of Thompson Falls. Bluehawk coach Andrew Gideon had shaved a smiley face and the number 15 into the back of his head in support of Schenavar.

His 10 points for first place helped catapult the Thompson Falls team to a 228-point first place at the district competition, held at Flathead High School’s Legends Field. The Eureka Lions took second, 82 points behind the Bluehawks. Third went to the Troy Trojans with 77 points and in fourth were the Plains boys at 69.

One hundred and twelve boys and girls from the four teams competed in the 10 running, four jumping and three throwing events, which ran from 10 a.m. to after 5 p.m.

Schenavar also grabbed third place in the 110-meter hurdles, fourth in the 300 hurdles and fourth in the long jump. Of the 44 Thompson Falls athletes, 19 of the boys placed in the top five spots to qualify for divisional competition at Missoula’s Big Sky Friday and Saturday. Thirteen Lady Hawks also qualified for divisionals.

The Thompson Falls girls team also finished at the top with 215 points. The Lady Lions took second at 179 points, followed by the Plains Trotters in third with 69 points and Troy in last at 31.

The Lady Hawks also took five of the top six places at the pole vault with Rheanna Padden in first at 8 feet, 4 inches. Third place went to Eureka’s Bailey Johnson at 7 feet, 10 inches. Delcie Peters of Thompson Falls took second. Teammate Jeffreyanne Parker took fourth, followed by Kelly Butler and Mariah Naegeli in fifth and sixth.

The Bluehawks chalked up first place in six events. Shane Donaldson took first in the 1,600-meter run, crossing the finish line at 4:39.87, and finished the 3,200-meter run in first at 10:31.83. Thompson Falls took the first four places in the 1,600 run, giving the team another 28 points.

Senior Jason Shaw of Thompson Falls muscled out a first place with a shot put throw of 51 feet, 10 inches. Bluehawk Mike Morris finished first in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:08.23. He was followed by three teammates in second, third and fourth. Thompson Falls also took first in the 4X100 relay and second in the 4X400 relay races.

The Lady Hawks had six first places with Beca Gunderson taking two firsts and a second. Gunderson crossed the 1,600-meter finish line at 5:54.50 and the 3,200 run at 13:11.11. Her second place was in the 800 run.

Padden also took first in the 100-meter hurdles, crossing the line at 16.94 and first with a 111-foot, 10-inch javelin throw, beating Trotter Ashton Vulles by a mere eight inches. Padden also took second in the 400 dash and third in the long jump.

First place in the 300-meter hurdles went to Lady Hawk Jeffreyanne Parker, who finished at 54.55.

The Trotters had a dozen placements at the meet. Roselynn Sheehan had the most with second place at the high jump at 4 feet, 6 inches, fourth in the 400-meter dash, and fifth at the 100 hurdles.

Zoe Banovich, also with Plains, placed fifth in the 1,600-meter and the 3,200-meter runs. Abbie Starkey took second in both the 100 and 300 hurdles. And Emma Ehret took second in the shot put and at the discus.

For the Horsemen, Dillon Fryxell was the only first placer after clearing the high jump bar at 6 feet, 2 inches. He attempted a 6-foot, 4-inch jump, but couldn’t do it. Fryxell also took sixth in the 400-meter dash.

Plains’ Elijah Necessary finished the day with two second places, barely getting beat out at both events by Presley Armstrong of Eureka. Darin Anderson, also a Horseman, finished with a fourth place in the 3,200-meter run. Kyle Steinebach took fifth in the 300 hurdles.

The Thompson boys made their mark again at the meet. Trent Thompson grabbed third with a shot put of 43 feet 7 1/2 inches, followed by his brother, Mitch Thompson, with a throw of 42 feet, 11 3/4 inches. In the discus, Trent took third at 152 feet, 2 inches, while Mitch finished third at 132 feet, 3 inches. Trent took third in the javelin with a throw of 171 feet, 6 inches; Mitch finished sixth at 161 feet, 9 1/2 inches.

Ethan Harvey of Plains nabbed a fourth place in the discus with a throw of 145 feet, 4 1/2 inches.

Plains took fourth in the 4X400 relay race.

Divisional competition Friday begins with the field events at 2 p.m. and running at 3 p.m. On Saturday, field events start at 10 a.m. and running at 11 a.m. The state finals are scheduled for May 23-24 at Bozeman.