Bobcat takes championship

The Superior Bobcats sent some of their best track athletes to Helena this weekend to battle through the cold and rain and one came home with a gold medal.

Tyler Stenberg blew his competitors away by more than half a foot to take first place in the triple jump with a distance of 43 feet, 3/4 of an inch.

“He’s been thinking and preparing for this all year long,” said Superior coach Dan Lucier.

Dan Lucier said that Stenberg made this a goal for himself early on in the year and has been working hard to do well at state. “This was not something that he won by chance,” Dan Lucier said. DanLucier has been working with Stenberg all season long and said that he was a pleasure to coach. “He’s just one of those kids that does everything you tell him to do exactly how you tell him to do it,” Dan Lucier said.

Bobcats head coach Tori Lucier said that Stenberg had been reaching 43 feet in practice, but it was not until he got to state that he finally reached that distance in competition. She added that Stenberg sealed the deal by jumping 43 feet even on his next jump that day. “He was so determined. The weather was horrible and he didn’t let that affect him one bit,” Tori Lucier said.

Last week, Stenberg took first place in the triple jump at the Western Division C track meet with a distance of 42 feet, 5 1/2 inches. “Tyler taking first just topped everything off,” said Tori Lucier. Overall, the Superior boys took 12th place with 11 points. The Lady Bobcats did not place anyone in the top five at the meet, so they didn’t have any points.

Weston Super took sixth place in the shot put with a distance of 47 feet, 2 1/2 inches. Tori Lucier also mentioned that Brian Labbe took ninth place in the shot put and Jake Higgins took 10th in the discus. She added that she thought the throwing surfaces in Helena were terrible and rain only made them slicker.

Shelby Cooper took seventh place in both the 100-meter dash and the 200-meter dash. Tori Lucier said that she is really looking forward to coaching Cooper and Labbe next year and that they both have the potential to do extremely well in state.

“The weather was so bad and some of them got nervous and tried too hard. They’ll do better the next time they’re there,” Tori Lucier said.

In order to get to state, athletes had to place fifth or better in the Western Division C track meet at Big Sky High School the previous weekend. Tori Lucier said they took 15 of the 16 athletes that qualified to the meet.

“You never know at state whether or not they’re going to do well, but I think we’ve got some awesome potential for next year,” Tori Lucier said.

Stenberg will also be returning to Superior, to try for his third trip to the state championships.