Superior Bobcats meet the competition in Ronan
<p>Wyatt Zylawy, Nathan Lapinski and Bridger Lapierre jump between holes in a rope ladder during warm ups before a practice session for Superior's track and field team.</p>
SUPERIOR – In the ancient tradition of the Greeks, the Superior Bobcats opened their track and field season with a meet in Ronan.
The team had a small presence at the meet. Of the 20 athletes on the team, only five participated. According to Head Coach Jamie Toivenen, most of the kids had not met the 10 practice requirement to compete. A few others had left for spring break early or had other engagements.
“I would say about three fourths of our team didn’t actually participate and we held a couple for injuries,” Toivenen said.
Toivenen wished there could have been more kids competing in the meet. Those who did compete did well. The coach said the throwers had an especially strong day.
Sophomore Emily Riddle almost qualified for the finals in discus but came just short of qualifying. Senior Alex Billet was also noted for his performance with the shot put and discus. The other competitors did well but did not make it to the finals.
The javelin competition was cancelled due to safety concerns. According to Toivenen, Ronan had lots of rain the night before and the field had large pools of standing water in places. It was decided not to risk anyone’s safety by throwing javelins on slippery grass.
“We don’t want them to get hurt this early in the season,” Toivenen said. “Especially when we know they can potentially make it to state and stuff.”
The competition was a little intimidating. Toivenen said the kids needed a moment to get over the nerves. She recalled there were approximately 14 teams at the competition, some of which had lots of athletes. The athlete’s anxiety is expected to get better as the season progresses.
The coach said she was pleased with how the first meet went. She said the team was young but had some good experience.
The boy’s team has a number of juniors and seniors who almost went to state last year. While the girl’s team did go to state, they also lost a number of strong athletes, including all their state competitors. The loss was not enough to slow the coach down.
“I’m expecting some great things out of them this year,” Toivenen said. “They have some big shoes to fill but we have some great athletes and I expect all of them are going to do good throughout the season.”
In the two weeks leading up to the next meet, the Superior team will continue to practice their skills across the board. Toivenen was confident the team would be at full strength by the competition.
Because the school is on spring break, Superior’s next meet will not be for two weeks. The next competition will be in Hot Springs on Thursday, April 10. Then, on Saturday April 12, they will go to Kellogg Idaho for another meet. Toivenen was looking forward to this competition because Idaho has different track and field events than Montana. She felt it would be fun to try something new.