St. Regis track places high, but no wins in final

ST. REGIS – Gabby Moeller and Arianna Jones were the top two players that Head Coach Maury Johnston took with him to state. 

However, Moeller and Jones’ performance during the May 30-31 event wasn’t enough to take home the gold, but they placed high enough to attract the attention of their coach.

“I told both of them that the best thing we can do is go to state and put yourself in the best position to win,” Johnston said.

The weather was hot for all competitors. There was no shortage of sun in Great Falls as it beat down on the players for the duration of the meet.

Moeller competed for the girls in high jump, and narrowly missed the first place slot.

She finished in a second place tie with Bethany Lacock of Hinsdale. Both girls jumped five feet. 

Johnston explained that every time a player misses the mark in high jump that counts as a miss. With the tie, the player who has the least amount of misses takes the higher placement.

Moeller didn’t have a jump over five feet the whole season.

“Even though Gabby came up a little short, she did her best and that’s all you can ask for,” Johnston said. 

In javelin, Jones finished in third place with a distance of 121-2. 

Despite finishing below the top spot at state, Jones took first place in many of the team meets this season. 

Johnston said that Jones has had a few talks about possibly playing javelin in college.

“By the time you get to the end of the year you want to be in position to do your best,” Johnston said.

Overall, the girls finished the meet with a total of 13 points on 17 scored events.

The season went well for St. Regis. Jones ended up in second place in the top ten overall standings for Class C girls in javelin with an average throw of 125-2. 

In district, Jones set a new school record in javelin throwing a distance of 130-5.

Moeller was fourth overall in season standings for her high jump that she averaged a height of five feet.

“Overall, I was real pleased and they were too,” Johnston said. “This year was definitely a success for us. Every year we’ve gone to state we have had a lot of success.” 

Johnston said he is already looking forward to the spring of 2015 as a large eighth grade class means more track competitors will enter as freshmen.

“Next year, I’m going to end up with three or four girls and boys from the eighth grade class,” Johnston said. “We should have a bigger team with 10-12 kids.”

A bigger roster means more team-oriented competition instead of individual. Johnston thinks there are some talented players who will be ready to compete next season.

“We never even had enough kids to have a relay,” Johnston said. “With a small team you have to work toward individual stuff.”