Trotters continue to sweep competition

MISSOULA - The Plains girls’ track and field team had a huge day at Missoula County Stadium on Saturday, April 26, winning the Seeley-Swan Invitational.

The Plains boys finished in 11th, with strong performances by Russell Kujala and Ben Gorham.

Hailey Phillips placed first in multiple events, leading the Trotters through their big day. Phillips took first in the 200 and 400-meter races, while also taking first in the 300-meter hurdles and the long jump. Phillips also managed to take second place in the 100-meter hurdles. She ran a 27.22 in the 200, a 60.33 in the 400 and finished the 300 hurdles with a final of 47.36. Her winning long jump was a 16-5 ½.

Leah Thompson, also had multiple first place finishes, who placed first in both discus and shot put throws, with a 130-5 and 37-6 ½ respectively.

The team’s winning score of 135, blew away the competition, with the next closest team score coming from the girls of Bigfork, who tallied a 45.

The Trotters success extended to several individual events throughout the day.

“Our throwers were super consistent and stepped up big at the meet,” Denise Montgomery, coach of the Plains Track and Field team, said.

Carley VonHeeder finished with the top throw in the javelin event, narrowly edging out her teammate with a throw of 124-9. Kimberly Earhart finished second in the event with a throw of 121-6 ½. Earhart also finished third in the 800 meter run, with a time of 2:33.35.

In the 3,200-meter distance event, Demi Horton of Plains pulled off a second place finish, with a time of 12:56.38.

In the throwing events, Kayla Holmes finished the day with a third place performance in the discus, with a throw of 109-7 and fourth place in the shot put throw, with a 33-7.

The shorter distance events featured a fourth place finish by Nicole Rehbein in the 200-meter race with a time of 27.81 and a split of third place in the 100-meter sprint, with Sarah McCollaum of Darby. They both clocked in at 13.83.

As was the case in the individual events, the Trotters performed very well in the team competitions, notching a third place finish in the 1,600 meter relay, with a team time of 4:31.75.

The girls of Plains also took first in the 400 meters, where the team of Holmes, Rehbein, Corle Morefield and Shannon Dimond posted a time of 53.67, to take home the short relay.

Montgomery noted how the weather conditions, though troublesome, would help the team as it prepares for the end of the season, adding the location of the state meet has seen troublesome weather in the past.

“The State Meet is going to be in Butte, so it was good to see our athletes handle the weather so well,” Montgomery said.

For the boys, Gorham had a very solid individual performance. Gorham took home first place in the shot put event, winning the competition with a throw of 47-2. Gorham also finished fourth in the discus, ending with a throw of 136-2.

In the running events, Russell Kujala was the standout for the Horsemen, finishing in second place during the 3,200-meter distance race. Kujala’s time was 10:48.68.

The team competed in the Top Ten meet on Tuesday.