Alberton athletes move on to divisional meet in Great Falls

ALBERTON – On the eve of their high school graduation, Alberton had something else to be excited about as three of their track stars won district.  

Seniors Keir Sanzano, Andrew Lommen and Delani Hanley all finished first place in their respective events. 

Out of the 16 players who competed, 12 qualified for the upcoming divisional meet.

“I can’t believe we qualified that many kids,” said Rachael Clevenger, Alberton track coach. “That is probably the best percentage we have had in a very long time.”

Sanzano topped the 100-yard dash finishing in 11.61 seconds, and the 400-yard dash in 53.15, also a first place finish. He also won 300-hurdles with a time of 42.01 seconds. 

Lommen dominated discus, throwing 148-5 all the way to the top. Sanzano also represented Alberton in the competition placing third with a distance of 122-11. 

The day wasn’t over for Lommen who received the first place nod in shot put with 49-9.5. Sanzano backed him up again finishing third with a distance of 45-2.5.  

Not only did Hanley place first for the girls in discus, but she smashed a district record with a distance of 118-11. The previous record was 116-9 by Sandy Delo of Seeley-Swan in 1989. 

Griffin Pluth qualified in the 800-yard dash finishing sixth timing in at 2:16.82. 

As a team, the Alberton boys finished a respectable fifth with 65 points. 

In the 400-relay, the boy’s crew took fifth completing the event in 51.40 seconds. 

Although the boys beat up their competition, the girls placed in the top five in many events as well.

At the end of the day the girls had 40 points, which was strong enough for a fifth place finish.

The 400-relay proved tough as the Alberton girls finished in sixth place timing in at 58.66 seconds. 

Ryan Vicek was second in javelin with a throwing distance of 109-11. Mckayla Tomlinson competed in the same event finishing fourth while throwing 93-1.  

Hanley was back in action for shot put. Although she wasn’t the first place winner, she still had a strong finish at third throwing a distance of 31-8. 

Taylor Erdman of Alberton tied at third in the high jump with Siri Nojd of Darby. Both girls had a height of 4-6. 

Vicek hopped her way to third in the triple jump with a height of 31-5.5. 

The track team had warm weather to compete in during the week, although most runners prefer a cooler temperature. 

“I’m hoping we have a few players that will move on and qualify to go to state,” Clevenger said.

The seniors continue to run hard even though they have almost reached the end of the finish line. They graduated May 18, and will surely leave big shoes to fill at the end of the season represent much of the team. 

Alberton lived up to the hype all year being one of the best track teams in the conference. The team will move on to divisionals at Big Sky High School in Missoula, May 23. The last meet will be state hosted by Great Falls on May 30.