Local teams brave the cold at Dilly Bar Invite in Ronan

No word on how many ice cream treats were consumed, but it probably wasn’t many less than the number of Bigfork tracksters who finished in the top 10 Saturday at the Dilly Bar Invitational track meet in Ronan.

The meet, which this year drew boys and girls teams from six area high schools under winter weather watch type conditions, is named after the tradition of meet goers receiving a free Dilly Bar at the Ronan Dairy Queen after the meet.

Clearly the top team by a wide margin was Bigfork, which swept the men’s and women’s varsity titles as Valkyrie runners, jumpers and throwers had an outstanding day to say the least.

And although they did not challenge for the team titles, athletes from Superior High also had a good day as the only Class C school among the Class B dominated participants.

Bigfork’s boys racked up 208 team points to easily outdistance second place St. Ignatius (80), while the Valkyrie girls took home top team honors in women’s events by outscoring runner-up Ronan 194-111.5.

Superior’s boys scored 19 team points, while their girl counterparts amassed 43 in the team title competition.

Leading the way for the Lady Bobcats from Superior were a pair of senior throwers who chalked up first and second place finishes on the day.

Cassie Green won the shot put event with a throw of 34’4”, nearly two feet further than runner-up Scout Nadeau of Bigfork. Green then flipped places with Nadeau in the discus competition, with Nadeau’s throw of 95-8 denting the dirt almost five feet further out than Green’s heave of 90-10.

Green was also part of two Superior relay teams which finished top 5 in the 4X400 event.

And as usual, senior Sorren Reese was an easy winner in the javelin event, throwing the spear 125-9 down field, more than 15 feet further than second-place Madison Chappius of Bigfork, who recorded a throw of 109-10. Reese is headed to Carroll College next year on a track scholarship.

Reese, who has the best throw of the year so far among Class C competitors and stands third among all Montana classifications, later moved from the javelin field to the high jump pit where she picked up a second place medal with a leap of 4-8, just two inches behind event winner Inga Turner of Bigfork.

Reese also ran a leg on Superior’s 4X400 relay team.

Freshman Braelyonn Mangold also had a good day for Superior’s girls, finishing third in both the 200 meters run and the 400 meters event. Mangold added to her solid day with an eighth place finish in the long jump and a ninth place effort in the triple jump event.

Junior speedster Isabella Pereira won the triple jump for the Lady Bobcats, with a jump of 32-11, sharing first place honors with Leina Ulutna of Ronan.

Pereira also finished sixth in the women’s 100 meters sprint and ran a leg on the top 5 4X100 relay team.

Also scoring multiple points for the Lady Bobcats was sophomore Alysha Ryan, who finished third in the 300 meter hurdles and fourth in the 100 meter hurdles.

The Bobcat boys, meanwhile, were paced by multiple top 10 finishes by senior Silas Acker, who took fourth in the 400 meters run, tenth in the shot put, fifth in the javelin throw and ran on the 4X400 relay team which finished fifth.

Weightman Charlie Anderson also enjoyed a solid meet, taking home a third place medal in the discus throw and fifth place in the shot put competition.

The Bobcats also got third and fifth place in the pole vault event, with sophomore Lucas Kovalsky taking third and junior Decker Milender placing fifth.

Next up for the Superior tracksters is the Seeley Invitational this Friday and Saturday. The event is held in Missoula.