Local teams post fast times at Bigfork Invite

It was, to say the least, a pretty good week of sports for Thompson Falls senior Ellie Baxter.

Friday, she signed a letter of intent to attend Carroll College on a basketball scholarship. Earlier that day she fired a 90 over 18 holes in her first golf meet of the season in Eureka.

Saturday, Baxter journeyed to Bigfork where she won the 1,600 meters run, the 3,200 meters run and ran the anchor leg for the Lady Hawks first place 4X400 meters relay.

Not bad, eh?

Baxter’s feats helped the Thompson Falls girls continue their impressive early season track and field showing, as they took third place in the team standings at the Bigfork Invitational track and field meet.

The host Bigfork Valkyries continued their dominating Class B high school season, winning their home meet Saturday and adding it to their state B basketball championship and another outstanding volleyball season last Fall.

Bigfork amassed 94 points, topping the 81 by second place Whitefish, while T-Falls was third with 54 points.

That was the identical amount of points scored by the Blue Hawks men’s team, which placed fourth in the team standings in Bigfork. Loyola of Missoula came out on top of the men’s competition with 119 points.

Plains boys team, meanwhile continued their solid early season start with a sixth place team finish, while Hot Springs had 22 points for 10th place, nosing out Superior’s men, who had 21.75 points.

Superior’s girls, behind the sprinting and triple jumping of senior standout Isabella Pereira, who earlier this year signed a track scholarship to run the 110 meters dash for Whitworth College (Spokane) this coming Fall was ninth in the team chase, while the Plains Trotters came in tenth.

Pereira won the triple jump with a hop, skip and jump of 33 feet 3.75 inches, a new personal record. She finished fourth in the 100 meters run and fifth in the 200 meters run, and added a sixth place showing in the pole vault to wrap up her day.

Superior’s girls also got a first place medal in the 800 meters run, while teammate Haley Kruger finished eighth Mangold’s winning time of 2:23.80 was a new personal record.

In addition to Baxter’s win at 3200 meters, Lady Hawks teammates Faith Palmer was second at 3200 meters and eighth in the 1600 meters run.

The Lady Hawks also got a strong day out of senior Chesney Lowe, who was third in the javelin with a throw of 107-05, fourth in pole vaulting with a jump of 7-6 and seventh in the long jump with a leap of 14-4. Teammate Katelyn Subatch, a freshman, was 11th.

Trinity Riffle was third in the high jump for the Lady Hawks.

Plains girls, meanwhile got another outstanding performance from sophomore Alexis Deming, who won the women’s discus event with a throw of 112-05, six feet better than runnerup Scout Nadeau of host Bigfork.

Nadeau turned the tables in the shot put competition, taking first with a heave of 37-5.5, while Deming was second at 36-feet even.

The Trotters also picked up team points in the middle distance running events as Peyton Wasson came in fourth at 800 meters, while teammate Alexis Helterline was sixth. Wasson was ninth in the 1600 meters run.

Hot Springs women had a pair of top 15 finishes in the discus throw as Georgia Uski came in tenth and Kara Christensen was thirteenth.

In the men’s competition Breck Ferris had another solid meet for T Falls, winning the high jump by clearing 5-8. He also placed third in the 100 meters dash with a time of 11.83. Braxton Dorscher was sixth in the 200 meters for the Blue Hawks and teamed with Ferris as part of the Blue Hawks sixth place 4X100 meters event.

Cael Thilmony, who earlier in the weekend shot a 94 for the T Falls boys golf team, won the Bigfork 3200 meters with a personal best time of 11:39.78. Teammate Brock Ryan was fifth.

Plains got a first place finish from senior Mason Elliot in the 300 meters run and a second place medal in the 110 meters run to lead the Horsemen. He was also second in the 800 meters run and in the 400 meters run.

Hot Springs hurdler Nick McAllister, a sophomore, was second in the 300 meters hurdles and second in the men’s high jump. McAllister finished seventh in the 110 meters hurdles.

Superior eighth grader Landon Richards, a 6-4 foot 14 year old, tied for fourth in the high jump with a leap of 5-6. Another Superior underclassman, sophomore Trizten Avila took fifth in the 200 meters sprint with a time of 25.07.

Several local teams, including St. Regis, Alberton, Hot Springs and Superior will be taking part in the Darby/Florence Invitational this Wednesday the 12th, while Thompson Falls, Plains and Noxon will be heading to Libby Saturday, April 15 for the Libby Invitational. Superior will also be competing in the Dilly Bar Invitational this Saturday in Ronan.