Local athletes shine at tough Seely-Swan Invite

There were, as Thompson Falls track coach Trenna Ferris said, “29 teams and the competition was fierce.”

That, along with spring weather concerns made this year’s Seeley-Swan Invitational track and field meet, held in Missoula, a battle royale and a good measuring stick for teams from throughout the area.

Bigfork continued its winning ways in the women’s competition, taking home the team title with 85.5 points, while Frenchtown was second with 73. Superior was the top finisher among Sanders and Mineral county teams, coming in fifth with 37 team points. Noxon, buoyed by senior standout Emily Brown, was tenth, while Thompson Falls finished eleventh.

The Lady Hawks were without the services of senior distance ace Ellie Baxter, who stayed in Thompson Falls to participate in the Gary Thompson Invitational Golf Tournament where she placed second in the women’s competition. Baxter recently was named to the Top-10 All Class meet in Missoula where she will compete in the 3,200 meter run this Wednesday.

In the boys’ team competition, Missoula Loyola squeaked by runner-up Frenchtown 77.5-75 in the team title chase.

Superior’s boys were tops among local teams with 28 points, good for sixth.

Noxon’s boys, led by sophomore Ricky Williams placed 13, while Hot Springs and Plains tied for 16th place with 10 points each.

The Plains girls took seventh in the team pursuit, largely behind the discus and shot put tosses by sophomore standout Alexis Deming, who won the discus and took third in the shot put.

Superior’s girls were led by senior sprinter Isabella Pereira, who won the women’s varsity 100 meter sprint with a time of 13.11, just ahead of second place Mylia Fowler from Victor.

St. Regis girls got another good performance from freshman Jamie Kearbey, who was fifth in the 100 meter event and ninth at 200 meters.

Superior also got a first place finish in the women’s 800 meter run from sophomore Braelynn Mangold, who crossed the finish line in 2:30.32, nearly two seconds ahead of Noxon’s Brown, who was also second in the 400 meter run. Plains junior Peyton Wasson was fourth at 800 meters and teammate Alexis Helterline came in eighth for the Trotters. Thompson Falls freshman Katelyn Subatch was sixth as local runners continued to do well in the middle and long distance running events.

Thompson Falls long distance runner Faith Palmer, a junior, was third in both the 1600 and 3200 meter runs, while Wasson was sixth at 1600 for Plains.

The Trotters also got several points from freshman Kalli Tuma, who was fourth in the 100 meter hurdles with a personal best time of 17.82. She was also fourth in the 300 meter hurdles competition, posting another PR time of 52.66.

Demings throw of 11.3.50 in the discus was two feet further than weight events rival Scout Nadeau of Bigfork, who uncorked a personal record toss of 109-05. Alberton sophomore Georgia Fredette finished 16th in the discus and was 12th in the shot put.

Frenchtown junior Sadie Smith won the shot put with a throw of 39-10, while Nadeau came in third at 37.65 and Deming marked at 35-3.50.

Noxon’s Brown was third in the javelin with a throw of 111-6.50, while Thompson Falls senior Chesney Lowe was fifth with a toss of 103-08. Lowe also finished sixth in the women’s pole vault, clearing the bar at 7-06. Superior seniors Molly Patko and Payton Milender tied for eighth in the pole vault with jumps of 7 feet even.

Pereira was fourth in the pole vault at 7-6 and third in the triple jump with a hop, skip and jump of 32 feet. Thompson Falls’ Subatch was ninth in the event.

In the men’s competition, Noxon sophomore Ricky Williams was second in the high jump with a leap of 5-10, a new personal mark. St. Regis jumper Wyatt Clifford was sixth at 5-6 and Hot Springs sophomore Nick McAllister finished tied for seventh.

Williams also was second in the triple jump with a personal record jump of 41-04.50 feet. Superior’s Trizten Avila took fourth, while T Falls junior Nick Tessier was in twelfth place.

Williams also added a tie for 11th place finish in the long jump event. Blue Hawks senior Breck Ferris tied for ninth in the event. Ferris was also twelfth in the 200 meter sprint.

Superior’s men also got a second place finish in the pole vault by Lucas Kovalsky, who earlier this season posted a state qualifying mark of 12 feet. Kovalsky jumped 11-9 on Saturday, three inches behind vault winner Hayden Dempster of Lincoln.

Plains senior Mason Elliot finished third in the 110 meter hurdles, fourth in the 300 meter hurdles and seventh in the 400 meter run.

Hot Springs continued its strong showing in the hurdle events, with sophomore David Chapman coming in seventh, junior Quincy Styles-Depoe taking eighth and McAllister coming home ninth at 110 meters.

In the relay events, Superior finished third in the 4X400 race and eighth in the 4X100 meter relay. Hot Springs was ninth and Thompson Falls tenth in the 4X110.

Superior junior Jaxson Green was third in a tight group of placers in the shot put competition, won by Loyola’s Beau Meyer who heaved the iron ball 46-03. Second place went to North Star’s Gavin Clawson with a throw of 44-05, while Green put the shot 43-06. Green also added an eighth place finish in the javelin with a personal best throw of 131 feet. The Bobcats’ Wathen Reese was ninth at 127-04.

“This meet reflected what a week off for Spring Break does and what a very interrupted week of practice does for improvement and progress,” said Thompson Falls head track coach Ferris. “On the men’s side we had 12 PR’s recorded but missed out on placing in a single event. There were 29 teams and the competition was fierce”.

Local track and field individuals like Baxter and Kovalsky will be eligible to participate in this week’s Top 10/Top 8 meets in Missoula and Eureka respectively. Other teams and individuals will be headed to Whitefish this Saturday for the Open (ARM) event.