Avila leads Bobcats in strong team performance at divisional meet

It would be an understatement indeed to say Superior senior Trizten Avila had a “good” day at this past weekend’s Western Divisional track and field meet in Missoula. 

Avila and his Superior Bobcats teammates finished third in the team standings and the Lady Bobcats were second in the girls' team standings that were swept by Loyola’s boys’ and girls' teams which both placed first. 

A pretty good day overall for District 13C athletes during the two-day event held at the Missoula County Public Schools stadium at Big Sky High. 

Loyola ran away with both team titles, with the women piling up 117 team points to outdistance Superior, which had 74 points.  In the men's team chase, Loyola amassed 143 points, well ahead of runner-up Florence-Carlton which had 100.   The Superior boys tied for third with Darby at 61 points. 

Avila had a monster day for the Bobcats, opening his assault on the sprints with a win in the 400-meter event on day one.  Avila broke the tape in the 400 at the 50.96 mark, tying the meet record set last year by Florence’s Isaac Bates, who was second this year (51.05).  Plains senior Darren Standeford was seventh (52.14). 

On day two, Avila won both the 100-meter and 200-meter sprints, crossing the finish line of the 100-meter event with a meet-record time of 11.25.  The old record belonged to Florence’s Issac Bates, who was second this year (11.31).  Plains sprinter Luciano Ferranti was fourth (11.47). 

In the 200-meter sprint, Avila broke another of Bates’ records when he broke the tape at 22.72, bettering the record Bates set last year of 22.99.  Bates was fifth this year, while Ferranti and Standeford were seventh and eighth respectively. 

For good measure, Avila ran the anchor leg on Superior’s third place 4X100 relay team and seventh-place 4X400 meter team. Plains was sixth in the 4X100 relay. 

Superior sophomore Landon Richards won the high jump with a leap of 6-2, just ahead of T Falls senior Ian Myers, who jumped 6-0.  Cooper Meredith from Plains was tied for seventh at 5-6. Myers was also third in the men’s javelin with a throw of 144-10, while teammate Brylon VanElswyk placed fifth (139-05.  Loyola’s Joe Grunow won the javelin with a meet record throw of 168-10. 

Thompson Falls senior Braedon Ferris won the men’s discus event, hurling the plate a meet-record 159-05, while runner-up Ryan Sharbono was second at 158-03.  Plains senior Caleb Lakko was seventh (122-05). 

Ferris was third in the shot put with a heave of 42-11.50, a new personal best.  Florence’s Bridger Alexander won the event with a put of 49-04.  T Falls senior Gabe Hutton was fifth (42-00.05), while Blue Hawks teammate Zack Ames placed eighth (40-04.00). 

Superior also got points in the pole vault, where sophomore Gannon Quinlan and George Hanson both cleared personal best heights of 12-0 to finish tied for second and fourth respectively.  Hank Stone of T Falls was seventh (10-06).  

Owen Oliver of Loyola won the pole vault with a jump of 12-6) 

Quinlan and Hanson were also tenth and eleventh in the long jump, which was won by Darby’s McCoy Townsend (21-04). 

Plains sophomore Cody West was third in the men’s 300-meter hurdles (43.08) and fourth in the 110-meter hurdles (16.14).  Loyola’s Nolan Lee won both hurdle events.  Landon Richards of Superior was fifth in both events, while Plains sophomore Cooper Meredith was sixth in the 110-meter event and eighth in the 300-meter hurdles. 

Plains also got points from its young, talented distance runners, with freshman John Jermyn placing third in the 1600-meter run (4:33.51) and seventh in the 800-meter run (2:08.59). Horsemen teammates Cord Greer, also a freshman, was eighth (2:10.16) and Kalem Ercanbrack (2:14.92) was ninth. 

Plains’ Mike Reistroffer (10:34.53) was fourth in the 3200-meter run (10:34.53). 

In the women’s competition, Plains senior Alexis Deming won her third straight discus title with a throw of 120-03, well ahead of second-place Lexi Lunceford of Deer Lodge (111-11).  Superior’s Juliette Evans was third (101-0). 

Deming made it another weight sweep when she won the shot put with a throw of 36-02.50. Evans was second at 32-09.00, and Superior senior Braelynn Mangold was fifth (29-07.00). 

The Trotters also picked up some big team points in the women’s distance races where, as with the boys' distance runners, youth was the key. 

Defending State B cross country champ Marina Tulloch, a sophomore, won the 3200-meter run with a time of 12:10.09, shattering the meet record of 12:13.34 set last year by Three Forks’ Teegan Gilford.  Thompson Falls’ Evy Edwards was fourth (13:30.83) 

Tulloch time in the 3200 was also a new school record. 

Darby junior Lily Adair won the 1600-meter run with a time of 5:28.60, eclipsing the existing meet record of 5:39.29 by a runner from Granite.  Tulloch, who also broke the old meet record, was second (5:34.22).  Edwards was eighth (6:19.11). 

In the women’s pole vault, Superior junior Maryisa Swope was first with a vault of 9-3, three inches better than second place Karli Campbell of Eureka (9-0).  Superior’s Ava White was third (8-0) and T Falls vaulters Addyson Deal (8-0) and Peighton Kenney (6-6) were fifth and seventh respectively. 

Deal was also fourth in the triple jump (31-11).  Loyola’s Gama won the triple jump with a hop, skip and jump of 33-11.75, while Superior’s Mangold was fifth (31-08.25). 

Deal captured the women’s javelin event with a throw of 114-09.  Swope was fifth (101-03) and Plains freshman Hayden Rice was sixth (94-03).  Trotters sophomore Ashley Ferlan placed eleventh (83-02). 

Superior freshman Ava White won the women’s 300-meter hurdles with a time of 47.09, just ahead of runner-up Allison Gama of Loyola (47.19).  Plains hurdlers Kali Tuma (48.09) and Hadyn Rice (49.78) were fourth and fifth, while Trotters’ teammate Kayelyn Subatch was seventh (51.65). 

Also having a good meet was Superior senior Braelynn Mangold. 

Mangold had a second-place finish in the women’s 400-meter run, posting a time of 59.87.  Loyola’s Sophia Berry won the event with a time of 58.38.  Tuma from Plains was fourth (1:02.39, and Lexi Franck from T Falls placed sixth (1:04.66). 

Mangold also had a third-place finish in the women’s 200-meter sprint (27.30). Florence’s Madigan Hurlbert won the event with a time of 26.71.  Superior teammate Ava White was sixth (28.37) and Hayden Rice of Plains finished seventh (28.49). 

Mangold was also the anchor leg on the Lady Bobcats’ second place 4X100 meter relay team of Maggie Haworth, Swope and White. Anaconda was first with a time of 51.18. 

Plains’ Tuma and Rice placed sixth and eighth in the 100-meter hurdles, while White of Superior was fourth.  Berry from Loyola won the event with a time of 14.90. 

Swope added a sixth-place finish in the long jump (15-01.25). 

The Plains 4X400 relay team (Tuma, Annika Ercanbrack, Rice and Subatch) were third in the event with a time of 4:23.08.  Darby won the race with a time of 4:12.11).  Tuma also had a seventh-place time of 13.47 in the 100-meter sprint, which was won by Sophia Berry of Loyola (12.49). 

The Trotters also got points from Ercanbrack in the women’s 800-meter run (2:37.18) and Subatch, who was fifth in the high jump with a leap of 4-6.  Superior’s Miekolani Turbitt was eighth (4-4). 

Plains was fourth in the women’s team standings with 62 points, while TFalls was eighth (23 points). Thompson Falls’ boys (35) were fifth in the team race, with Plains seventh at 30 points. 

The top six finishers in most events advance to this year’s state B championships, also at MCPS stadium in Missoula this Thursday (May 22) through Saturday (May 24). 

    Plains distance standout Marina Tulloch runs in the 3200-meter run during the Western B Divisional track meet in Missoula. (Photo by Sarah Naegeli)
  

    Plains distance standout Marina Tulloch runs in the 3200-meter run during the Western B Divisional track meet in Missoula.  (Photo by Sarah Naegeli)