Tigers track down first title

By TIM DUMAS Chronicle Sports Writer

Just when it seemed it couldn’t rain any harder, it did. Just when it seemed the track had reached flood stage, the puddles only grew bigger.

SEAN SPERRY/CHRONICLE Manhattan’s Michael Moore prepares to hand off the baton to his teammate during the 400-meter relay. And when it hailed, they wailed.

The Manhattan boys track and field team n and its fans n were all that remained at empty Van Winkle Stadium Saturday afternoon. And the harder the precipitation fell, the louder the Tigers yelled.

And for good reason.

For the first time in program history, Manhattan earned the Class B state championship by outlasting Huntley Project by four points at Bozeman High during a deluge that appeared to have no end in sight.

The 1,600-meter relay team, needing to finish no lower than third in the meet’s final event to sew things up, clinched the long-awaited crown by placing second in a near dead heat with Huntley.

HP won the relay by six one-hundredths of a second when Chad Hofmann edged Matt Swan at the end, but the Tigers (62 points) won the day and were soon seen exchanging hugs and high-fives along the fence near the finish line.

Tears were also shed, but you could hardly tell.

“You always watch scenes of teams winning championships,” Swan said, “and it almost feels like that, except we’re out in the cold and it’s raining.

“I’ve never won a state title in anything. Not even close.”

Added Tyson Vanderby: “It’s the cherry on top of my senior year. It’s probably one of the best feelings I’ve ever had.”

Sophomore Mike Asay, who earlier suffered a cramp during the 1,600 and surprisingly did not place, helped Manhattan go from fourth to first on his third leg of the relay to set up the dramatic finish.

Manhattan won all five meets they competed in at Bozeman High this season and have several competitors coming back for next season.

“It’s very special,” head coach Ed Royce said. “It was a tremendous team effort this weekend. It took everybody.”

“The whole thing’s unforgettable. This is absolutely horrible weather. But everybody was on the same playing field.”

“That’s what it’s about: the memories that are made, the effort, the commitment. And that’s pretty special. This doesn’t happen very often. It was neat to see and neat to be a part of.”

As for Asay, he was going to not only enjoy the victory, but make the most of the sloppy conditions.

“We’re going to go slide in the mud now,” Asay said.

There was plenty of it to go around.

The pelting rain created a pond near the first turn of the track, rendering useless the many squeegees put into action. And because of the poor weather, the pole vault was held inside Brick Breeden Fieldhouse at Montana State University for the second consecutive day.

In front of a dry gathering, five hours after the rest of the meet had been completed, Belgrade’s girls fell short of their third State A title in a row when Polson earned a top-three finish. Heading into the pole vault, the Panthers led by one point.

Three Forks boys finished in sixth place with 31 points and was buoyed by Mike Camarillo’s win in the triple jump. Manhattan Christian ended up ninth. Derek DeJong placed second in the shot put and Kyle Heidema took third in the high jump.

The conditions were slick enough to halt the state’s top 100 runner, Tyzer Cady of Colstrip. Cady slipped out of his block to start his race, but recovered to place fourth just minutes before winning the 200.

The girls’ end of the meet was won by Glasgow, which fended off a late charge from Malta to win by 2.25 points. Malta did not have any points to begin the day, but used wins in the shot put and 1,600 relay to place second.

Seeley-Swan’s Caitlin Stone won her fourth 3,200 meter title by more than a minute.

Three Forks finished fifth behind top-three finishes from LaDean Richardson (100, 200) and Liz Samson (javelin). Chloe Palakovich’s win in the 800 and Kellee Glaus’ victory in the triple jump lifted Whitehall into seventh place.

Class A

Belgrade’s girls led by five points before the mile relay, but Polson’s win in the event and Belgrade’s third tightened the race for the title. Belgrade’s Kirsten Haas won the 100 hurdles and the 400 relay team also posted a win. Haas was also second in the 300 hurdles and Brittney Harvey finished second in the discus.

Polson clinched the title when Nicole Davey was one of three competitors to clear 10 feet in the pole vault. Belgrade had three vaulters, but the best result was Jackie Dringle’s 9-6, which wasn’t enough to get her into the final seven.

Livingston senior Heather Haug won the 800 and used another strong finishing kick to take the 3,200 by less than a second. Haug, who says she is likely headed to the University of Montana but isn’t sure if she’ll run, won the 1,600 Friday. She scored all 30 of her team’s points.

Belgrade’s boys finished fifth thanks to David Beery. The senior won the 200, then anchored the mile relay team to a victory. It was a sweet ending for Beery, who won the long jump title last year, but scratched on all of his attempts at divisionals last week and did not qualify for state.

“It’s great to win it in my last year,” he said after the 200. “I like to go out with a bang, and I did.”

Beery will attend Concordia (Minn.) University and plans to run there.

Whitefish won the boys’ title by three points over Corvallis.

State B

Boys

Team scores n 1. Manhattan 62; 2. Huntley Project 58; 3. Thompson Falls 44; 4. Cascade 40; 5. Colstrip 33; 6. Three Forks 31; 7. Eureka 28; 8. Troy 26; 9. Manhattan Christian 22; 10. Darby 21; 11. Fairfield 20; 11. Deer Lodge 20; 13. Columbus 15; 13. Malta 15; 15. Glasgow 12; 16. Harlem 10; 16. Boulder 10; 18. Fort Benton 9; 19. Plains 8; 20. Red Lodge 7; 21. Loyola 6; 21. Broadus 6; 21. Shelby 6; 24. Baker 4; 24. Seeley-Swan 4; 26. Townsend 2; 26. Plentywood 2; 26. Roundup 2; 26. Shepherd 2; 30. Conrad 1; 30. Big Timber 1.

100 n 1. Bo McGurran, Cascade, 11.22; 2. Josh Neumiller, Glasgow, 11.23; 3. Eric Buer, Huntley Project, 11.58; 4. Tyzer Cady, Colstrip, 11.62; 5. Andrew Smith, Loyola, 11.64; 6. Shane Naki, Manhattan, 11.65.

200 n 1. Tyzer Cady, Colstrip, 22.24; 2. Cody George, Boulder, 22.57; 3. Casey Nickol, Shelby, 22.80; 4. Chad Hofmann, Huntley Project, 22.95; 5. Josh Neumiller, Glasgow, 23.03; 6. Bo McGurran, Cascade, 23.19.

1,600 n 1. Paul Abrahamsen, Darby, 4:36.39; 2. Adam Blythe, Colstrip, 4:36.63; 3. Tyson Vanderby, Manhattan, 4:37.94; 4. Mike Evans, Loyola, 4:38.30; 5. Shane Donaldson, Thompson Falls, 4:38.32; 6. Todd Blythe, Colstrip, 4:39.02.

110 hurdles - 1. Matt Van Winkle, Malta, 14.91; 2. Chad Hofmann, Huntley Project, 14.91; 3. Mick Miller, Fairfield, 15.36; 4. Beau Berg, Three Forks, 15.57; 5. Sean Russell, Columbus, 15.64; 6. Michael Moore, Manhattan, 15.76.

High jump n 1. Mick Miller, Fairfield, 6-2; 2. Aaron Palmer, Troy, 6-2; 3. Kyle Heidema, Manhattan Christian, 6-2; 4. Dillon Fryzell, Plains, 6-0; 5. Jarett Christensen, Rounup, 5-10; 6. Mike Camarillo, 5-10.

Shot put n 1. David Phillips, Deer Lodge, 54-5; 2. Derek DeJong, Manhattan Christian, 50-2.5; 3. Jason Shaw, Thompson Falls, 48-5.75; 4. Logan Sims, Malta, 48-0.5; 5. Rick Haluszka, Harlem, 47-5.25; 6. Trent Thompson, Plains, 47-1.25.

Triple jump n 1. Mike Camarillo, Three Forks, 42-6.5; 2. Aaron Palmer, Troy, 42-2; 3. Bo McGurran, Cascade, 41-2; 4. Canyon Parcell, Seeley-Swan, 40-11; 5. Brandon Farwick, Fort Benton, 40-4.5; 6. Peter Engebretson, Malta, 40-3.

400 relay n 1. Huntley Project, 43.99; 2. Manhattan, 44.61; 3. Columbus, 45.30; 4. Baker, 45.38; 5. Three Forks, 46.49; 6. Red Lodge, 46.52.

1,600 relay n 1. Huntley Project, 3:31.10; 2. Manhattan, 3:31.16; 3. Eureka, 3:32.55; 4. Columbus, 3:32.77; 5. Fort Benton, 3:34.62; 6. Boulder, 3:37.34.

Girls

Team scores n 1. Glasgow 49; 2. Malta 46.75; 3. Cascade 42; 4. Florence-Carlton 36; 5. Three Forks 32; 6. Broadwater 29.75; 7. Cut Bank 28; 7. Whitehall 28; 9. Roundup 26; 10. Red Lodge 24; 11. Huntley Project 23; 12. Seeley-Swan 20; 13. Darby 18; 14. Choteau 17; 15. Colstrip 13; 16. Manhattan 12; 17. Big Timber 11.75; 18. Columbus 11; 18. Boulder 11; 18. Plentywood 11; 21. Loyola Sacred Heart 8; 21. Shelby 8; 23. Thompson Falls 7; 24. Manhattan Christian 6; 25. Plains 4; 26. Eureka 2.75; 27. Deer Lodge 2.

100 n 1. Deni Fitzpatrick, Cut Bank, 12.63; 2. LaDean Richardson, Three Forks, 12.76; 3. Raven Cummings, Roundup, 12.77; 4. Carrie Myers, Broadwater, 12.87; 5. Haley Sobrero, Columbus, 12.94; 6. Taylor Markle, Glasgow, 12.99.

100 hurdles n 1. Katie Niemeir, Florence-Carlton, 15.32; 2. Kylee Denham, Malta, 16.01; 3. Emily Douma, Manhattan, 16.17; 4. Rheanna Padden, Thompson Falls, 16.56; 5. Marissa McCormick, Choteau, 16.80; 6. Ariel Tange, Plentywood, 16.82.

1600 relay n 1. Malta, 4:11.37; 2. Florence-Carlton, 4:11.68; 3. Broadwater, 4:16.87; 4. Cascade, 4:17.14; 5. Red Lodge, 4:19.07; 6. Glasgow, 4:19.50.

200 n 1. Deni Fitzpatrick, Cut Bank, 26.05; 2. Raven Cummings, Roundup, 26.25; 3. LaDean Richardson, Three Forks, 26.35; 4. Carrie Myers, Broadwater, 26.46; 5. Taylor Markle, Glasgow, 26.92; 6. Haley Sobrero, Columbus, 26.99.

300 hurdles n 1. Katie Niemeir, Florence-Carlton, 45.56; 2. Odessa Conley, Florence-Carlton, 46.30; 3. Kylee Denham, Malta, 47.26; 4. Hilary Harrison, Manhattan, 47.99; 5. Kayli Brauchle, Shelby, 48.12; 6. Chelsea Thomsen, Huntley Project, 48.15.

3200 n 1. Caitlin Stone, Seeley-Swan, 11:00.01; 2. Emilee Morehouse, Glasgow, 12:01.14; 3. Cortney Lynde, Red Lodge, 12:02.68; 4. Jordan Audet, Broadwater, 12:07.40; 5. Darcy Stevens, Red Lodge, 12:14.46; 6. Brittany Johnson, Boulder, 12:17.31.

400 relay n 1. Huntley Project, 50.97; 2. Glasgow, 51.13; 3. Cascade, 51.84; 4. Cut Bank, 51.85; 5. Manhattan, 51.92; 6. Darby, 52.98.

800 n 1. Chloe Palakovich, Whitehall, 2:20.04; 2. Bobbi Knudsen, Malta, 2:20.79; 3. Emilee Morehouse, Glasgow, 2:23.26; 4. Brianna Seubert, Shelby, 2:24.96; 5. Beca Gunderson, Thompson Falls, 2:25.64; 6. Kayla Meumiller, Colstrip, 2:26.53.

High jump n 1. Kortnee Barrett, Red Lodge, 5-0; 2. Margaret Cobb, Cascade, 5-0; 3. Kayla Neumiller, Colstrip, 4-10; 4. Jonna Yost, Eureka, 4-8; 4. Rachel Pauli, Big Timber, 4-8; 4. Kylee Denham, Malta, 4-8; 4. Delaware Hansen, Broadwater, 4-8.

Javelin n 1. Maria Cress, Darby, 125-9; 2. Hannah Counter, Columbus, 122-10; 3. Liz Samson, Three Forks, 120-7; 4. Ashton Vulles, Plains, 117-2; 5. Tia Hopp-Juden, Cascade, 112-7; 6. Brianna Tatufu, Malta, 110-4.

Shot put n 1. Brook Berg, Malta, 37-8.25; 2. Christina Medeiros, Loyola Sacred Heart, 36-7.75; 3. Stren Tramelli, Cascade, 35-7; 4. Maria Cress, Darby, 34-4; 5. Jessica Henry, Malta, 33-11.5; 6. Megan Hannay, Eureka, 33-8.25.

Triple jump n 1. Kellee Glaus, Whitehall, 35-8; 2. Ashley Vandolah, Choteau, 34-5; 3. Jessie Santy, Huntley Project, 33-11.5; 4. Raven Cummings, Roundup, 33-8.75; 5. Kara Wesen, Glasgow, 33-8.25; 6. Samantha Mellinger, Choteau, 33-7.5.

State A

Boys

Team scores n 1. Whitefish 59; 2. Corvallis 56; 3. Laurel 44; 4. Lewistown 38.5; 5. Belgrade 38; 6. Libby 34; 7. Bigfork 28; 7. Hardin 28; 9. Frenchtown 27; 10. Hamilton 25; 10. Havre 25; 12. Glendive 22; 13. Polson 21; 14. Billings Central 20; 15. Anaconda 18; 16. Ronan/St. Ignatius 10; 17. Dillon 9; 17. Columbia Falls 9; 19. Browning 8; 20. Sidney 4; 21. Stevensville 2; 22. Miles City 2; 23. Butte Central 1.5.

100 n 1. Derek Ohs, Glendive, 11.14; 2. David Beery, Belgrade, 11.26; 3. Ryan Huppert, Billings Central, 11.29; 4. Kole Olsen, Laurel, 11.32; 5. Scott Palmer, Columbia Falls, 11.4; 6. Jonny Dilworth, Frenchtown, 11.41.

110 hurdles n 1. Slater Powell, Corvallis, 14.83; 2. Jason Mudrow, Havre, 15.1; 3. Darin Olyete, Hardin, 15.68; 4. Cody Doyle, Polson, 15.76; 5. Jamie Engledrum, Ronan/St. Ignatius, 15.79; 6. Nick Kozub, Lewistown, 15.83.

1600 relay n 1. Belgrade, 3:27.84; 2. Corvallis, 3:29.27; 3. Whitefish, 3:29.73; 4. Libby, 3:30.67; 5. Hamilton, 3:31.65; 6. Laurel, 3:34.24.

1600 n 1. Patrick Casey, Laurel, 4:27.27; 2. Drew Coco, Whitefish, 4:28.76; 3. Ben Jessop, Hamilton, 4:34.04; 4. Caleb Bentley, Lewistown, 4:34.63; 5. Logun Norris, Dillon, 4:36.83; 6. Logan Torgison, Polson, 4:38.16.

200 n 1. David Beery, Belgrade, 22.67; 2. Derek Ohs, Glendive, 22.84; 3. Andrew Whittaker, Bigfork, 22.92; 4. Ryan Huppert, Billings Central, 22.96; 5. Ryan Turley, Hamilton, 23.13; 6. Kole Olsen, Laurel, 23.14.

400 relay n 1. Corvallis, 44.08; 2. Hamilton, 44.65; 3. Whitefish, 44.81; 4. Bigfork, 44.87; 5. Columbia Falls, 45.04; 6. Dillon, 45.05.

Discus n 1. Dalton Sybrant, Corvallis, 152-6; 2. Chris Jessop, Corvallis, 150-4; 3. Donny Tudahl, Bigfork, 146-9; 4. Nigel Anselmi, Belgrade, 142-11; 5. Nathan Klug, Columbia Falls, 140-2; 6. Willy Wells, Browning, 138-9.

Javelin n 1. Sean Funston, Anaconda, 171-6; 2. Adam Skogen, Ronan/St. Ignatius, 169-9; 3. Tristan Costa, Hardin, 163-4; 4. Brock Picard, Polson, 162-11; 5. Steven Brennen, Columbia Falls, 154-10; 6. Nick Love, Miles City, 154-4.

Triple Jump n 1. Roland Benedict, Bigfork, 43-10.75; 2. Seth Wright, Libby, 43-7.25; 3. Tyler Wilde, Frenchtown, 43-5.25; 4. Brady Sunheim, Sidney, 42-1.75; 5. Isaac Hunter, Stevensville, 41-3.5; 6. Austin Robbins, Columbia Falls, 41-0.

Pole Vault - 1. Jake Bowman, Hardin, 14-9; 2. Kaleb Prestegaard, Whitefish, 13-6; 3. Austin Byron, Corvallis, 13-6; 4. Ryan Kelley, Polson, 13-6; 5. Ty Fouty, Polson, 13-0; 6. John Kassner, Miles City, 12-6.

Girls

Team scores n 1. Polson 71; 2. Belgrade 66; 3. Corvallis 39; 4. Miles City 34; 5. Billings Central 33; 6. Livingston 30; 7. Lewistown 27; 7. Laurel 27; 9. Frenchtown 26; 10. Whitefish 24; 11. Glendive 23; 11. Hamilton 23; 13. Bigfork 20; 14. Hardin 18; 15. Stevensville 14; 16. Dillon 9; 17. Columbia Falls 7; 18. Libby 6; 19. Sidney 4; 20. Ronan/St. Ignatius 1.

100 n 1. Whitney Henderson, Corvallis, 12.66; 2. Justine Simons, Laurel, 12.75; 3. Mariah Litton, Billings Central, 12.87; 4. Mallery Knoll, Bigfork, 13.13; 5. Emily Pilcher, Dillon, 13.18; 6. Jackie Dringle, Belgrade, 13.19.

100 hurdles n 1. Kirsten Haas, Belgrade, 15.49; 2. Paige Squire, Corvallis, 15.72; 3. Breanne Kelley, Polson, 15.89; 4. Ashley Cooper, Laurel, 16.24; 5. Emily Stoltz, Columbia Falls, 16.30; 6. Ashley Freda, Whitefish, 16.45.

1600 relay n 1. Polson, 4:04.73; 2. Hamilton, 4:07.57; 3. Belgrade, 4:12.29; 4. Billings Central, 4:12.33; 5. Sidney, 4:14.41; 6. Corvallis, 4:15.61.

200 n 1. Whitney Henderson, Corvallis, 25.61; 2. Justine Simons, Laurel, 25.84; 3. Mariah Litton, Billings Central, 26.27; 4. Ashley Skillestad, Glendive, 26.63; 5. Breanne Kelley, Polson, 26.67; 6. Jackie Dringle, Belgrade, 26.81.

300 hurdles n 1. Nicole Davey, Polson, 45.18; 2. Kirsten Haas, Belgrade, 45.49; 3. Mallery Knoll, Bigfork, 47.03; 4. Breanne Kelley, Polson, 47.42; 5. Michelle Jones, Hamilton, 47.46; 6. Mariah Litton, Billings Central, 47.69.

3200 n 1. Heather Haug, Livingston, 11:44.55; 2. Brook Rodgers, Lewistown, 11:45.25; 3. Kayla Carlson, Bigfork, 11:54.68; 4. Nocona Frame, Glendive, 11:58.56; 5. Mackenzie Maki, Miles City, 12:06.95; 6. Franki Romano, Hamilton, 12:16.84.

400 relay n 1. Belgrade, 50.49; 2. Polson, 50.61; 3. Billings Central, 50.69; 4. Hamilton, 50.88; 5. Dillon, 51.15; 6. Laurel, 51.21.

800 n 1. Heather Haug, Livingston, 2:19.30; 2. Misha Trotter, Hamilton, 2:20.38; 3. Lauren Kuennen, Whitefish, 2:22.40; 4. Mackenzie Maki, Miles City, 2:23.08; 5. Jackie Elliott, Billings Central, 2:24.32; 6. Leann Quinlan, Lewistown, 2:24.99.

Discus n 1. Jami Kittelmann, Miles City, 120-11; 2. Brittney Harvey, Belgrade, 117-10; 3. Jennifer Brown, Frenchtown, 115-5; 4. Loni Havlovick, Polson, 112-11; 5. Kelsie Ray, Billings Central, 101-5; 6. Abbi Hoerning, Dillon, 99-10.

Triple jump n 1. Lillian Temple, Glendive, 33-11.25; 2. Brekka Johnson, Stevensville, 33-3; 3. Jessi Brunett, Stevensville, 32-5.5; 4. Charis Hugs, Hardin, 32-4; 5. Shantell McLinden, Libby, 32-2; 6. Heather Melcer, Whitefish, 32-1.5

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