MISSOULA — After two full days of competition, the only thing left for high school track and field athletes are the state meets that begin on Friday.
At the Western B/C divisional meet, the Bigfork boys and girls ran the table in Class B, winning with team scores of 167 and 201 points, respectively.
The Class C ranks showed tighter races on the team scoreboard, though not by much on the boys side, with the Manhattan Christian boys putting up 112 points to win by 52 over second-place Twin Bridges. The Manhattan Christian girls came from behind after Day 1 to edge Seeley-Swan, 104-95.
From Class B, Missoula Loyola’s Ridger Palma continued his dominance over the sprints taking the top spot in 100-, 200- and 400-meter finals, while Justin Morgan from Thompson Falls dominated the distance races with wins in the 1,600 and 3,200. Sydney Brander from St. Ignatius was by far the star of the show on Saturday, however, claiming the top spot in four girls events and second in another (first in the 100, 200, long jump and triple jump, and second in the high jump).
Bigfork’s bread and butter en route to the team victory for the boys was the field events highlighted by Cormac Benn, who took second in the high, long, and triple jumps, and Levi Peterson, who took first in the triple jump and third in the long jump. The Bigfork girls were led by their relay teams with Audrey Buenz, Chloe Ratts and Afton Lambrecht being the mainstays of the squads while subbing in Jessy Frey for the 4x100-meter relay and Coralyn Shillam for the 4x400-meter relay
In Class C, the Manhattan Christian boys got a healthy boost to their team score thanks in part to Matt Kenney, Oren Arthun and Devan Walhof Jr. who finished with a combined seven top-three finishes in the 800-, 1,600- and 3,200-meter races. Tate Smith was the do-it-all man for the Twin Bridges boys over the weekend with wins in the triple jump, 110 hurdles and 300 hurdles, and a third-place finish in the long jump.
The Seeley-Swan girls saw major production in terms of points from Klaire Kovatch, who nearly swept the throwing events with a win in the discus while finishing second in the shot put and javelin, and Sariah Maughan, who snagged victories in the 400, 800 and 1,600. Manhattan Christian’s come-from-behind victory in the team total was partly fueled by Jadyn VanDyken, who put together a solid showing across the two days with four top-three finishes and a contribution to the Eagles’ 4x100-meter relay victory.
For full results from the Western B-C divisional meet, click here.
