KALISPELL — Hunter Loesch's first javelin throw proved to be enough to win the event and help his team earn a third straight team title.
The Corvallis senior, the owner of the best javelin mark in the nation, threw for 209-04 on his first launch, the best mark of the day, earning 10 points for his team as the Blue Devils fended off Frenchtown by one point and wrapped up a three-peat at the Class A state track and field meet at Legends Stadium in Kalispell.
The Blue Devils finished with 76 points to Frenchtown's 75. Laurel took third place with 64 points followed by Columbia Falls (55) and Whitefish (40).
Corvallis also got a first-place finish from Brennan Stuart in the 110 hurdles (14.53) and preserved the win with a victory in the 1,600-meter relay.
In the girls meet, Whitefish picked up its first team title since 2022 thanks to a pair of sprinting victories from Rachel Wilmot, who won the 100 (12.47) and 200 (25.05). Grace Sliman also delivered a victory for the Bulldogs with a mark of 5-4 in the high jump. Ginger Bergland contributed 16 points with a pair of second-place victories in the 100 hurdles (15.63) and 300 hurdles (45.79).
Havre took second place with 60 points, Hamilton came in third with 56, Miles City took fourth with 47 and Laurel was fifth with 40.
Miles City's Peyton Frame won her second event after winning the 1,600-meter run on Friday as she delivered a first-place finish in the 800 with a time of 2.12:35, setting a Class A record.
The Polson boys also saw one of its own set a Class A record in the shot put. Senior Astin Brown threw for 64-07.75 on his first toss, shattering the previous record of 60-9.5 by nearly four feet.
