HELENA — Helena High and Helena Capital were set to test their early-season marks against Class A Belgrade, but Mother Nature’s wreaking havoc on the spring sports schedule changed that plan. The Panthers were unable to participate in Tuesday’s rescheduled triangular, pitting the Bengals and Bruins against one another on Tuesday afternoon.
Results from the meet were hand-timed, meaning athletes’ marks did not meet the requirements of state meet qualifying times. Still, numerous athletes put forth impressive times and marks.
Helena Capital sophomore Alec Ladas set a new personal best in the 110-meter high hurdles, posting a handheld time of 15.89, which converts to a 16.14 in fully automatic timing. Officials round the handheld times up to the nearest tenth, then add 0.24 to make up for potential human error. Ladas told MTN Sports he has seen vast improvement in the high hurdles, after struggling at times his freshman season, causing him to focus solely on the 300-meter hurdles.
Capital senior and Montana State commit Elena Carter cruised to a win in the girls 100-meter hurdles, clocking a 14.88 handheld time. Carter, who placed third at last year’s State AA meet, owns a PR of 14.81. Her teammate Audrey Bloomquist picked up where she left off in the sprints, cruising to a 12.57 in the girls 100. Bloomquist earned a fifth-place finish at last spring’s state meet.
Bloomquist also anchored the Bruins’ short relay team, crossing the finish line first with a time of 50.36. The junior helped Capital’s relay to a runner-up finish in Butte last May.
Capital’s Justin Jenks continued his push toward more records in the throwing events. The Bruins’ shot put record holder owns the state’s top put this spring and is the top Class AA thrower in the discus.
Helena high jumper Kaci Lloyd was the lone competitor to clear 5-01 on Tuesday.
Helena Capital joins Great Falls CMR in a quad meet with Butte and Butte Central in the Mining City on Saturday. Helena High heads to Bozeman for a triangular with the Hawks and Great Falls High.
