After completing its district track and field meets last week, Class C gets back on the track with divisional meets this week. All four divisional meets — the Eastern C at Glasgow, Southern C at Laurel, Northern C at Great Falls and Western C at Frenchtown — begin Thursday. The Western C is a two-day meet and concludes on Friday.
Some of the teams and athletes to watch at each meet are outlined below.
Eastern C, May 17 at Glasgow
Kinley Peterson’s standout career at Westby-Grenora is nearing its conclusion, and the senior is well-positioned to win four more gold medals at the Eastern C divisional meet. Peterson won the 100-, 200-, 400- and 800-meter runs at last week’s District 2C meet, and she’ll bring the top seed times into each event at the divisional meet. The Thunder figure to be the favorite for the divisional championship, but Hinsdale could have a solid showing behind freshman Kaitlyn McColly, who has the division’s top marks in the long jump and triple jump.
Scobey’s boys will be among the teams competing for the Class C state championship next week, and the Spartans figure to showcase their depth at the Eastern C divisional. Riley Linder, Martin Farver, Brandon Machart and Max Cole could combine to really rack up the points in the 100-, 200- and 400-meter runs and 110- and 300-meter hurdles. The Spartans also boast the East’s top-ranked relay teams and depth in the field events from Jeremy Handy (shot put and discus), CJ Nelson (javelin) and Ethan Anderson (long jump and triple jump). Casey Cayer and Samuel Smith will look to lead Richey-Lambert to a strong team showing, as well.
Southern C, May 17 at Laurel
The Southern C divisional meet provides another opportunity to see Roberts’ Allexander Kosel and Melstone’s Brody Grebe go head to head. Kosel has the division’s top mark in the long jump (22 feet, 2 1/2 inches), where Grebe ranks second. Meanwhile, Grebe has best triple jump (44 feet, 2 inches), where Kosel ranks second. Kosel also has the best high jump in the South at 6 feet, 4 inches, while Grebe leads the division in the 300-meter hurdles at 43.8 seconds.
The Southern C girls are going through a youth movement on the track, where a number of freshmen could finish on the podium at the divisional meet. Emma DeVries of Roberts and Bridger’s Krista Campbell and Kyra Kroll should compete in the 100- and 200-meter dashes, while Lena Standsoverbull of Plenty Coups has the South’s fastest seed times in the 400-, 800-, 1,600- and 3,200-meter runs. Fellow freshmen Emily Adkins of Bridger (400), Alexis Hagl of Harlowton (400, 800) and MaKenzie Walton of Absarokee (1,600) will look to potentially unseat Standsoverbull.
Northern C, May 17 at Great Falls
It’s the Fort Benton show at the Northern C girls divisional meet. The defending Class C state champions have a wealth of talent and experience to chase more hardware this season, including Nicole Axtman (100, 100 hurdles, high jump, triple jump), Abby Clark (200, 100 hurdles, high jump), Leah Gannon (200, 400, 800, long jump), Allie Wallace (200, 100 hurdles, 300 hurdles), Aspen Geise (400, 800, long jump) and McKenzie Clark (400, 800, javelin). Each of those athletes could score points in multiple events, and Fort Benton has both of the division’s top-ranked relay teams. Zoe Delaney will try to help Winnett-Grass Range up the leaderboard, seeking potentially victories in the 100-, 200- and 400-meter runs.
North Star’s depth proved to be too much for Turner at the District 9C boys meet last week, and the Knights could have another strong outing at the Northern C divisional meet behind Devon and Dylan Miller. Eddie Harmon, who became the first state track champion in Turner history last spring, could be in the running in the 100-, 200-, 400- and 800-meter runs, going head to head with Denton-Geyser-Stanford’s Kordell Carpenter in the 400 and 800.
Western C, May 17-18 at Frenchtown
Two of Class C’s best-kept secrets are dominating at Charlo, but track fans will want to familiarize themselves with Tyrah Hammond and Carlee Fryberger. Hammond, a junior, won the 100- and 200-meter dashes at last week’s District 14C meet, edging the freshman Fryberger in both sprints. Hammond added a win in the 400, while Fryberger got wins in the 100 hurdles and triple jump. Those two will look to score enough points to help Charlo past Twin Bridges and Manhattan Christian for the divisional team trophy. Twin Bridges’ Kailee Oliverson is the division leader in both hurdles races, while Alex Veltkamp is a threat to score points in five individual events.
Lincoln Young of Manhattan Christian is one of the top boys athletes to watch at the Western C divisional. The senior can compete in all three jumps, but it’s the pole vault where he really excels. Young has cleared 15 feet this season and cleared a personal-best height of 15-04 last spring. The Class C pole vault record is 15-01, set by Arlee’s Rafe Espinoza in 2001. Young will try to help the Eagles compete with Seeley-Swan, which could rack up points from Hunter Shelmerdine, Logan Maughan and Logan Robinson, at the divisional meet.
