Although 10 more teams were expected earlier in the week, there was still plenty of competition at the Missoula Invitational Track Meet on Saturday. Two of the stronger efforts of the day came from a couple of Bitterroot Valley athletes who were awarded MVP honors.

Corvallis’ Dalton Sybrant won both the discus and the shot put events and was named MVP of the smaller class field athletes. His throw of 168 feet 2 inches was just under 13 feet farther than second place. Sybrant threw the shot put 53 feet, 2 inches for first place, edging out Missoula Big Sky’s Beau Donaldson by eight inches.

Misha Trotter of Hamilton took home MVP honors for track in the smaller schools. Trotter clocked a 2:21.41 in the 800 to win that race. That is the second fastest time in the state at this time in all classes. Trotter finished third in the 1,600 with a time of 5:25.46 after leading the racers for two laps.

Slater Powell of Corvallis took the 110 hurdles with a time of 15.42, currently the fourth best time in the state according to the deep list on montanatrack.com.

BOYS

Team scores: Kalispell Flathead 119 1/2, Missoula Big Sky 87, Great Falls Russell 67 1/2, Hamilton 45, Corvallis 43, Frenchtown 43, Polson 40, Missoula Sentinel 38, Missoula Hellgate 37, Whitefish 34, Dillon 33, Columbia Falls 15, Plains 12, Victor 12, Eureka 11, Darby 10, Anaconda 7, Stevensville 7, Loyola Sacred Heart 6, Kalispell Glacier 5.

100 – 1. Chris Wilson, CMR, 11.15; 2. Mike Kozlowski, Flat, 11.32; 3. Ian Damon, 11.55; 4. Jonny Dilworth, Ftn, 11.56; 5. Charlie Dotson, Flat, 11.57; 6. Ryan Turley, Ham, 11.66.

200 – 1. Chris Wilson, CMR, 23.10; 2. Bryce Carver, Dil, 23.47; 3. Ryan Turley, Ham, 23.50; 4. Ian Damon, Flat, 23.58; 5. Tyler Wilde, Ftn, 23.59; 6. David Wilson, CMR, 23.73.

200 – 1. Chris Wilson, CMR, 23.10; 2. Bryce Carver, Dil, 23.47; 3. Ryan Turley, Ham, 23.50; 4. Ian Damon, Flat, 23.58.

400 – 1. Bryce Carver, Dil, 52.77; 2. David Wilson, CMR, 53.13; 3. Drew Zeiler, Ste, 53.32; 4. Michael Gallagher, Flat, 54.02; 5. JJ Harrington, CMR, 54.18; 6. Tyler Jacobson

800 – 1. Logan Torgison, Pol, 2:00.76; 2. Wyatt Lawrence, Ham, 2:02.27; 3. Chris Mai, Vic, 2:05.76; 4. Nate Davis, Ftn, 2:08.09; 5. Seth Svennungsen, Flat, 2:08.27; 6. Davin Murphy, CMR, 2:08.47.

1,600 – 1. Logan Torgison, Pol, 4:30.59; 2. Rob Brooks, Sent, 4:34.33; 3. Chris Mai, Vic, 4:36.08; 4. Drew Coco, Wfsh, 4:38.22; 5. Cody Lund, MBS, 4:39.18; 6. Jake Roske, Hgt, 4:40.95.

3,200 – 1. Rob Brooks, Sent, 9:51.30; 2. Paul Abrahamsen, Dar, 9:56.50; 3. Drew Coco, Wfsh, 9:57.10; 4. Jake Roske, Hgt, 10:01.80; 5. Logun Norris, Dil, 10:04.70; 6. Seth Svennungsen, Flat, 10:05.30.

110 hurdles – 1. Slater Powell, Corv, 15.42; 2. Mike Devlin, MBS, 15.47; 3. Dustin Hover, Hgt, 15.51; 4. Lane Hamilton, MBS, 15.57; 5. CJ Manning, Flat, 15.77; 6. Cody Doyle, Pol, 16.63.

300 hurdles – 1. Lane Hamilton, MBS, 40.30; 2. Dustin Hoover, Hgt, 3. Drew Owens, MBS, 40.80; 4. Beau Gravelle, Flat, 41.70; 5. Slater Powell, Corv, 41.80; 6. Allen McCarty, Ham, 42.40.

400 relay – 1. Flathead, 43.94; 2. Russell, 44.84; 3. Big Sky, 44.90; 4. Sentinel, 45.19; 5. Hamilton, 45.32; 6. Dillon, 45.68.

1,600 relay – 1. Flathead, 3:32.00; 2. Hamilton, 3:33.90; 3. Corvallis, 3:35.40; 4. Hamilton B, 3:37.60; 5. Dillon, 3:38.80; 6. Polson, 3:39.60.

Shot put – 1. Dalton Sybrant, Corv, 53-2; 2. Beau Donaldson, MBS, 52-6; 3. Zach Balcom, LSH, 47-9; 4. Josh Harris, Flat, 47-3 1/2; 5. Scott Klakken, Hgt, 46-9; 6. Luke Truman, Rur, 46-7 1/2.

Discus – 1. Dalton Sybrant, Corv, 168-2; 2. Luke Truman, Eur, 155-5; 3. Ryan Ewing, Flat, 146-7; 4. Josh Harris, Flat, 145-5; 5. Calder Morrison, Flat, 142-11; 6. Andrew Voorhees, CMR, 142-11.

Long jump – 1. Aaron Tkachyk, Wfsh, 20-6; 2. Sam Tedrow, Flat, 19-10; 3. Devin Leonardi, Ham, 19-4 1/2; 4. Brooks Nuanez, MBS, 19-4; 5. Blake Stenzel, CMR, 19-2; 6. Curtis Moen, 19-0.

GIRLS

Team scores: Missoula Big Sky 122, Missoula Hellgate 89, Great Falls Russell 67.50, Kalispell Glacier 60, Polson 56.50, Missoula Sentinel 49, Hamilton 33, Whitefish 31, Corvallis 26, Columbia Falls 23.50, Darby 22, Kalispell Flathead 15.50, Dillon 15, Stevensville 14, Frenchtown 13, Loyola Sacred Heart 100, Plains 10, Eureka 6.

100 – 1. Bobbi Furrer, Hgt, 12.93; 2. Morgan Braby, MBS 13.13; 3. Kate Striepe, CMR, 13.14; 4. Maddey Frey, Gla, 13.27; 5. Alicia Toews, Ham 13.50; 6. Brekka Johnson, Ste 13.69.

800 – 1. Misha Trotter, Ham 2:21.41; 2. Chantelle Grey, Sent 2:22.48; 3. Lauren Kuennen, Wfsh 2:26.30; 4. Heather Demorest, Dar 2:29.75; 5. Amanda Barringer, CMR 2:30.83; 6. Kelsie Miller, Sent 2:33.65.

1600 – 1. Heather Fraley, Gla 5:18.20; 2. Keely West, CMR 5:20.81; 3. Misha Trotter, Ham 5:25.46; 4. Lauren Kuennen, Wfsh 5:26.78; 5. Heather Demorest, Dar 5:33.74; 6. Kori Thornock, MBS 5:35.24.

3200 – 1. Keely West, CMR 11:41.70; 2. Heather Fraley, Gla 12:07.10; 3. Sara Coonce, MBS 12:31.60; 4. Tera Klein, Flat 12:38.20; 5. Courtney White, Corv 12:40.40; 6. Frankie Romano, Ham 12:43.50.

100 hurdles – 1. Lindsey Hall, MBS 15.64; 2. Paige Squire, Corv 16.09; 3. Breanne Kelley, Pol 16.34; 4. Ashley Ferda, Wfsh 16.82; 5. Asia Morasco, MBS 17.09; 6. Jessie Gosselin, MBS 17.09.

400 relay – 1. Hellgate, 51.12; 2. Great Falls Russell 51.77; 3. Missoula Sentinel 52.30, 4. Missoula Big Sky 52.58; 5. Corvallis 53.27; 6. Whitefish 53.28.

Javelin – 1. Ashton Vulles, Pla 128-01; 2. Katie Gannon, Hgt 122-04; 3. Maggie Warren, Dil, 117-05; 4. Abbi Hoerning, Dil 116-03; 5. Meghan Eisenmann, Sent 113-00; 6. Mariah Cress, Dar 122-08.

Triple jump – 1. Kayla Smart, Gla 36-01; 2. Asia Graham, Sent 35-03; 3. Brekka Johnson, Stev 32-08.25; 4. Melissa DeWalt, Dar 32-08; 5. Jessica Brunett, Stev 32-04.25; 6. Bryn Hasquet, Sent 31-11.50.

Pole vault – 1. Allison Huguet, MBS 10-00; 2. Ketti Wilhelm, CF 9-06; 3. Tara Johnson, Pol 9-06; 4. Misty Berdeaux, CMR 9-00; 5. Emily Stoltz, CF 9-00; 6. Megan Baker, Ham 9-00.

Bigfork Invitational

Florence traveled to Bigfork for their invitational track meet on Saturday. The Falcon boys finished in eighth place with 21 points. Thompson Falls won the meet with 105 points.

Alex Westoo finished sixth in the 1,600 with a time of 5:04.68. In the 300 hurdles, Alec Mitchell was fifth with a time of 47.31. Mitchell finished in fourth in the high jump with a leap of 5’10”. Danny Lombardo took fourth in the long jump with a leap of 18’ 7”. Tanner Galosh finished in sixth with 18 feet even. Lombardo was fourth in the triple jump as well, marking 37’ 5”. He threw the javelin 153’8”.

The Florence girls finished second, trailing Bigfork by just over 11 points. Katie Niemeir won both the 100 hurdles and the 300 hurdles. Her time in the 100 hurdles was 16.04. She clocked 47.95 in the 300 hurdles. But Niemeir wasn’t done. She took fifth in the 100 and ran on the short relays as well.

Cortney Reynolds took third in the 200 with a time of 28.41, and fourth in the 400 with 1:05.28. Brandy Crews was fourth in the 200 with 28.48. Brooke Zeiler took fourth in the 800 with a time of 2:37.58. Abby Mytty was fourth in the 3,200 with a time of 14:01.13. Odessa Conley was fifth in the 100 hurdles behind Niemeir with a time of 17.26.

Florence broke the tape first in both the 400 relay and the 1,600 relay. The 400 relay team had a time of 52.52. The 1,600 relay finished in 4:20.91. The same set of runners ran each relay. They were Cortney Reynolds, Odessa Conley, Brandy Crews and Katie Niemer.

Florence overpowers Eureka

The Lady Falcons of Florence opened their game against Eureka with a six run barrage and then kept up the pressure to claim the Western B/C conference win, 16-5.

Kaitlyn Rolshoven hit two home runs in the game. The first was the 3-run, walk off homer over the left field fence in the bottom of the first inning. The junior did the same in the fifth inning to end the game. She was 4-for-4 for the day.

“The girls did great today,” said first-year coach Melanie Williams. “We had a couple of errors but they really pulled it together and did a great job at bat.”

Sophomore Chelsea Ralls is new to the pitching position this year. Last year she was al all state outfielder but Williams said she is adapting to the new position well. Ralls threw three strike outs on Saturday.

Eureka 023 00 - 5 5 7

Florence 614 32 - 16 15 3

Klairee Shay, Auna Lawler (3) and Carly Hammond. Chelsea Ralls and Shanna Moore. W – Ralls (3-1) L- Shay.

Eureka – Hammond 0-3, Shay 1-3, Lawler 0-3, Vogelman 2-3, Swain 1-3, Vandehey 0-2, Morrison 0-2, Ferguson 0-1, Lindgren 1-2.

Florence – Kayla Schmidt 3-4, Taylor Daniels 0-4, Moore 2-4, Shelby Meuchel 2-4, Ralls 2-3, Kaitlyn Rolshoven 4-4, Moe Chapman 0-3, Chayla Pederson 1-2, Cassie Pederson 0-3.

2B – Vogelman, Ralls 2. HR – Rolshoven 2. RBIs – Moore 2, Meuchel 2, Rolshoven 5.

Melanie Williams, a Lady Falcon again

First-year coach Melanie Williams is no stranger to the Florence softball program. She was there when it began in 1997 as a junior. She was Melanie Ludlow then. Her coach at that time was Mike “Otto” Thill who now serves as her mentor. Williams said the team the first year was ‘pretty bad.’ But that turned around quickly. In 1998 the Lady Falcons brought home the third place trophy and the program and just kept growing and getting stronger.

Williams said that coaching this year has been fun but at first she was a bit intimidated. “A lot of the parents know me and think ‘Little Ludlow’ is coaching. But they have been great and very supportive.”

Now married and the mother of a three year old daughter, Williams looks very much at home on the diamond. She didn’t play college ball but opted instead to attend the University of Montana and remain close to home. But even with the hiatus from softball, her enthusiasm is evident.

Also evident are the fundamentals of softball she learned during the rookie years of Florence softball. With only one senior on the team, Kayla Schmid, and a new process in place to qualify for state, the pressure is on.

But Williams is up for the job. There is no doubt that she is the coach on the field but she is not going to turn down help when it’s given. Otto is now in charge of the field maintenance and is available to help when asked.

“He build this program and cares about it,” said Williams. “He works with the pitchers once a will and is willing to stay after and work with the girls if they want.”

This year every conference game counts. The teams in the west will advance to the state tournament in Great Falls based on their record. The top four teams will move on. The teams in the east will have a qualifying tournament where the top four will advance.

With every game counting and a relatively young team, Williams is making sure she has the right players in the right positions. Although the Lady Falcons lost all state pitcher Kate Street to graduation, Chelsea Ralls has stepped up and taken on the new position.

Williams said that her team is playing great team defense this year and feels confident they will back up Ralls on defense. With batters like Kaitlyn Rolshoven in the line up, the offense should be right on track.

“We’re reloading,” said Williams of the year. “But we have great ammunition.”

Devils top Pirates

Corvallis notched two more marks in the win column this weekend, defeating defending champion Polson and Ronan on Saturday. After scoring once in the first inning, the Blue Devils fell behind when Polson had a run in each of the fourth, fifth and sixth innings.

Markie Gurley hit a home run to begin the sixth inning rally for the Blue Devils. Megan Auch got on base and was brought in by Korie Conder. BriAnna Anderson then took the pitch and knocked a long ball to score Conder and take the 4-3 win.

“It was a pretty good day overall,” said coach Rich Borden.

All state pitcher Kasie Conder proved once again she is tough to beat on when she’s pitching. She had one earned run, four hits and struck out 10 Polson batters.

Auch and Amber Bradshaw each had a double.

Earlier in the day, the Blue Devils topped Ronan, 5-1. Kasie Conder struck out 14 and only had three hits. She also had a double while at bat. Corvallis is now 4-0 for the season.

Hamilton split their games on Saturday, defeating Ronan, 5-3 and losing to Hamilton, 14-2.

Ronan scored all three of their runs in the first inning but then Hamilton’s pitcher, Nicki Koning went to work and finished with 13 K’s. Koning was 2-for-2 with a triple. Amanda Hood was 2-for-3 and had an RBI. Annie Schultz had two RBIs for the Broncs.

Hamilton had 10 runs in their game against Polson but just couldn’t cross home plate in the 14-2 loss. Koning was 3-for-4. Sarah Callighan had a double for the Broncs as well.

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