Bozeman was the scene of the Montana State High School Rodeo over the weekend. These prep cowboys and cowgirls were vying for a trip to the National High School Rodeo Finals in Farmington, New Mexico. The top three finishers in each event qualified for that rodeo. The next four places have the opportunity to compete at the Silver State Rodeo in Fallon, Nevada.

Scoring for the high school rodeo finals is enough to give an accountant a headache. There are points earned for each of the two go-rounds. Then there are points for the average of the two and more points for the championship round and the average of all three rounds. And when all that is said and done, the points earned during the regular season are added in to determine the event winners and who will advance to the National Finals.

Duston Stephens, who just finished his junior year at Corvallis, finished second in the Boys All Around, earning points in three events. He won the boys cutting at the State High School Rodeo. Points are tallied in cutting from 60 – a low score, to 80 – almost impossible t attain and 70 points being a pretty good run. Stephens took second in the first go with a score of 72 points and also second in the second go with 71 points. He had a 69 in the short go or championship round but won t he average and tallied enough points for the championship.

Stephens finished in fifth place in the steer wrestling. He laid the steer down in 6.73 in the first go around. That was a 10th place finish but he was faster with his second steer. He placed third with a time of 5.06. The average of those two times put him in 5th place and put him into the championship round. His time of 7.13 was good enough for 8th place and when combined with the year end points, he finished in fifth place.

Mariah Morgan clinched another state championship in barrel racing at the State High School finals in Bozeman. Jean Schurman photo.

Duston Stephens is the Montana High School Rodeo Boys Cutting champion. Jean Schurman photo.

In the calf roping, Stephens had a time of 12.61 for fifth place. He roped his second calf faster, 11.40, but so did everyone else. He finished in sixth place. His time of 10.77 in the championship round is a great time at any rodeo, but these high school cowboys are tough. Stephens finished third in the championship go around. The average points and the year end points held Stephens at third for the year.

Jeffrey Markette of Corvallis finished third in the boys cutting. He had a first round score of 69. He has some trouble on his second cow and finished with 66 points but that was still a fourth place finish. Markette came back strong in the final round and won that go with a score of 71 points. He finished the season in third place and will make the trip to New Mexico.

Grey Chadwick, another Corvallis cowboy, had a first round time of 12.92 in the calf roping. His second go around was 12.74 which put him into the championship round. He took a no time in that round and finished the year out of the top ten. However in the team roping, Chadwick and his partner, Ryan Ferguson of Clyde Park, were tough. They started a bit slow, with a time of 16.19 and had an even slower time in the second go around with a 22.15. But they were sitting ninth and advanced to the championship round. Nerves are always a factor in this round, but it didn’t affect this team, they had a time of 7.56 for the final run which placed them second. They finished the finals tied for second and third with Garrett Hanson of Helena and Kyle Davis of Anaconda, and have the opportunity to advance to the National Finals in Farmington, New Mexico.

Stevensville’s Mariah Morgan once again dialed in the winning combination on her Paint horse, Yogi. The duo ran three fast rounds to claim the state championship in barrel racing for Morgan’s final year. Morgan’s first run was an 18.21 which was only good enough for sixth place. But the second go around was a blistering 17.90, which was the winning run. Her final run in the championship run was also a 17.90, the third fastest of the day. Once her overall season points and the finals points were added, Morgan had another saddle and a trip to New Mexico to plan.

Allison Darrow of Hamilton finished in second place in the girls cutting. He scored a 70 on the first run which put her in a four-way tie for fifth place. Her second go was a 72, which was the winning score for that go. In the championship round, she scored a 71 which put her in fourth in the short go and earned her second place for the season and a trip to Farmington.

Blaze win in final seconds of game, advance

The Bitterroot Blaze hosted the Treasure Valley Spartans on Saturday night for a chance to advance in the Rocky Mountain Football League playoffs. The two teams battled each other two weeks ago with the Blaze taking a late field goal for the win.

This game was a repeat of that game with both teams playing tough and making each other fight for every yard. Treasure Valley scored in the first quarter and it looked as if the Blaze may not have the winning combination. Every time the Blaze made a run, a fumble or a penalty stopped their momentum. With time running out in the half, the Blaze lined up for a field goal. A fumbled snap sent the ball rolling past the kicker who picked it up but couldn’t make the pass. Treasure Valley took over but couldn’t score before the half ended.

Jason Ostler makes a block as Blaze quarterback Shane Jurasek goes back to pass and Chris Brawley blocks on the left. Jean Schurman photo.

“We were forcing things too much,” said coach Tad Sheridan of his Blaze team. “We made some adjustments at half that helped. It’s great to come out on top in a battle like this.”

The two teams were scoreless throughout the third quarter thanks to tough defensive plays by both teams. An interception by Koby Spencer led to the first Blaze touchdown with more than 13 minutes remaining in the game. The PAT was good and the game was tied. Another interception by Spencer had the Blaze faithful looking for another score. But Treasure Valley shut down the Blaze offense and took over on downs. With Justin Nixon and the Blaze line pounding down the Spartans, the Blaze inched their way towards the goal line. But time was running out and it looked like overtime.

Nixon got the ball and the big Corvallis alum plowed through three yards for the winning touchdown with 40 seconds remaining.

“They’re a good team, but we were hoping for revenge,” said Nixon.

“It was a hell of a play,” said Sheridan.

The Blaze will travel to Utah for another playoff game on Saturday.

BST wins opening meet

The Bitterroot Swim Team usually doesn’t host a meet until mid-July when the weather is warmer and the swimmers have had a chance to settle into their season. But this year they had to host the first meet of the season. According to tournament director Carla Albert, the number of swimmers was down a little but they still had 193 contestants in the two-day event.

The Bitterroot Swim Team or BST is made up of swimmers from ages 8 and under through 19 years. These swimmers practice under the watchful eyes of head coach Kirk Frye, assistant coach Polly Smith and two stroke coaches, Cristophe Tanvier and Bethanne Williams. The teams who compete in this association are BST, Chester, Columbia Falls, Conrad, Cut Bank, Fort Benton, Plains, Roundup and Shelby.

Showing great form, Jenni Schreckendgust competes in the breaststroke at the Bitterroot Swim Team meet. Jean Schurman photo.

BST won the home meet with 1811 points. Stephanie Henson set a new Bitterroot Aquatic Center record for the girl’s 400-yard freestyle with a time of 4:57.70. Philip Melnarik won high point for the boys’ bantams (8 and under) and Brennan Williams won high point for the boys’ midget (9-10).

2009 BST Invitational

Boys

8 & Under

100 Yard Freestyle Relay - 1, BST 'A' (Philip Melnarik, Gus Courchesne, Sam Stewart, Henry Madeen), 1:49.20.

25 Yard Freestyle - (A - Final) 1, Melnarik, 19.79. 2, Jack Couch, 22.82. 3, Teran Koerner, 28.24. 5, Sam Stewart, 30.09. 6, Carson Halden, 33.37. (B - Final) 9, Courchesne, 36.92. 10, Jacob Heitmann, 42.06.

25 Yard Breaststroke - (A - Final) 1, Madeen, Henry, 36.17.

25 Yard Backstroke - (A - Final) 1, Madeen, 27.20. 2, Couch, 27.29. 3, Koerner, Teran, 33.41. 5, Courchesne, 39.81. 6, Stewart, BST, 41.24. (B - Final) 9, Carson Brown, 51.82. 10, Heitmann, 54.61. 12, John Shupert, 57.39.

50 Yard Freestyle - (A - Final) 1, Philip Melnarik, 45.34. 2, Madeen, 47.19. 3, Stewart, 1:13.75. 4, Couch, 1:19.62. 5, Koerner, 1:21.68. (B - Final) 8, Heitmann, 1:25.25. 9, Carson Halden, 1:28.75. 10, Courchesne, 1:37.52. 11, Shupert, 2:15.24. 12, Brown, 2:43.27.

25 Yard Butterfly - (A - Final) 1, Melnarik, 28.43.

9-10

100 Yard Freestyle Relay - 1, BST 'A' (Brennan Williams, Aidan Carmody, Guy Schreckendgust, Cameron Meikle), 1:08.70. 3, BST 'B' (Russell Matt, Charlie Melnarik, Tim Morin, Clay Thorne), 1:46.34.

100 Yard IM - 1, Williams, 1:39.97. 3, Melnarik, 1:49.29. 5, Meikle, 1:52.05.

50 Yard Freestyle - (A - Final) 1, Williams, 37.66. 2, Carmody,37.89. 3, Schreckendgust, 38.78. 4, Morin, 38.79. 5, Shawn Cassidy, 40.96. (B - Final) 9, Meikle, 41.76. 11, Jerry Cassidy, 43.53.

50 Yard Breaststroke - (A - Final) 1, Schreckendgust, 47.39. 3, Carmody, 50.93. 4, Williams, 51.36. 5, Meikle, 51.51. (B - Final) 7, Melnarik, 56.67. 8, Matt, 1:02.28. 10, Cassidy, 1:03.75.

100 Yard Freestyle - (A - Final) 2, Morin, 1:34.11. 3, Cassidy,1:36.28.

50 Yard Backstroke - (A - Final) 1, Carmody, 45.38. 3, Matt, 57.62. 4, Morin, 58.79. (B - Final) 10, Clay Thorne, 1:22.69. 11, Galen Hughes, Galen, 2:37.38.

50 Yard Butterfly- (A - Final) 1, Melnarik, 50.54. 4, Jerry Cassidy, 1:02.82. 5, Matt, 1:05.80.

11-12

200 Yard Freestyle Relay - 1, BST 'A' (Daniel Gabriel, Cullen Williams, Eric Matt, Sam Couch), 2:15.63P.

200 Yard IM - 1, Couch, 2:56.40.

50 Yard Freestyle - (A - Final) 3, Gabriel, 33.77. 5, Matt, 36.27. 6, Shane Ehlers, 37.82. (B - Final) 7, Cullen Williams, 35.91. 10, Lucas Vaughn, Lucas, 1:01.13.

50 Yard Breaststroke - (A - Final) 3, Couch, 41.21. 4, Williams, ,50.76. 5, Matt, 52.83.

100 Yard Freestyle - (A - Final) 1, Gabriel, 1:20.20. 3, Williams, 1:26.37. 4, Ehlers, 1:27.80.

50 Yard Backstroke - (A - Final) 3, Matt, 43.89. 5, Ehlers, 51.48. (B - Final) 7, Vaughn, 1:10.86.

50 Yard Butterfly - (A - Final) 1, Couch, 38.87. 2, Gabriel, 42.48.

13-14

200 Yard Freestyle Relay - 1, BST 'A' (Adam Smith, Shane Doyle, Cole Schreckendgust, Zachary Walters), 2:10.13.

50 Yard Freestyle - (A - Final) 5, Walters, 29.87. 6, Doyle, 32.69. (B - Final) 7, Jacob Gabriel, 34.09. 8, Tyler Sellers, 34.17. 9, Alex Calderwood, , 34.31. 10, Schreckendgust, 36.18.

100 Yard Breaststroke - (A - Final) 3, Sellers, 1:27.76. 4, Schreckendgust, 1:35.90. 5, Doyle, 1:41.92.

50 Yard Butterfly - (A - Final) 1, Walters, 33.75. 3, Calderwood, 40.59. 4, Sellers, 42.24.

100 Yard Freestyle - (A - Final) 6, Calderwood, 1:19.75. (B - Final) 7, Gabriel, 1:18.59. 8, Schreckendgust, 1:21.64.

100 Yard Backstroke - (A - Final) 1, Walters, 1:23.60. 2, Doyle, 1:27.92. 3, Gabriel, 1:38.11.

15-19

200 Yard Freestyle Relay - 2, BST 'A' (Coleman Horton, Ethan Selig, Jake Wood, Zander Smith), 1:55.78.

50 Yard Freestyle - (A - Final) 3, Horton, , 26.83. 4, Wood, 27.49. 6, Selig, 36.27.

100 Yard Freestyle - (A - Final) 1, Wood, 59.18. 4, Horton, 1:02.17. 6, Selig, 1:24.04. 100 Yard Backstroke - (A - Final) 2, Selig, 1:49.83.

50 Yard Butterfly - (A - Final) 2, Horton, 29.90.

400 Yard Freestyle - 1, Wood, 5:08.38.

Boys 9-10 100 Yard Medley Relay - 1, BST 'A' 1:22.64P.

Boys 11-12 200 Yard Medley Relay - 1, BST 'A' 2:42.77.

Boys 13-14 200 Yard Medley Relay - 1, BST 'A' 2:24.06.

Boys 15-19 200 Yard Medley Relay - 2, BST 'A' 2:24.37.

Girls

8 & Under

100 Yard Freestyle Relay - 1, BST 'A' (Katye McGouldrick, Katie Frederick, Bailey Ward, Jaden Gabelhausen,), 1:27.51P. 3, BST 'B' (Olivia Schmit, Sydni Thorne, Haliegh Golden 7, Caylin Diaz ), 3:04.18.

25 Yard Freestyle - (A - Final) 2, Gabelhausen, 18.18. 5, McGouldrick, 21.85. 6, Ward, 22.55. (B - Final) 9, Frederick, 24.35.

50 Yard Freestyle (A - Final) 3, Gabelhausen, 41.35. 6, Ward, 54.83. (B - Final) 7, Frederic, 55.48. 10, Emily Wildey, 1:13.53. 12, Becka Abram, 1:16.06.

25 Yard Backstroke - (A - Final) 1, Gabelhausen, 21.91. 4, Ward, 26.34. 5, McGouldrick,, 28.30. (B - Final) 9, Frederick, 28.84.

25 Yard Butterfly - (A - Final) 2, McGouldrick, 26.61

9-10

100 Yard Freestyle Relay - 1, BST 'A' (Minica Casbara, Michelle Calderwood, Megan Stewart, Kailan Rocheleau), 1:18.23. 3, BST 'B' (Helen Madeen, Braydin Golden, Sophia Schmit, Allison Monahan), 1:22.30.

100 Yard IM - 5, Casbara, 1:49.26. 6, Stewart, 1:55.90. 8, Madeen, , 2:08.19. 9, Golden, 2:10.

50 Yard Freestyle - (A - Final) 6, Casbara, 41.73. (B - Final) 7, Monahan, 43.86. 8, Rocheleau, 44.22. 10, Chelsea Diaz, 50.04.

50 Yard Breaststroke - (A - Final) 1, Calderwood, 46.03. 4, , 53.95. 6, Rocheleau, 1:02.23. (B - Final) 7, Golden, 1:00.32. 8, Breanna Nelson, 1:01.42. 9, Madeen, , 1:03.11. 10, Monahan, 1:04.27.

100 Yard Freestyle - (A - Final) 4, Rocheleau, 1:42.29. (B - Final) 7, Schmit, So1:50.55.

50 Yard Backstroke - (A - Final) 3, Schmit, 49.31. 4, Calderwood, 51.00. 6, Monahan, 53.35. (B - Final) 7, Diaz, 56.27. 10, Dannyelle Sellers, 1:16.29.

11, Issabella Morris,1:39.94.

50 Yard Butterfly - (A - Final) 2, Casbara, 50.32. 3, Stewart, 58.41. 5, Golden, 1:12.28.

11-12

Girls 11-12 200 Yard Freestyle Relay - 1, BST 'A' (Jaylee Albert, Carlyjean Conley, Marie Morin, Taylor Johnson), 2:24.48.

200 Yard IM - 2, Albert, 3:31.97.

50 Yard Freestyle - (A - Final) 5, Morin, 35.65. 6, Johnson, 36.35. (B - Final) 7, Conley, 37.34. 9, Maquala McGouldrick, 39.20. 11, Brittany Nelson, 41.90.

50 Yard Breaststroke - (A - Final) 2, Albert, 45.71. (B - Final) 7, McGouldrick, , 46.81. 9, Nelson, 53.77. 11, Morin, 58.43.

100 Yard Freestyle - (A - Final) 4, Johnson, 1:29.31. 5, Morin, 1:29.92. (B - Final) 9, Emily Heitmann, 1:43.53.

Girls 11-12 50 Yard Backstroke - (A - Final) 3, Nelson, Brittany, BST, 43.59. 6, McGouldrick, Maquala, BST, 48.30. (B - Final) 8, Heitmann, Emily, BST, 53.30. 10, Conley, Carlyjean, BST, 54.07.

50 Yard Butterfly - (A - Final) 2, Albert, 38.33.

13-14

200 Yard Freestyle Relay - 1, BST 'A' (Natalie Bremer, Katie Calderwood, Maura Monahan, Bradie Wroble), 2:10.03.

50 Yard Freestyle - (A - Final) 3, Calderwood, 32.16. 5, Monahan, 33.20. (B - Final) 7, Wroble, B31.96. 9, Bremer, 35.34. 11, Rachel Ince, 38.42. 12, Ashten Miller, 43.94.

100 Yard Breaststroke - (A - Final) 4, Calderwood, 1:39.43. 6, Ince, 1:48.59. (B - Final) 7, Miller, 1:46.50. 9, Monahan, BST, 2:04.

100 Yard Freestyle - (A - Final) 4, Calderwood, 1:14.65. 6, Wroble, 1:17.65. (B - Final) 7, Monahan, 1:13.24. 8, Bremer, 1:22.78.

100 Yard Backstroke - (A - Final) 2, Bremer, 1:33.26. 3, Trystan Capp, 2:01.46. 5, Ince, 2:04.50.

50 Yard Butterfly - (A - Final) 3, Wroble, 37.34.

15-19

200 Yard Freestyle Relay - 2, BST 'A' (Kaurie Albert, Ashley Bartels, Stephani Henson, Jenni Schreckendgust), 1:58.59.

50 Yard Freestyle - (A - Final) 3, Henson, 28.09. (B - Final) 7, Bartels, 30.99. 9, Lydia Gabriel, 31.58. 10, Schreckendgust, 32.62.

100 Yard Breaststroke - (A - Final) 5, Schreckendgust, 1:31.07.

100 Yard Freestyle - (A - Final) 1, Henson, 1:01.82. 4, Albert, 1:06.12. 5, Bartels, , 1:10.35. (B - Final) 10, Gabriel, 1:17.89.

100 Yard Backstroke - (A - Final) 3, Bartels, 1:22.74. 5, Schreckendgust, 1:25.49.

50 Yard Butterfly - (A - Final) 2, Brittany Baldridge, 34.16.

100 Yard Butterfly - 1, Albert, 1:20.22. 2, Baldridge, , 1:21.46.

400 Yard Freestyle - 1, Henson, 4:57.70 (pool record). 2, Albert, 5:27.86. 6, Baldridge, 6:07.27.

Girls 8 & Under 100 Yard Medley Relay - 1, BST 'A' 1:53.47P.

Girls 9-10 100 Yard Medley Relay - 1, BST 'A' 1:25.63.

Girls 11-12 200 Yard Medley Relay - 1, BST 'A' 2:45.49.

Girls 13-14 200 Yard Medley Relay - 1, BST 'A' 2:33.43.

Girls 15-19 200 Yard Medley Relay - 2, BST 'A' 2:20.87.

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