Girls track team looks solid this year

The Columbia Falls track teams should showcase some good athletes this spring, particularly on the girls team, which has the potential to be the best in the conference and will look to be one of the top three teams in the state.

“I think we’re the strongest team in the conference,” coach Jamie Heinz said.

The Wildkats will look for good things from seniors Samantha Mundel and Carla Nicosia in particular. Mundel won the 3,200 meters at the state Class A tournament last year and took third in the 1,600.

Nicosia placed in multiple events as a junior, taking sixth in the 100 meter hurdles, fifth in the 300 hurdles and fourth in the triple jump. She’s been competing at indoor track meets around the Pacific Northwest again this winter.

The Kats also return sprinters Mary Baker and Mariah Walker, jumpers Kiara and Summer Burlage, pole vaulter Ashley Caffrey and throwers Ellie Johnson and Allyson Gimbel.

The Wildcats also have some solid individual athletes. Ty Morgan and Dakota Bridwell should be competitive in the javelin, and Stephen Lyndsey, Kyler Burns, Nathan Riley and Stephen DeCamp will look to make a mark in the jumps.

Tanner Dana, a sprinter transfer from Kalispell, could help the team. Braxton Reiten could also be a solid addition on the track. Coach Heinz hopes Blake Arneson and Ike Schweikert can score some points in the throwing events.

Heinz said Whitefish is the boys team to beat in the conference this year. The track season opens April 7 with the Flathead Time Trials in Kalispell.