Valkyries shatter state records on their way to second place state finish
The Bigfork girls had a chance for a team title entering the final race of the day, but had to settle for a state record at the Class B state track and field championships on Friday and Saturday at Legends Stadium.
The Valkyries trailed Plains by seven points entering the 1,600-meter relay, needing to win the race and have the Trotters finish fifth or worse.
As freshman Bryn Morley sprinted past the finish line, Bigfork completed the first task in record fashion, winning the long relay in 4:01.71. The mark beat the previous Class B record of 4:03.26 set by Plentywood in 1999.
However, Plains was able to leg out a second place finish, and largely on the legs of senior Hailey Phillips, win the state team title with 115 points, beating the Vals’ 110.
Phillips won both the 100 and 300 hurdles on Saturday, winning the 300 for the fourth time in her career. She won the 400 run on Friday and finished second in the 200 and third in the 100 to score 44 points, a total that would have been good for third place by herself.
The two scores were the highest team totals in Class B history, Plains setting the previous record of 83 last year.
“We fell a little short (of first place) but it felt like a state championship they way they performed,” Bigfork head coach Sue Loeffler said of the Valkyries.
“I was so proud, these girls are amazing,” Bigfork senior Makena Morley said.
“I’ve never had a better team in my life. Not even just in the 4x4. They try so hard in practice every day. I was balling my eyeballs out. I’m just so proud of them. They won it for us. That was awesome.”
The Morley sisters led Bigfork again, Bryn winning the 800 in 2:14.22, and the 1,600 in 4:47.76. That time broke the all-class record in the 1,600 meter run, and held for about 15 minutes, until Billings Senior’s Christina Aragon passed Glacier freshman Annie Hill on the final lap of the Class AA 1,600 to win with a time of 4:46.34. Bryn’s time holds as the new Class B state record. In the 3,200 Makena fell a few seconds short of a state record with a win in 10:37.76. She was second behind her sister in the 1,600 and the 800. Bryn was second in the 3,200 and third in the 400.
It was the final prep race for Makena, who won seven track state championships and four cross country titles in her career at Bigfork. She will run for the University of Montana in the fall.
“I wish I would’ve known with like 200 to go that I was so close to the Class B record,” Makena said.
“I’m really happy with it though. I just ran as fast as I could. That was good. It was the first time I felt good.”
The sisters also anchored the last two legs of the record-setting relay, which was started by Mattison McAnally and Haile Norred.
Norred was also second in the 400, third in the 200 and fourth in the 100 and McAnally was sixth in the 300 hurdles. The 400 relay team finished second. Riley Coleman finished fifth in the shot put, and sixth in discus.
Gabby Eaton won the pole vault on Thursday with a jump of 9-6.
FOR THE VIKINGS Bigfork’s Logan Morley defended his title in the 1,600, winning in 4:24.29. He won the 3,200 title on Friday, and placed third in the 800, helping the Vikings to a fourth-place finish. Bigfork senior Tyler Iverson finished third in the shot put and second in discus.
The Vikes were one point behind Glasgow who took third.
Loeffler said despite some set backs on the boys side going into state she was pleased the results.
“I’m really impressed with the way the boys performed also,” she said.
Overall Loeffler said the season was amazing.
“They kept getting better every week, and they worked hard, and it paid off in the end.”
Class B state track
Legends Stadium, Kalispell
GIRLS, Saturday
Team scores – 1, Plains 115; 2, Bigfork 110; 3, Choteau 36; t-4, Manhattan 30; t-4, Malta 30; 6, Thompson Falls 29; 7, Joliet 28; 8, Townsend 26; 9, Glasgow 18; t-10, Boulder 12; t-10, Plentywood 12; t-12, Baker 11; t-12, Red Lodge 11; 14, Three Forks 10; 15, Fairfield 8; 16, Roundup 7; t-17, Colstrip 6; t-17, Shelby 6; 19, Ronan 5; t-20, Loyola Sacred Heart 4; t-20, Columbus 4; t-22, Huntley Project 3; t-22, Forsyth 3; t-24, Florence 1; t-24, Wolf Point 1; t-24, Cut Bank 1.
100 – 1, Truanne Roginske, Jol, 12.50; 2, Aubry Bair, Tow, 12.75; 3, Hailey Phillips, Pla, 12.80; 4, Haile Norred, Big, 12.92; 5, Payge Durocher, Cho, 12.94; 6, Lauren Wang, Bak, 13.01.
200 – 1, Truanne Roginske, Jol, 25.78; 2, Hailey Phillips, Pla, 26.05; 3, Haile Norred, Big, 26.47; 4, Hannah King, Cho, 26.71; 5, Brook Kolar, LSH, 26.91; 6, Paige Harris, Ple, 26.99.
800 – 1, Bryn Morley, Big, 2:14.22; 2, Makena Morley, Big, 2:16.70; 3, Kim Parsell, She, 2:24.00; 4, Baylee Green, Rou, 2:24.29; 5, Kimberly Earhart, Pla, 2:24.30; 6, Paige Harris, Ple, 2:24.75.
3200 – 1, Makena Morley, Big, 10:37.76; 2, Bryn Morley, Big, 11:07.61; 3, Grace Wyse, Tow, 11:53.13; 4, Kimberly Earhart, Pla, 11:57.01; 5, Josie Braaten, Gla, 11:58.23; 6, Sierra Summers, WP, 12:09.35.
100 hurdles – 1, Hailey Phillips, Pla, 14.75**; 2, Amy Breigenzer, Gla, 15.08; 3, Hannah King, Cho, 15.38; 4, Janessa Williams, Bou, 15.40; 5, Tessa Bruke, LSH, 15.60; 6, Autrey Hannum, ThoF, 15.90.
300 hurdles – 1, Hailey Phillips, Pla, 43.50; 2, Aubry Bair, Tow, 46.14; 3, Sophia Stiles, Mal, 46.77; 4, Hannah King, Cho, 47.48; 5, Anna Christman, ThrF, 47.49; 6, Matti McAnally, Big, 47.71.
400 relay – 1, Choteau 50.25; 2, Bigfork 51.10; 3, Baker 51.39; 4, Glasgow 51.59; 5, Fairfield 51.62; 6, Plains 51.74.
1600 relay – 1, Bigfork (Matti McAnally, Haile Norred, Makena Morley, Bryn Morley), 4:01.71* (Plentywood, 4:03.26, 1999); 2, Plains, 4:11.00; 3, Choteau 4:11.08; 4, Glasgow 4:13.24; 5, Townsend 4:17.46; 5, Forsyth 4:18.25.
Shot put – 1, Kayla Holmes, Pla, 43-9; 2, Mariah Harvey, Man, 39-4.5; 3, Leah Thompson, Pla, 38-6.25; 4, Aspen Jore, Ron, 37.6.75; 5, Riley Coleman, Big, 37-3; 6, Darby Schye, Mal, 37-1.5.
Javelin – 1, Carley Vonheeder, Pla, 142-5; 2, Kimberly Earhart, Pla, 134-7; 3, Hailey Poole, Col, 133-5; 4, Logan Beckman, ThoF, 129-10; 5, Kaitlyn Smith, Mal, 127-3; 6, Aspen Jore, Ron, 125-0.
High jump – 1, Shey Hannum, ThoF, 5-4; 2, Morgan Allen, ThrF, j5-4; 3, Lizzy Klinker, Fai, 5-2; 4, Autrey Hannum, ThoF, j5-2; 5, Kailynn Ray, Rou, 5-0; 6, Jade Nicholson, Mal, j5-0.
GIRLS, Friday
Team scores— 1, Bigfork 43; 2, Plains 32; 3, Manhattan 22; t-4, Malta 10; t-4, Plentywood 10; 6, Red Lodge 9; 7, Thompson Falls 6; t-8, Baker 4; t-8, Columbus 4; t-8, Choteau 4; 11, Huntley Project 3; t-12, Townsend 2; t-12, Forsyth 2; t-12, Joliet 2; t-15, Roundup 1; t-15, Cut Bank 1.
400 — 1, Hailey Phillips, Pla, 57.69; 2, Naile Norred, Big, 58.95; 3, Bryn Morley, Big, 59.40; 4, Payton Durocher, Cho, 59.78; 5, Paige Harris, 59.97; 6, Daniella Russell, RL, 1:01.42.
1600 — 1, Bryn Morley, Big, 4:47.76* (Chiara Warner, Townsend, 4:48.24, 2013); 2, Makena Morley, Big, 5:01.69; 3, Kimberly Earhart, Pla, 5:21.22; 4, Anna Losasso, Man, 5:21.28; 5, Grace Wyse, Tow, 5:25.48; 6, Baylee Green, Rou, 5:26.19.
Discus — 1, Leah Thompson, Pla, 134-5; 2, Mariah Harvey, Man, 127-0; 3, Kayla Holmes, Pla, 116-2; 4, Brooke Jones, Man, 112-4; 5, Kaylee Zard, For, 110-0; 6, Riley Coleman, Big, 108-7.
Pole vault — 1, Gabby Eaton, Big, 9-6; 2, Paige Harris, Ple, j9-6; 3, Alexa Arthun, Man, j9-6; 4, Kyla Rouane, Col, j9-6; 5, Heidi Cranford, HP, j9-6; 6, Madison Dodson, CB, 9-0.
Long jump — 1, Sophia Stiles, Mal, 17-9; 2, Daniella Russell, RL, 17-2; 3, Autrey Hannum, TF, 16-10.5; 4, Solenn Jacobsen, Bak, 16-6.25; 5, Truanne Roginske, Jol, 16-5.25; 6, Leslie Roen, HP, 16-0.
Triple jump – 1, Sophia Stiles, Mal, 36-9.5; 2, Janessa Williams, Bou, 35-9.5; 3, Truanne Roginske, Jol, 35-5; 4, Autrey Hannum, Tho, 35-3.75; 5, Stephanie Kreamer, RL, 35-2; 6, Autumn Round, Flo, 34-9.5.
BOYS, Saturday
Team scores – 1, Manhattan 109; 2, Huntley Project 56; t-3 Troy 41; t-3, Glasgow 41; 5, Bigfork 40; 6, Boulder 39; 7, Townsend 26; 8, Thompson Falls 25; 9, Red Lodge 20; t-20, Joliet 14; t-10, Forsyth 14; t-10, Shelby 14; 13, Deer Lodge 11; t-14, Baker 10; t-14, Fairfield 10; t-14, Colstrip 10; 17, Eureka 9; t-18, Plains 7; t-18, Cut Bank 7; 20, Whitehall 6; t-21, Florence 4; t-21, Big Timber 4; 23, Loyola Sacred Heart 3; 24, Shepherd 2; t-25, Ronan 1; t-25, Malta 1; t-25, Conrad 1; t-25, St. Labre 1; t-25, Columbus 1.
100 – 1, Turner Stone, Man, 11.19; 2, Sean Opland, Troy, 11.20; 3, Christian Langston, Eur, 11.20; 4, Cade Johnstone, For, 11.29; 5, Noah Pohlman, LSH, 11.32; 6, Benji Phillips, Gla, 11.37.
200 – 1, Sean Opland, Troy, 22.60; 2, Turner Stone, Han, 22.84; 3, Patrick McCarthy, Whi, 23.09; 4, Luke Gonsioroski, Bak, 23.16; 5, Zachary Iffland, She, 23.21; 6, Chase Fossum, Gla, 23.44.
1600 – 1, Logan Morley, Big, 4:24.29; 2, Paul Bielawski, She, 4:30.27; 3, AJ Eckmann, Bou, 4:33.48; 4, Tyus Menoza, Col, 4:35.39; 5, Russell Kujala, Pla, 4:38.40; 6, Wally Three Irons, SL, 4:40.24.
110 hurdles – 1, Quincy Wittman, HP, 15.60; 2, Jared Schwend, Jol, 15.61; 3, Bryce Green, Tow, 15.62; 4, Caleb Neth, Man, 15.63; 5, Michael Jobman, HP, 15.86; 6, Luke Breigenzer, Gla, 16.22.
300 hurdles – 1, Caleb Neth, Man, 39.37; 2, Bryce Green, Tow, 40.71; 3, Jared Schwend, Jol, 41.16; 4, Quincy Wittman, HP, 41.21; 5, Luke Breigenzer, Gla, 41.70; 6, Josh Wulfekuhle, ThoF, 42.14.
400 relay – 1, Manhattan (Shondel Connerton, Caleb Neth, Conner Cross, Turner Stone), 43.48; 2, Boulder 43.54; 3, Thompson Falls 44.46; 4, Glasgow 44.54; 5, Deer Lodge 44.55; 6, Loyola 44.84.
1600 relay – 1, Manhattan (Shondel Connerton, Conner Cross, Turner Stone, Caleb Neth), 3:26.44; 2, Boulder 3:27.72; 3, Glasgow 3:30.62; 4, Townsend 3:30.67; 5, Thompson Falls 3:33.01; 6, Malta 3:33.12.
Shot put – 1, Alec Nehring, Man, 53-10; 2, Tanner Miller, HP, 49-9.25; 3, Tyler Iverson, Big, 48-1.5; 4, Trase LeTexier, Bou, 46-6; 5, Nolan Hofstee, Eur, 46-4.5; 6, Weston Wagner, Col, 46-4.25.
High jump – 1, Chase Fossum, Gla, 6-4; t-2, Sean Opland, Troy, 6-2; t-2, Brandon Porter, DL, 6-2; 4, Connor Thorne, Flo, j6-2; 5, Seth Omsberg, CB, j6-2; 6, George Barrett, CB, 6-0.
Triple jump – 1, Cantor Coverdell, Fai, 42-3.75; 2, Donte Wohlfeil, HP, 41-10.25; 3, Case Fossum, Gla, 41-6.5; 4, George Barrett, CB, 41-4.25; 5, Quincy Wittman, HP, 41-2; 6, Alec Nehring, Man, 40-11.25.
*Class record
**Wind aided class record
BOYS, Friday
Team scores— 1, Manhattan 46; 2, Bigfork 24; 3, Huntley Project 22; 4, Red Lodge 20; t-5, Thompson Falls 16; t-5, Troy 16; 7, Boulder 13; t-8, Glasgow 10; t-8, Forsyth 10; 10, Townsend 8; t-11, Baker 6; t-11, Colstrip 6; t-11, Shelby 6; 14, Plains 5; 15, Big Timber 4; 16, Deer Lodge 2; t-17, Conrad 1; t-17, Ronan 1; t-17, Eureka 1.
400 — 1, Caleb Neth, Man, 49.46; 2, Sean Opland, Troy, 49.49; 3, Rankei Eyer, Bou, 50.70; 4, Turner Stone, Man, 50.87; 5, Chase Fossum, Gla, 51.01; 6, Conner Cross, Man, 51.12.
800 — 1, Moritz Little, RL, 1:57.37; 2, Kenny Wilbur, Tow, 1:57.48; 3, Logan Morley, Big, 1:57.75; 4, Russell Kujala, Pla, 1:59.04; 5, Paul Bielawski, She, 1:59.72; 6, Rahkei Eyer, Bou, 1:59.77.
3,200 — 1, Logan Morley, Big, 10:04.38; 2, Kryn Dykema, RL, 10:10.07; 3, AJ Eckmann, Bou, 10:12.18; 4, Paul Bielawski, She, 10:14.12; 5, Leonard McComas, Man, 10:14.35; 6, Tony Krogstad, Man, 10:17.44.
Discus — 1, Alex Nehring, Man, 172-10; 2, Tyler Iverson, Big, 161-0; 3, Tanner Miller, HP, 153-4; 4, McKenzie Holt, TF, 145-10; 5, Austin Forson, DL, 140-8; 6, Braden Thier, Eur, 139-2.
Javelin — 1, Casey Cole, For, 190-10; 2, Benji Phillips, Gla, 188-2; 3, Matt Packer, Bak, 183-7; 4, Thayne Hage, Col, 172-11; 5, Ronnie Hennelly, Col, 162-8; 6, Bransen Krebs, Pla, 162-5.
Pole vault — 1, Quincy Wittman, HP, 13-6; 2, Jake Gascon, TF, 13-0; 3, Shondel Connerton, Man, j13-0; 4, Joe Lundberg, TF, 12-0; 5, John Jacobsen, RL, j12-0; 6, Tyler Houle, Ron, j12-0.
Long jump — 1, Caleb Neth, Man, 21-10.75; 2, Pate Scott, Troy, 20-11.5; 3, Donte Wohlfeil, HP, 20-6.25; 4, Destan Miller, BT, 20-5; 5, Turner Stone, Man, 20-4; 6, Daylon Jay, Con, 20-3.5