Vikes and Vals earn Western B track titles, tennis team takes 6th at state

Bigfork will be taking a full bus to the state track meet in Great Falls this weekend after the Vikings and Valkyries each ran away with Western B Divisional titles in Frenchtown Saturday.

The Vikings used eight first-place finishes and 16 personal records (PR) to finish with 194 points, more than twice that of second-place Loyola, while the Valkyries also had eight first-place finishes and compiled 175 points, well ahead of Eureka’s 97.

The Vikings will be sending 18 athletes to Great Falls for the state meet while 17 Valkyries will be competing.

Jack Jensen and George Bucklin both won two individual events for the Vikings at the meet with Jensen setting a new PR of 2:00.71 to win the 800 meters while also winning the 1,600 meter run with a time of 4:32.12.

Bucklin cleared 6 feet, 4 inches to win the high jump and used a leap of 21 feet, 1.5 inches to earn the long jump title.

Wyatt Johnson posted a time of 16.27 to win the 110 hurdles with Cole Knopik in second with a PR of 16.63 seconds.

The Vikings swept the top three spots in the shot put as Levi Taylor set a new PR of 48 feet, 7 inches to take first, Braeden Guse’s PR of 47 feet, 11.5 inches earned second and Silvestre Rodreiguez set a new PR of 43 feet, 6 inches to take third.

Guse was a winner in the discus with a toss of 128 feet, 7 inches and Levi Peterson won the triple jump with a leap of 41 feet, 1 inch.

Inga Turner won two individual events to help lead the Valkyries, setting a PR in the 100 hurdles with a time of 16.13 seconds and using a leap of 16 feet, 2.25 inches to win the long jump.

The Valkyries swept the top three spots in the long jump as Emma Pouwers leapt 15 feet, 8.75 inches to take second and Hannah Ayers used a PR of 15 feet, 5 inches to finish third.

Chloe Raats was a winner in the 400 meter run with a time of 1:01.06, Lily Tanko’s PR of 47.46 seconds win the 300 hurdles, Scout Nadeau set a new PR of 38 feet, 6.5 inches to win the shot put and Zoey Albert’s PR of 116 feet, 1 inch won the javelin.

Both relay teams improved on their Class B state-leading times to take first in their events as Danika Bucklin, Tanko, Raats and Afton Lambrecht set a time of 50.56 seconds in the 4X100 relay while Coralyn Shillam, Tanko, Raats and Lambrecht finished the 4X400 relay in 4:13.21.

Events at the Class B/C State Track Meet will get underway at 9 a.m. Friday and Saturday at Memorial Stadium on the campus of Great Falls High School.

TENNIS

Bigfork earned a sixth-place finish at the state tennis tournament in Bozeman over the weekend as the Vikings doubles team of Blain Barrows and Caden Leonard took third place.

Barrows and Leonard opened the tournament with two straight wins before falling in straight sets in the semifinals. The duo bounced back with a 6-4, 6-4 win in the consolation semifinals before winning their final match to take third.

For the Valkyries, Emma Berreth and Anika Ranson won their first three matches and advanced to the semifinals before dropping their final two matches.

Logan and Landen Livingston lost both of their doubles matches.

In singles action, Callie Martinz won her first two matches of the tournament before falling in the quarterfinals. She won won match in the consolation bracket before being eliminated.

George Brown overcame dropping the first set to earn a win in the opening round of boys singles action, 2-6, 6-2, 6-3. Brown dropped his next match in the quarterfinals before losing to teammate Ian McMann in the consolation bracket.

McMann lost his opening round matchup in three sets, but bounced back with two straight wins before being eliminated.

Kyle Fowlick won his first match 6-4, 6-4 before losing in the quarterfinals and being forced to withdraw due to injury.