Names like Lexy, Tess and Derrick have been familiar ones over the last four springs. They’ve become known as the latest class of standout track athletes in a valley full of memorable names through the years. Others have emerged, too, like Zach, Makena and Marlow – a younger group carrying on a rich local tradition.
This weekend marks the end of another high school track season. The state meets for Class AA and C are in Butte on May 25-26. Class A and B are in Bozeman on the same dates.
Glacier High senior Lexy Boschee will, among other title aspirations, attempt to become only the second Montana athlete to win four straight high jump state titles. Since 1970, there have only been 18 girls in state history to win four state titles in any single event, according to the Montana High School Association.
Boschee cleared 5-9 at Archie Roe recently, tying the meet’s longtime record and putting her within half a foot of the 29-year-old state record. Her historic title streak began at the first-ever state meet in Kalispell in 2009 when she unseated three-time champ Gwen Abbott of Butte. Boschee’s closest competition this season is Allison Morrison from Helena, who cleared 5-5. Boschee is also ranked second in the long jump, third in both the 100 hurdles and triple jump, and fifth in the 300 hurdles.
Flathead High senior Tess Brenneman will try to add to her collection of eight top-three state medals, including a long jump championship from 2010. Since she was a freshman, Brenneman has dominated an array of events both on the track and in the field. Entering her final state meet she’s ranked first in the long jump, second in both the 300 hurdles and 400 and third in the 200. Her best long jump this season – 18-7.75 – is close to Flathead alum Lexy Miller’s 1979 state record of 18-11.25. The future University of Montana soccer player also runs on both relays, which are ranked in the top six.
Brenneman’s teammate, junior Kwyn Johnson, has the top triple jump in the state, 37-9.5, which is already better than the state record 37-5.5 set by Butte’s Holly Maloney in 1984.
Columbia Falls senior Derrick Williams could not only sweep the distance races, he’s also capable of breaking the 17-year-old Class A state record in the 1,600. At Archie Roe, Williams ran 4:18.63, the top time in the state for all classes and better than the state record 4:19.3 set by Havre’s Scott Adams in 1995. Williams is ranked first in both the 1,600 and 3,200 and second in the 800, barely a second behind Corvallis’ Colby Henderson.
Williams nearly completed the distance sweep last year after winning titles in the 1,600 and 800 and placing second in the 3,200. Like all distance runners, he’ll have elevation working against him — Bozeman sits at 4,820 feet. The Carroll College recruit also runs a leg on the state’s best long relay team.
Williams’ teammate, senior Daniel Jones, broke the Northwestern A divisional record in the javelin last week with a throw of 202-6. That broke the old mark of 202-4 set by Libby’s Kyle Baker in 2005. Jones’ divisional record is the best mark in Class A this spring. He’s also fourth in both the discus and shot put. Trevor Wobschall is ranked fourth in the short hurdles. On the girls team, senior Jinise Osborne has the second-best 3,200.
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Whitefish runner Amanda Foley competes in the 100-meter dash during the Archie Roe Invitational at Legends Stadium in Kalispell. File photo by Lido Vizzutti/Flathead Beacon |
Whitefish High senior Amanda Foley and sophomore teammate Marlow Schulz will both compete in seven events this weekend. Head coach Derek Schulz believes it’s the first time Whitefish has ever had a girl, let alone two, qualify in that many events at state. His daughter Marlow has made up for missed time because of illness and regained her place as one of the top sprinters in Montana. As a freshman, Schulz won state titles in the 100 and 800 and was runner-up in the 400 by less than a second.
Foley, who placed third last year in the 100 and fourth in both the 200 and 400, became Whitefish’s fleet-footed sprinter this season in Schulz’s absence and is currently tied for the fastest 100 in the state for all classes. Foley, who recently accepted a scholarship offer to run at the University of Montana, also ranks in the top five in Class A in the 200, 400, 300 hurdles and as a leg on both relays.
“She’s really emerged as a prominent state competitor,” Schulz, the head coach, said. “She has been all along but she’s running very strong right now.”
Flathead High junior Zach Perrin has had one of the all-time great track seasons ever for a Montana distance runner. In April he ran the fastest 3,200 ever for a prep athlete from Montana, clocking 8:55.24 at the Arcadia Invitational track meet in Los Angeles, Calif. Two weeks ago he proved it wasn’t all thanks to sea-level elevation. In Libby, Perrin ran 9:12.47, the second-fastest high school time ever on a Montana track. Flathead High great David Vidal holds the top 3,200 on local soil, 9:12.14, which he also ran in Libby, in 2001.
Perrin has an uphill shot at breaking Deer Lodge standout Gordon Ruttenbur’s 1982 all-class state record of 9:13.3 considering he’s competing in Butte, elevation 5,538. Perrin has the fastest 1,600 and 3,200 in Class AA and second best 800 just behind Billings Senior’s Alex Klatt.
Flathead junior Mathew Tokarz won the Western AA divisional title in the triple jump with the state’s best mark — 46-7.5. He’s also ranked second in the long. Senior Tanner Thiel has the fourth best javelin throw; John Collins is fourth in the high hurdles; Matt Quist is fifth in the high jump; and Michael Managhan is fifth in the 400. The Braves long relay team is ranked first.
Glacier junior Troy Fraley ranks third in both the 1,600 and 3,200. At Arcadia, he clocked 9:26.78 in the 3,200. Fraley’s teammate, sophomore Todd Ogden, has battled an injury like many Wolfpack athletes this spring but still has the best javelin throw, 199-0. Ogden won the state title last year, throwing 193-4. Senior Josiah Bumgarner has the second best pole vault; Kyle Griffith ranks third in both long and triple jump; Jake Tudahl is third in discus and fifth in javelin; Greg Dalton is third in the short hurdles.
Makena Morley has quickly become a recognizable name in Montana. The Bigfork freshman has already broken Class B’s cross country state record and could etch her name in the record books once again. Her best 800 time – 2:16.77 – is within range of Malta’s Bobbi Knutson’s 1999 Class B state record, 2:14.86. Morley’s best 1,600 – 5:01.3 – is already better than the 1998 record set by Boulder’s Sabrina Monro, 5:03.29. In the 3,200, Morley has clocked 10:44.46, again better than another Monro record, 10:46.12. Still, how Bozeman’s elevation will factor in remains unknown.
Bigfork senior Ryan Hayes has the second-best 200 in Class B; Austin Cantrell has the fifth best shot put; and Mitchell Harsh is fifth in the discus. Both Bigfork relay teams are ranked fifth.
For a comprehensive listing of track results, deep lists and rankings, visit www.montanatrack.com.