Best of Preps – Spring 2013

Growing up at the softball fields while her mom Shirley coached, Jena discovered a natural love of the game. She also developed exceptional skill. By her senior season at Glacier, Jena was one of the best all-around players in Montana and led the Wolfpack to their first conference championship. The all-state captain hit nearly .400 all season and belted 10 homers, tying for a school record alongside all-state freshman Ali Williams. As the team’s ace, Jena recorded 108 strikeouts in 76 innings, including a 15-strikeout performance against Billings West in the quarterfinals of the state tournament, where Glacier placed third, its best finish in school history. Jena is taking her talents to Crown College in Minnesota next year.

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With Polson and Frenchtown in the mix, Northwestern A is a fierce league to play in. But Ashley and her teammates from Columbia Falls have still held their own. A year after placing fourth at state, Columbia Falls narrowly lost to the eventual champion Broncs by one run in the bottom of the seventh inning in the state semifinals. The Wildkats dropped another nailbiter to three-time defending champ Polson and finished this season in third place. As the team’s ace, Ashley tallied the second most wins in the league — 15 — and notched 156 strikeouts in 150 innings. In the batter’s box, she knocked in 27 runs while hitting .375. The pitching machine in her family’s barn will stay busy this offseason as Ashley trains for next spring with renewed motivation.

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Katya crafted a masterful career on the tennis court these past few seasons. She lost only three matches out of 47 as a singles player at Glacier. She also helped the program win the girls championship in 2011 and earn second place the last two years. She finished her prep career against a familiar foe: Molly Crum from Great Falls. During her undefeated run last spring, Katya defeated Crum for the singles championship. This season, the Wolfpack senior beat Crum for the divisional title, but Crum turned the tables at state and unseated Katya for the championship. Now she’s off to New York University where she plans to continue competing.

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Heavy is the head that wears the crown. Ever since he surfaced as a tennis prodigy four years ago, steamrolling opponents en route to a state title as a freshman, Kellen has had a target on his back. Yet the curly-haired lefty handled the pressure gracefully. During his first three seasons, he went undefeated in 49 matches in Montana, dropping only one set out of 98. But his senior year he noticed some unusual tenseness. His trademark skill — a bullet serve that buckled opponents’ knees — lost its zip on occasion. Then he injured his wrist in the weeks before state. The king was never more vulnerable. But Kellen was peerless until the end. The Indiana University recruit defended his title for a fourth and final time, solidifying himself as one of the greatest players in Montana history.

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Something unusual happened at the state meet. Makena didn’t win. Townsend senior Chiara Warner set records in all three distance races for a clean sweep. Makena’s times were impressive, but she says she wasn’t her best because she put too much pressure on herself. It became a valuable learning experience and a motivator. She’s restructuring her entire regimen, adding weight training and amping up her mileage. She hopes to build on her sophomore season, which was still remarkable. Before state she ran a personal best in the 1,600, 4:59, one of the fastest times in state history. At Archie Roe, she clocked 10:40 in the 3,200, another historically fast time. A day later she placed 17th out of 27,959 females at Bloomsday.

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Troy’s running times were worthy of championships. He just had bad timing. Glacier’s greatest distance runner competed alongside two of the state’s all-time greats, Flathead’s Zach Perrin and Hellgate’s Adam Peterman. Yet the achievements of Troy’s two close friends don’t overshadow his own. When Zach ran the fastest 3,200 ever inside Montana, Troy clocked the second fastest, 9:12. When Adam broke the all-class record, he had Troy on his heels, only eight seconds behind. In the 1,600, Troy ran a personal-best 4:17.22 to edge Adam for second place. Last winter, the Gonzaga University recruit earned 18th at Foot Locker Cross Country Nationals. In other words, gold medal or not, Troy is among the all-time greats, too.

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As the youngest of three athletic brothers, Josh had to work hard to keep up. He’s since developed into one of Bigfork’s best all-around athletes. In just two years, Josh has become a standout football and basketball player, and this spring he added track to his all-state skillset. He qualified for the Class B state meet for the first time. In Bozeman, he jumped a personal-best six feet in the high jump to earn fourth. He nicked the bar with his heel twice at 6-2, which ended up being the winning height. As the final leg on Bigfork’s long relay team, Josh ran a personal best to capture third place.

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It came down to her final jump. Kwyn was trailing cross-town competitor Leah Cook at the state meet with only one triple jump attempt left in her illustrious high school career. The state record-holder rose to the occasion. Kwyn landed 37-feet, 10 inches — the best mark all season statewide — to claim her second consecutive championship and cap a remarkable prep career in dramatic fashion. The future Arizona State Sun Devil graduates from Flathead as one of the school’s best athletes in recent years. Last spring she broke the Class AA state record in the triple jump with a mark of 38-4.75. In volleyball, she was all-state on the runner-up Bravettes team last fall. Now she’s on her way to Phoenix where she’ll be spiking in the Pac-12.

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Basketball may be his favorite sport, but Ty sleeps with a javelin under his bed. His dad, Eric, was an all-state track athlete in Cut Bank, and Ty is following in his footsteps. As a freshman, Ty asked to borrow a javelin from school and went to work practicing regularly. This spring his hard work paid off and he threw a personal and Class A best 176-feet, three inches to win the divisional championship. A week later in Laurel, competing in his first state meet, Ty unleashed another impressive throw — 175 — and had his grips on a state title until his opponent’s last toss, which won by 11 inches. Like the javelin under his bed, the second-place medal is providing Ty more motivation into the future.

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Carla was diagnosed with diabetes when she was 3 years old, but that hasn’t stopped her from being active. In the weight room, the athletic sophomore can bench press 145 pounds and squat 260 pounds. On the track, she’s become an all-state jumper and won the divisional title in both the high jump and triple jump. At the state meet in Laurel, she triple jumped 35-feet, eight and three-quarters inches. It was the top mark until the very end. Carla earned third place but was only three-quarters of an inch off the winner. Her biggest fan, her father Mike, was there carrying a backpack that’s always nearby with juices and other emergency supplies in case Carla experiences problems with her blood sugar. He’s gotten quite the workout trying to keep up with her.

Two years ago, Dan Hodge, Flathead’s longtime Hall of Fame coach, saw potential in Matthew even though the young man had never competed in track before. Matthew proved Hodge right. He ascended to the top of the ranks and broke both the AA and the all-class state records in the triple jump at the championship meet in Bozeman. He leaped 48-feet, nine and a half inches, shattering Gary Minor’s 1972 AA record of 47-6 and surpassing Harry Clark’s 1983 all-class mark, 48-2. Tokarz also brought home a state title in the long jump, leaping 22-7.75, the best mark all season across Montana and only seven inches off the 1980 AA record. The three-sport letterman signed to play football at Montana Tech next year.

Last year, Keyawna’s freshman season ended with disappointment at the divisional meet. She knew she was better than that. Keyawna turned regret into motivation and undertook an aggressive training schedule that included lifting and running. She emerged this spring as one of the top javelin throwers in Montana. This time at the divisional meet she achieved her best mark and placed second. Then a week later at the state meet in Bozeman, Keyawna heaved the javelin 140-feet and eight inches, almost 20 feet further than her divisional mark and 13 feet better than the state runner-up. It ranked as one of the top 10 greatest throws in Montana since the new javelin was introduced in 2002. Keyawna is now focused on a new goal: the state record, 143-7.

It’s hard to imagine a better finish to a senior season than Logan’s. He choreographed one of the more memorable final acts, seizing three individual state titles, leading the short relay team to victory and guiding the Bulldogs to its first championship since 2008. He won the 400 with a personal best 48.81 seconds, less than a second behind the all-class state record set in 1976. Not including the relays, Logan scored 38 of Whitefish’s 78 points on his own. Logan’s previous top finish at state was third, and he entered the final meet ranked first in only the 200, an event he just started running midway through spring. He competed in his first 100 only three weeks ago. He signed to run track at the University of Great Falls.

The hanger in Marlow’s room that holds her track medals is bearing a lot of weight these days. The fleet-footed junior defended her three sprint titles in a dominating sequel at this year’s state meet in Laurel. She won the 100 in 12.66 seconds; the 200 in 25.16; and the 400 in 56.13, which broke the 1978 Class A record by almost a second and ranks as one of the fastest times in state history, according to the Montana High School Association. She also ran on the second-place short relay team and the fifth-place long relay team. In three seasons, Marlow has piled up 14 top-five medals from state, including nine golds. She also owns three records at the prestigious Archie Roe Invitational meet and four school records. She only lost one race this season, placing second to the eventual AA state runner-up in the 200.