Scottie Track in Sidney: Boys Second, Girls Third

With four meets in the books, the Scottie track and field team continues to perform well and qualify athletes for the state competition.

The Scottie boys placed second overall – probably the best they could do when competing against hotshot Kelly Murnion from Garfield County and the pole-vaulting powerhouse Garrison Hughes from Sidney. Murnion swept the sprints for the boys, and Hughes put on a show for the crowd when his top vault cleared 14' 08" – more than 3' higher than any other vaulter at the meet.

Benji Phillips, who was recently highlighted on the Rocky Erickson show, grabbed the only first-place finish for the boys when he tossed the javelin 191' 11".

In addition, Phillips placed third in the 100m dash, 11.6; second in the 200m dash, 23.12; and second in the long jump, 21-07.00 (PR).

Freshman Merlin McKean was the top placer for Glasgow in the 1600m run with a time of 5:03.77 (PR). He also placed well in the 3200m run, coming in sixth with a time of 11:20.37 (PR).

Walker Allen did well in both distance events also, placing fifth in the 3200m run - 11:16.05, and sixth in the 1600m run – 5:05.27.

Ellis McKean also placed in the 3200m run, taking fourth with a time of 11:15.65 (PR).

Although they were unable to place for points, Ethan and Colin Jamba both earned PRs in the 1600m run, with Ethan finishing in 5:48.27 and Colin finishing in 5:45.58. In addition, Colin ran the 3200m run in 12:39.44, while Ethan finished in 12:55.02. In the long jump, Colin achieved another PR with a jump of 13-11.50.

Luke Breigenzer finished the day with a PR of 125.27 in the 100m dash, and a second-place finish in the 110m hurdles (16.24). Breigenzer, however, had a disappointing 15th -place finish in one of his best events, the 300m hurdles. He was unable to recover from two separate falls after connecting with the weighted hurdles in Sidney.

Ethan Etchart placed third in the 110m hurdles with a time of 17.94. He also competed in the 100m dash (12.34), and the 300m hurdles (45.65).

Trent Herbert competed in the 100m dash, 12.47; long jump, 16-10.00; and triple jump, 37-02.50.

Logan Gunderson finished the day with two new PRs, finishing with a time of 12.63 in the 100m dash and earning a solid fifth place in the pole vault with an 11-00.00 vault.

Garrett Lloyd ran the 100m dash (12.74), the 200m dash, (26.21), and the 400m dash (58.71). Lloyd also competed in the long jump and achieved a PR distance of 16-03.50.

Other jumpers include Kyle Ross, who finished the pole vault with a height of 10-00.00, and the long jump with a jump of 13-08.50.

Cody King finished his only event, the pole vault with a 10-00.00 vault, and Shane Sinclair finished the high jump with a leap of 5-02.00.

In the throwing events, seniorTrevor Toavs had a good day. Finishing in fourth place and achieving a state-qualifying PR in the discus with a heave of 140-02, reaching another PR in the shot put with a throw of 41-01.00, and tossing the javelin 131' 04".

Alex Fransen threw the shot put 27-02.00, and achieved a PR in the javelin with a toss of 126-04.

Although freshman Ben Miller wasn't able to break the 100' mark with his javelin toss of 86-07, he did achieve a PR in the shot put with a throw of 36-11.00, and demolished his previous 93-04 PR in the discus with a throw of 120-01.

The boys' only relay, the 4x100, finished in second with a time of 45.80.

The girls placed third overall in Sidney, and had some great finishes as well.

The only individual first-place finish went to Baylie Chappell in the 100m dash. Beating out 65 other competitors, Chappell finished the race with a time of 13.25. She also came away with a fourth-place finish and a PR in the 200m dash with a time of 27.29. In her jumping events, Chappell finished the high jump with a 4-02.00 jump and the long jump with a distance of 13-07.75.

One of the most versatile girls on the team is Jordan Kulczyk. Kulczyk is a runner, a thrower, and a jumper for the team. She also consistently participates in both the long and short relays. On Friday, Kulczyk just missed earning points for the team in the 100m dash, placing seventh with a time of 13.65. In the javelin, she achieved a PR and placed sixth with a throw of 105-07. Finally, she achieved another PR in the long jump and a third-place finish with a jump of 16-08.25.

Senior Alex Simensen grabbed a second-place finish and a new PR in the 200m dash with a time of 27.02 and a third-place finish in the 400m dash with a time of 1:03.87. Displaying her versatility, Simensen also competed in the pole vault and finished with a vault of 7-06.00, and the javelin, where she threw a distance of 88-07.

Junior Brinlie Nielsen finished the 400m dash in a time of 1:09.74, and the 800m run with a time of 2:53.12.

Morgan Guttenberg, another junior middle-distance runner, finished the 400m dash in a time of 1:10.78, and achieved a PR in the 800m run with a time of 2:48.92.

The Scottie girls' long-distance runners, Teagan Fossum and Brooke Westby, both achieved PRs in the 1600m run. Fossum finished with her best time of 6:05.46, and Westby finished with a time of 6:26.36.

In addition, Fossum ran the 3200m run and finished with a time of 13:48.97, followed by Westby with a time of 14:22.01. Fossum also competed in the javelin and finished with a throw of 71-04.

Sophomore Kaylee King was the only Lady Scottie to finish a hurdle event. She ran the 300m hurdles with a time of 58.07. King also competed in the high jump and finished with a jump of 4-04.00. In the pole vault, she achieved a PR with a vault of 7-00.00.

A freshman jumper, Alaina Sallee finished the high jump with a height of 4-00.00, the long jump with a distance of 12-08.25, and the triple jump with a PR of 29-03.50.

Another freshman, Katie Kaiser, tossed the javelin with a throw of 80-04, and completed the pole vault with a vault of 7-06.00.

Hannah Mickelson competed in four events: long jump, 10-06.00; shot put, 22-05.00; discus, 53-10; and the javelin, where she achieved a PR with a throw of 81-06.

Freshman Natosha Sand finished the day with three throwing events in the books: javelin, 54-05; discus, 43-01; and the shot put, where she achieved a PR with a heave of 24-04.00.

Freshman Cordelia Nickels achieved two PRs on the day with one in the shot put (24-04.00), and one in the discus (69-06). Nickels also competed in the javelin and finished with a toss of 74-03.

Senior Karissa Liebelt was only able to finish in one event – the triple jump with a distance of 29-08.05. Emily Kolstad, freshman, also finished just one event. She finished the 100m dash with a time of 13.92.

The girls' 4x400 relay placed sixth with a time of 4:39.63, and the short relay took the top spot with a time of 52.40.

Currently, six Scotties have qualified for state in several events: Baylie Chappell in the high jump and the 100m dash, Alex Simensen in the 100m dash, Kaylee King in the high jump, Jordan Kulczyk in the long jump, Trevor Toavs in the discus and Benji Phillips in the 100m dash, long jump, javelin and 200m dash. In addition, both girls' relays have qualified for the state meet.

Phillips and Kulczyk also both have the distinction of being ranked in the top ten high school track and field athletes in Montana. According to the website Athletic.net, Phillips is ranked second in the state in the javelin and fourth in the state in long jump. With her PR jump of 16-8.25 in the long jump at the Sidney Invitational, Kulczyk reached the ranking of eighth in the state in that event.

In addition, Kulczyk achieved a spot on the record board with her jump, knocking off Cathy Carlson, 1988 graduate and Kara Wesen, 2008 graduate for fifth place.