Scotties Sweep Divisional Meet

Glasgow hosted the Northern B Divisional track meet on May 20, with 11 teams showing up to compete.

Although there were some disappointed Scotties, the team as a whole had a super day of competition.

Head coach Tim Phillips was pleased with both the boys and girls. "I don't think anybody had a bad day," he said. "We had some who didn't compete at their best, but with that many kids, it's bound to happen."

Six individual champions contributed to Glasgow's success. For the boys, Luke Breigenzer reached the top spot with his first place in the 110m hurdles, and Benji Phillips earned gold in the javelin, as expected. "Luke was a great competitor in both hurdles as always, and to win the 100's was a great boost heading into state," said coach Phillips. "Benji had a bit of an elbow issue in the javelin," he added, "so we'll see what that turns out to be." Perhaps the most impressive win was in the 1600m run, with senior Gabe Hallock squeaking past the McKean brothers for the first-place finish. "I'd say Gabe's 1600 helped lead the turning point of the meet," said Phillips of the race. "That was a 10-second p.r., and helped us to a 1-2-3 finish." In addition to the 1600m run, Hallock will compete in the 800m at state, thanks to his 10-second p.r. in the event at divisionals, and both Ellis and Merlin McKean will run in the 1600m and 3200m races. "Ellis and Merlin both had a real good 1600m," said Phillips.

The McKeans, along with freshman Wilson Overby, will also be competing in the 3200m run. At divisionals, "they all ran really good times, but sometimes it takes a little more energy to be out there leading," said Phillips of their performance. "The boys sat back a little, let someone else do the work, and then exploded for a fantastic last lap." Phillips added that if they can do that at state, they've all got a real good shot at placing in both events.

Freshman Alec Boland also set a p.r. in the 800m run and advanced to state with his sixth-place finish.

Brett Glaser, according to Phillips, has been a "man on fire." "He did five events on Saturday and had five p.r.'s," he said. "If we can peak him for one more week, that could be huge for us as a team."

Freshman Tyler Fitzsimmons qualified in the 200m dash. "I was super proud of how he came back in the 200 to place," said Phillips. "Especially with his limited training this season."

With his final throw in the javelin, Cade Myrick passed a Fairfield kid. "That was one of those things that don't appear too big at the time until you look at the final score and realize that was a four-point turnaround," said Phillips. He added that Myrick achieved a two-second p.r. in the 800m despite battling tight hamstrings the past few weeks. He will represent the Scotties in both events at the state meet.

Trent Herbert, a senior for the Scotties, will be competing in the triple jump at the state meet. "Trent brought his A-game on Saturday," said Phillips. "He really broke out and ran very good legs on both relays. And his triple is getting back to where he wants."

Advancing to state in the pole vault are junior Kyle Ross and rookie junior Matt Reyling. The pole vault will be held Thursday, May 25 at 4 p.m. in Butte.

"On the boys' side," said Phillips, "we'll miss Kaden Zimmerman and Colin Jamba from the distance crew. They've both had fine seasons, but our program in the distance is pretty stout, so it's awful tough to move on with all the kids we have there. Dexter Monson ran a huge p.r. in the 400m. He cut off about three seconds. That was a great way to finish his season. Tayson Hoerster had his best ever in both the 110m and 300m hurdles, so we were super pleased with that effort."

"Grant Morken again provided for us on the anchor leg of the 4x100m," he continued. "I knew he'd be important to us this year, but wasn't expecting that at the beginning of the season."

Discussing some of his throwers, Phillips said, "Ben Miller really has been battling some tough hip issues. He threw pretty well in the discus, considering the discomfort he's been in. Nik Herman ended the season like you want - with a p.r. I can't say enough about how he's worked and applied himself to his goal. Skye Buckles has been fighting back issues still, but he got through it to get some decent throws."

As far as earning hardware for the boys, coach Phillips is guarded in his prediction. "There's a chance we could get some hardware at state, but it's gonna be real tough," he said. "Forsyth, Baker and Fairfield all look to be in the mix at this point."

For the girls, seniors Leinie Hughes and Jordan Kulczyk led the throwers with Hughes winning the shot put and Kulczyk winning in the javelin. Emily Kolstad, a sophomore for the Scotties, earned a win in the 800m run, and will also be competing in the 200m and 400m races. In addition, Kolstad set a personal best in the 400m to secure a spot on the record board as the third all-time best in Glasgow.

Reflecting on their performances, Phillips noted, "Leinie was solid as always in the shot, and even squeaked into state in the discus. Jordan was right near her best in the javelin, and had a really good jump in the long. And, for Emily's second 800m ever, she ran a very smart, gutty race to win."

Senior Brinlie Nielsen will be competing in the 400m and 800m races for the Scotties. "Brinlie didn't have her best 400m, but still ran very well," explained Phillips. "I saw her really competing the entire way in the 800m, so I was very happy with that."

Other distance runners for the Lady Scotties will be Brooke Westby, who qualified in both the 1600m and the 3200m, and senior Faith Sallee and freshman Ali Cunningham, who will both run in the 3200m.

"Brooke ran pretty well in the 1600, though her 3200 wasn't so great," said Phillips. "She's been out several weeks, so just to move on is a great thing."

"Ali hung on to make it in the 3200m. I'm proud of the battles she's made to get there, and Faith ended up running her best time in the 3200m," he added. "She really competed very well."

"Alaina (Sallee) and Kaylee (King) had very good 300m hurdle races," said Phillips of the two qualifiers in the event. "It will be fun to see them work on getting just a bit faster at state."

In addition to the hurdles, Sallee will be competing in the triple jump, and King will participate in the high jump.

For the throwers, Regan Zerbe had an impressive day at the divisional meet in the discus. "Regan is on a tear," Phillips said. "She had a breakout meet again." He added that her 93' 5" throw was a six foot p.r.

In the girls' pole vault, Katie Kaiser finished in a tie for fourth place and qualified for a trip to the state meet.

For the girls, said coach Phillips, "Brennan Peters just missed making it to state. It wasn't her best day, but she has thrown very, very well for a freshman. Ellie Page set two personal bests in the 400m and 300m hurdles, but it just wasn't quite enough to move on. Tyisha (Begs His Own) missed out in the 100m and 200m, but a few weeks ago she wasn't even on the radar for district."

As for placing at state, Phillips thinks the girls are out of the mix for a team trophy. "I'm hoping we can surprise some people team-wise, and bring home some good individual awards," he said. He's also hoping for some medals in the girls' relays.

In his final remarks, Phillips praised his Scotties. "Those kids battled all day long. We had 28 p.r.'s all together, so I thought it was just a great day for our entire Scottie crew."

Phillips also stressed his appreciation for all the volunteers that worked in order for Glasgow to host the divisional meet. "It's worth the effort to be able to host this meet every other year," he said. "I'm not sure we would have won it on the road."

Team Scores

Boys

1. Glasgow 137.5

2. Fairfield 128

3. Harlem 63

4. Cut Bank 58

5. Shelby 53.5

6. Wolf Point 50

7. Choteau 20

8. Conrad 8

9. Poplar 6

10. Malta 3

Girls

1. Glasgow 103.33

2. Fairfield 88

3. Choteau 82

4. Malta 75

5. Cut Bank 49.33

6. Shelby 42

7. Harlem 28

8. Poplar 22

9. Wolf Point 17.33

10. Conrad 12

11. Rocky Boy 8

Individual results

Boys

100 Meters

3. Benji Phillips, 11.52

8. Tyler Fitzsimmons, 11.93

200 Meters

2. Benji Phillips, 23.50

5. Brett Glaser, 24.25

6. Tyler Fitzsimmons, 24.50

400 Meters

4. Benji Phillips, 51.71

6. Brett Glaser, 52.54

12. Dexter Monson, 55.41

800 Meters

3. Cade Myrick, 2:04.69

5. Gabe Hallock, 2:06.13

6. Alec Boland, 2:08.50

1600 Meters

1. Gabe Hallock, 4:47.45

2. Ellis McKean, 4:50.46

3. Merlin McKean, 4:51.26

9. Cade Myrick, 5:03.09

10. Wilson Overby, 5:03.35

3200 Meters

2. Ellis McKean, 10:27.73

3. Merlin McKean, 10:31.73

4. Wilson Overby, 10:37.24

7. Kaden Zimmerman, 12:05.66

8. Colin Jamba, 12:16.91

110m Hurdles

1. Luke Breigenzer, 15.96

11. Tayson Hoerster, 19.76

300m Hurdles

2. Luke Breigenzer, 41.33

8. Tayson Hoerster, 47.82

4x100 Relay

6. Luke Breigenzer, Tyler Fitzsimmons, Trent Herbert, Grant Morken; 47.04

4x400 Relay

6. Luke Breigenzer, Alec Boland, Merlin McKean, Trent Herbert; 3:48.01

Shot Put

7. Brett Glaser, 41-04.50

Discus

8. Ben Miller, 116-02

Javelin

1. Benji Phillips, 192-08

3. Cade Myrick, 157-11

8. Nik Herman, 137-07

10. Skye Buckles, 131-01

Pole Vault

3. Kyle Ross, 11-00.00

6. Matt Reyling, 10-06.00

Long Jump

3. Benji Phillips, 20-01.75

4. Brett Glaser, 19-06.25

9. Trent Herbert, 17-01.25

Triple Jump

2. Brett Glaser, 41-10.50

4. Trent Herbert, 39-08.25

Girls

100 Meters

7. Jordan Kulczyk, 13.86

8. Tyisha Begs His Own, 14.20

10. Anika Peters, 14.29

200 Meters

5. Emily Kolstad, 27.88

8. Brinlie Nielsen, 28.68

9. Tyisha Begs His Own, 29.39

400 Meters

2. Emily Kolstad, 1:00.36

4. Brinlie Nielsen, 1:04.61

10. Ellie Page, 1:12.29

800 Meters

1. Emily Kolstad, 2:31.96

3. Brinlie Nielsen, 2:32.40

1600 Meters

4. Brooke Westby, 6:11.00

7. Ali Cunningham, 6:23.55

3200 Meters

3. Faith Sallee, 13:42.76

4. Brooke Westby, 13:48.65

6. Ali Cunningham, 14:26.56

300m Hurdles

4. Alaina Sallee, 52.06

6. Kaylee King, 53.31

12. Ellie Page, 56.50

4x100 Relay

2. Brinlie Nielsen, Jordan Kulczyk, Anika Peters, Emily Kolstad; 52.38

4x400 Relay

2. Brinlie Nielsen, Alaina Sallee, Jordan Kulczyk, Emily Kolstad; 4:22.46

Shot Put

1. Leinie Hughes, 34-11.00

Discus

4. Regan Zerbe, 93-05

5. Leinie Hughes, 91-07

7. Brennan Peters, 88-10

Javelin

1. Jordan Kulczyk, 115-06

High Jump

5. Kaylee King, 4-06.00

9. Ellie Page, 4-02.00

Pole Vault

4. Katie Kaiser, 8-00.00

9. Kaylee King, 7-06.00

Long Jump

3. Jordan Kulczyk, 15-05.75

7. Anika Peters, 14-04.00

Triple Jump

6. Alaina Sallee, 30-07.75

10. Anika Peters, 29-08.25

11. Kaylee King, 28-06.50