Absences hurt Arlee's track team

MISSOULA - After a good showing last Thursday at the Hot Springs Invitational, the Arlee boys' and girls' track team struggled to place in events Saturday at the Seeley Swan Invitational in Missoula.

Head coach Russ Baker said nearly half of the teams' athletes were absent from Saturday's meet for various reasons spanning from illness to academic issues.

"There were over 30 schools competing Saturday and the competition was stiff," Baker said.

Sophomore Becca Nelson was the only athlete to place Saturday. She threw the javelin 102-0, which landed her in the sixth spot.

Senior Chelsea Allaire also had a good showing with a season-best jump of 14-0 1/2 in the long jump. She also had a season-best time of 18.2 seconds in the 100 hurdles but neither performance was able to land her a top-place finish.

In Hot Springs, more team members were able to place higher in the rankings. Sophomore Jenna Pablo finished fourth in the high jump with a jump of 4-4. She also placed fourth in the triple jump with a distance of 28-6 1/2. Sophomore Aspen Miedinger placed second in the shot put with a throw of 27-7. Miedinger also placed fifth in the discus with a throw of 75-11.

"I thought we performed fairly decent," Baker said of the Hot Springs meet "I was hoping we would place a little better in some events, but we did good."

The boys' team also had top finishes in Hot Springs. Sophomore Zach Carver won the 100-meter race in a neck-to-neck finish with a runner from Plains. Carver came close to his season best in that race with an 11.78 finish.

Sophomore Clayton Tremble placed third in the 200 with a time of 25.8. He also placed fourth in the 100 with a time of 12.4.

Junior Dylan Moran placed second in the 300 hurdles. In Missoula, Moran ran the 300 hurdles in 46.4, one second faster than his Hot Springs time, but it wasn't able to secure a top place finish.

Arlee's next track meet is at 1 p.m. today in Arlee, and then at 11 a.m. on Saturday in Superior.