Charlo takes fourth of 30
Tra Ludeman of Charlo leaps over a hurdle in the 300 hurdles. Ludeman ran the event in 47.53 seconds.
MISSOULA - Contrary to the difficulties other teams had due to bad weather, the Charlo boy's track team saw some of its best marks of the season Saturday at the Seeley-Swan Invitational.
The boys' team finished fourth with a score of 48.5. More than 30 teams competed at the tournament.
A new competitor, senior Cody Nitchske, added a few points to the team's final score placing third in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 15.62 seconds. Nitchske placed fifth in the 300 hurdles with a time of 43.29 as well.
"Cody has finally become eligible again to compete, and he is going to be a tremendous help to our team," assistant coach Jim Peterson said.
Peterson said that Nitchske was competing at the state level two years ago before he blew out his knee. He came back last year but wasn't able to compete at the same level, Peterson said.
Nitchske also competed in the 400 relay, which the team won with a season best time of 44.82. Peterson attributes some of the success of that relay to Nitchske.
"The 400 relay team is knocking at the door to the school record," Peterson said. "Hopefully they will break it in the next few weeks."
Sophomore Stephan Delaney placed fifth in the 110 hurdles with a time of 16.30 and third in the 300 hurdles with a time of 42.39.
The pole-vaulters continued to do well with senior Chance Firestone placing third with a jump of 12-6. Senior Jame Petersen took fourth with a jump of 12-6 and junior Chance Rosenbaum tied for sixth with a jump of 11-6.
The girls' team struggled to compete with the top teams, placing tenth in the meet.
Sophomore Dawn Blevins placed third in the 800 with a time of 2:39.11. Junior Brittany Shaver placed sixth in the same event with a time of 2:39.80.
Blevins and Shaver, along with sophomore Deondra Brown and freshman Rachel Hoyt, had one of the top-ten best 1600 relay times with 4:29.21.
"The girls' 1600 relay team has been consistently shaving off time all season," Peterson said. "We expect them to surpass their season best very soon."
Senior Stephanie Maughan tied for fourth in the pole vault with a jump of 8-0. Peterson said that as the season goes on, he thinks that Maughan can add another foot to her vault.
Charlo's next meet is at 1 p.m. today in Charlo.