Polson goes one-two at meet

LIBBY - Strong wind gusts exceeding 30 miles per hour couldn't slow down the Polson girls' and boys' track teams last Saturday at the Libby Invitational. The girls had a first-place finish while the boys' team came in second.

The girls finished with 193 points, far ahead of second-place Whitefish's 109 points. The Lady Pirates placed in all but two events, winning nine of 17 events and finishing second in four others. A few girls had their personal best marks despite the periodical downpour and wind throughout the day.

"Our girls continue to dominate the competition in our conference," head coach Robert Gunderson said. "Hard work, combined with considerable talent, pays off."

Junior Mesa Starkey ran her personal best time of 12 minutes 22.29 seconds in the 3200-meter race.

The Lady Pirate shot putters took first, second and third. Freshman DJ Conko-Camel threw her personal best in the shot put with a 29-9, placing third.

"DJ is a very good freshman with a good future in our track and field program," Gunderson said.

Senior Loni Havlovick took first place in the shot put with a throw of 40-11 and senior Natasha Lafferty took second with a distance of 33-7.25. Havlovick also finished first in the discus with a throw of 127-4.

Gunderson said Havlovick has the third best marks in the state in the shot put and discus.

The boys team finished with 99 points, behind first-place Columbia Falls, which had 139 points.

Senior Joe Andrews and freshman Mike Devlin did not compete in Saturday's meet due to other sporting competitions. Seniors Jason Bowman and Travis Hoyt only competed in the relays and couldn't compete in individual events due to minor injuries.

"Those four represent a pile of points that we could have, would have, should have had," Gunderson said.

Gunderson said regardless of the absences and injuries, the boys' team did very well and is improving rapidly.

Senior Jordan Cross had personal best times in the 400 with a time of 54.02 and in the 200 with a time of 24.35.

"It is a pleasure to see the results of the hard work that some of our kids put in on a daily basis," Gunderson said. "Jordan is a prime example of someone that works hard in practice and is finally having some success on the track."

Gunderson said that there was a mistake in the 400.

"Jordan actually won the 400, but due to a mix-up with the finish judges, they placed him second," Gunderson said. "It is unfortunate that Jordan didn't get picked for first. He was in lane eight and they just flat out missed him."

Senior Alex Havlovick placed first in the discus with a throw of 143-0. Sophomore Clark Rubel placed sixth in the discus with his personal best mark of 124-6. Senior Brock Picard placed first in the javelin with a throw of 160-2.

Polson's next track meet is at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday in Whitefish.