Polson track stays strong

Wins at Top-10 meet propel Pirates

WHITEFISH - The rain didn't stop 18 teams, and almost 700 athletes, from turning out for the Whitefish A.R.M. Invitational on Saturday, where the Polson boys' team took sixth place with 41 points and the girls' team took second with 111.5.

Several athletes on the boys' team scored their personal bests. Senior Alex Havlovick threw his in discus, placing third, with 145-2 1/2. Senior Miles Bieber made his personal record in the 1600-meters, coming in seventh at 4:53. Sophomore Clark Rubel made the finals with his personal record in the discus, throwing a 124-8.

Sophomore Breanne Kelley swept the hurdles races. Her time of 15.89 in the 100 hurdles was a season best. Kelley sits second for the 100 hurdles, third for the 200 and fourth for the 300 hurdles in the State Class A rankings.

The Lady Pirates also saw senior Nicole Davey tie the meet record in the pole vault, clearing 10-0. She won the event on criteria over Glacier's Stacey Pitt. Davey broke 69 seconds for the first time this year in her first-place finish in the 400, making her fourth among state class-A competitors. The win was over eventual top-10 champion Malecha Bailey of Eureka. Junior Mesa Starkey ran a personal best of 5:36 in the 1600 for first place. Starkey is currently ranked first in the 3200 and second in the 1600 in the State Class A rankings.

Seniors Loni Havlovick and Natasha Lafferty placed first and second in the shot put with respective throws of 34-11 1/2 and 33-8 1/2. Havlovick and Lafferty again finished close together in the discus, where Havlovick took second with 120-5 3 and Lafferty took fifth place with a 120-5 throw.

"These two girls place in these events at almost every meet regardless of the level of competition," Gunderson said.

Havlovick placed fifth in the javelin with a 94-1 throw. She is ranked first in discus and shot put among Class A schools. Lafferty is third in shot put and fourth in discus.

The Pirate's 1600 relay team defeated a tough Glacier High School team and took first in 4:14.16, while the 400 relay team finished second with a time of 50.79.

"What really impresses me most about the current Lady Pirate track team is their ability to put forth their best efforts week after week," Gunderson said. "They are a special bunch of young ladies."

With the exception of the Missoula MCPS meet when Flathead beat them, the 1600 relay team is undefeated. Flathead ran in a different heat that day and beat the Polson girls by just three hundredths of a second. The relay team is ranked first in Class A.

"I doubt [Flathead] would have beaten us head-to-head," Gunderson said. "The girls take a lot of pride in this race and are currently ranked at the top of the heap against Class A competition in the state."

On the boys' side, senior Joe Andrews had a good day, finishing the 200m race in 23.19 seconds, his personal best, and competing on both relay teams. The 400 relay team, consisting of Andrews, sophomore Chris Cote, freshman Mike Devlin and sophomore Vince DiGiallonardo, placed fifth in 46.06. The 1600 relay team, consisting of Andrews, Devlin, senior Colter Bull and Cote, finished third in 3:37.50.

"Injuries continue to plague our boys' team, with three of our fastest athletes out at this point," Gunderson said of Jason Bowman, who did not participate due to a quad injury, senior Traven Hoyt, out with a calf injury, and senior Brock Picard, out with a hamstring injury.

"I am not sure when any of these three will be back competing," Gunderson said. "Hopefully, we will have them all for the divisional meet."

Despite being injured with a hip pointer, Devlin managed to place fourth in the long jump with a 19-6 1/4 jump.

Senior Ty Fouty won the pole vault with a 12-6 vault, while junior Zion Lee posted 12-6, his best mark of the year. Sophomore Brock Bleazard came in sixth at 11-0.

"The pole vault continues to be a strong point, with three boys placing in the top six," Gunderson said.

On April 27, several Lady Pirates team members competed and placed in the 12th annual Russ Plicher/Western Montana Top Ten Track and Field Meet at Missoula County Stadium.

Davey placed first in the pole vault with a jump of 10-0 and third in the 300 hurdles with a time of 46.58.

"Nicole [Davey] was the surprise winner in the pole vault, defeating the girl from Helena Capital that had the best mark in the state," Gunderson said.

Havlovick placed second in the shot put with a throw of 38-0 and third in the discus with a throw of 119-6.

The girls' relay teams had a strong finish with the 1600 relay placing first with a time of 4:11.69. The 400 relay placed third with a time of 51.14.

"The girls had an exceptional meet," Gunderson said. "Everyone that was entered placed in the top six in their events. You can count the number of 1600 relays that the Polson Lady Pirates have lost on one hand from 2003 to 2010."

Polson's next meet is at 10 a.m. on Saturday at the Archie Roe in Kalispell.