Charlo Track: PURPLE REIGN

MISSOULA — Sixteen girls teams participated in the Jim Johnson invite on Thursday, April 19 in Missoula. The Charlo Lady Vikings left the other 15 in the dust.

Behind an effort which saw 13 different girls place, the Lady Vikings captured the victory with 97.5 points, winning by 28.5 over second-place Seeley-Swan.

MISSOULA — Sixteen girls teams participated in the Jim Johnson invite on Thursday, April 19 in Missoula. The Charlo Lady Vikings left the other 15 in the dust.

Behind an effort which saw 13 different girls place, the Lady Vikings captured the victory with 97.5 points, winning by 28.5 over second-place Seeley-Swan.

“Anytime you beat a lot of teams, especially with the quality of teams that were there, it’s a good thing,” head coach Bret Thompson said.

Aspen Runkel racked up points all over the track, finishing second in the 200 and 400-meter races and was part of the 400 and 1,600-meter relay teams that both finished first. Runkel’s 200 time of 28.01 was only 27 hundredths of a second off the pace, while her 400 time of 1:04.15 was less than two seconds from first. Jordan Ludeman also placed in four events, tying for first with a 7’6” pole vault, taking fourth in both the 100 hurdles (17.77) and 300 hurdles (51.76) and teaming with Runkel, Rachel Hoyt and Madison Foust to capture the 1,600 relay in 4:26.76.

Hoyt tied for fifth in both the high jump with a 4’6” leap and 100 hurdles, finishing in 17.85.

The Brown sisters, Deondra and Sienna, comprised half of the 400 relay team that won in 53.09 seconds, Deondra nabbed third in the 200-meter race (28.13) and fifth in the 100 (14.13) and Sienna tied for sixth with a 6’6” pole vault.

Dawn Blevins continued her dominance in the javelin with a 120’3” first-place toss and took third in the 800-meter race with a time of 2:43.63, just .16 seconds behind the winner. Blevins also earned fourth in the 1,600 with a run of 6:06.

“The same girls we’ve talked about are getting better all the time,” Thompson said. “We have good athletes.”

Other athletes to contribute to the win included Haley Berkram (fifth in the 300 hurdles in 53.79 and tied for sixth in the pole vault at 6’6”), Brittney Evalo and Mackenzie Foust (fifth and sixth in the 3,200-meter race at 13:58.54 and 14:12.83, respectively), Madison Foust (part of the first-place 1,600 relay team), Michaela Krahn (part of the first-place 400 relay team), Derika Stipe (tied for fourth in the pole vault at 7’) and Lindsey Tryon (fifth in the discus at 90’11”).

“It makes it easier at the end of the year when you can look to other girls to score,” Thompson said of his balanced attack. “It’s an expectation that they perform well.”

The Charlo boys were a bit shorthanded in Missoula, but still managed to finish seventh of 15 teams with 37 points. Tra Ludeman won the 110 hurdles in 16.60, but suffered a leg injury that forced him to miss the rest of the week.

The distance runners for the Vikings picked up the slack, with three individuals earning points for Charlo. Cade Thompson and Dalton Delaney took fourth and sixth in the 3,200-meter race in 11:47.60 and 12:13.65, respectively, while Kyle Couture took sixth in the 1,600 with a run of 5:17.29.

“They’ve been running versus big schools and our new, young kids scored in distance, which was a positive,” Thompson said.

Other scorers for the Vikings included Jesse Long in the 110 hurdles (fifth place, 18.60), Cody Kobilansky in the discus (sixth place, 106’6”) and Webb O’Neill, who earned second in both the triple jump (41’) and pole vault (12’). The 1,600 relay team eked out a fifth-place run of 4:05.82 to wrap up the scoring.

The girls and boys tested their mettle against Class A schools the next day at the Sapphire Twilight Meet in Corvallis.

The Lady Vikings earned a third-place finish of five teams with 92 points, but were on the heels of Hamilton, who took second with 105.

Once again, Charlo dotted the placings across the board. Runkel was one of four girls to finish in the top five of the 300 hurdles, winning in 50.18. Hoyt was second in the event in 50.73, Ludeman was fourth in 52.82 and Berkram was fifth in 54.38.

“Most of those were close to personal bests,” Thompson said. “In their minds, they have a ways to go, but they’re cutting time where they need to and they’re working hard.”

Blevins won another javelin event, this time throwing 118’7.5” which was over 15 feet better than second. Deondra Brown took second in the 200 in 28.05 and both relay teams earned runner-up finishes in Corvallis.

The boys didn’t have the same success, finishing fifth with their shorthanded roster, but saw O’Neill take second in the pole vault (12’) and third in the triple jump (41’10.5”) while Long finished sixth in the 300 hurdles in 47.88.

“They like the idea of competing with bigger schools,” Thompson said. “It gives them ideas of what to expect at the end of the year.”

On Thursday, Charlo travels to Arlee for their only meet of the week. There was a Top Ten individual invitation tournament on Tuesday in Missoula, but results were unavailable at press time.

JIM JOHNSON INVITE

BOYS 1,600 – 6, Kyle Couture, Cha, 5:17.29. 3,200 – 4, Cade Thompson, Cha, 11:47.60; 6, Dalton Delaney, Cha, 12:13.65. 110 hurdles – 1, Tra Ludeman, Cha, 16.60; 5, Jesse Long, Cha, 18.60. 1,600 relay – 5, Charlo 4:05.82; Discus – 6, Cody Kobilansky, Cha, 106-6. Triple jump – 2, Webb O’Neill, Cha, 41-0; Pole vault –2, Webb O’Neill, Cha, 12-0;

GIRLS

100 – 5, Deondra Brown, Cha, 14.13; 200 – 2, Aspen Runkel, Cha, 28.01; 3, Deondra Brown, Cha, 28.13; 400 – 2, Aspen Runkel, Cha, 1:04.15; 800 – 3, Dawn Blevins, Cha, 2:43.63; 1,600 – 4, Dawn Blevins, Cha, 6:06.00. 3,200 – 5, Brittany Evelo, Cha, 13:58.54; 6, Mackenzie Foust, Cha, 14:12. 83. 100 hurdles – 4, Jordan Ludeman, Cha, 17.77; 5, Rachel Hoyt, Cha, 17.85; 300 hurdles – 4, Jordan Ludeman, Cha, 51.76; 5, Haley Berkram, Cha, 53.79 400 relay – 1, Charlo (Deondra Brown, Sienna Brown, Michaela Krahn, Aspen Runkle) 53.09; 1,600 relay – 1, Charlo (Aspen Runkel, Rachel Hoyt, Jordan Ludeman, Madison Foust) 4:26.76; Javelin – 1, Dawn Blevins, Cha, 120-3; Discus – 5, Lindsey Tryon, Cha, 90-11; High jump – 5 (tie), Gabby Moeller, StR, and Rachel Hoyt, Cha, 4-6. Pole vault – 1, Jordan Ludeman, Cha, 7-6; 4, Derika Stipe, Cha, 7-0; 6 (tie), Sienna Brown, Cha, and Haley Berkram, Cha, 6-6.

SAPPHIRE TWILIGHT MEET

GIRLS

100 – 4, Deondra Brown, Cha, 13.58; 5, Sienna Brown, Cha, 13.81. 200 – 2, Deondra Brown, Cha, 28.05; 4, Sienna Brown, Cha, 28.83; 400 – 6. Lisa Cox, Cha, 77.66. 800 – 5, Dawn Blevins, Cha, 2:42.10; 3,200 – 6, Mackenzie Foust, Cha, 13:57.80. 100 hurdles – 3, Aspen Runkel, Cha, 16.94; 6, Rachel Hoyt, Cha, 17.75. 300 hurdles – 1, Aspen Runkel, Cha, 50.18; 2, Rachel Hoyt, Cha, 50.73; 4, Jordan Ludeman, Cha, 52.82; 5, Haley Berkram, Cha, 54.38; 400 relay – 2, Charlo 53.12. 1,600 relay – 2, Charlo 4:24.47; Javelin – 1, Dawn Blevins, Cha, 118-7 ½; High jump – 3, Rachel Hoyt, Cha, 4-8; Long jump – 4, Sienna Brown, Cha, 14-0; 6, Derika Stipe, Cha, 13-3. Pole vault – 4 (tie), Katharina Medland, Pol, Jordan Ludeman, Cha, and Claudia Hewston, Pol, 8-0.

BOYS

Triple jump – 4, Webb O’Neill, Cha, 41-10 ½ Pole vault – 2, Webb O’Neill, Cha, 12-0.