Polson Track: Reaching their peak

by Brandon Hansen & Sports Editor
| May 24, 2012 9:00 AM

COLUMBIA FALLS — It was the usual suspects for the Polson Track and Field team as three athletes won divisional championships in four events and the girls 400-meter relay team took the gold at the Northwestern A Conference Divisional last weekend.

“Overall, our kids did a great job competing and did some things that they hadn’t done before,” Ellis said.

Making a case for making an appearance in the next Avengers movie, Riley Sampson won the divisional championship in both the shot put (50-3.5) and discus (138-1). Clark Rubel was second in the shot put (49-4.5) and fourth in the discus (134-5).

“I think that they threw very well,” Polson head coach Mike Ellis said. “They work hard. They got first and second and they deserved it.”

While Sampson has the best shot put throw in Class A this season, Rubel isn’t far behind. His farthest shot put throw is fourth and his best discus throw ranks seventh in the state.

“I think Clark can be first or second in the shot put and so could Riley,” Ellis said.

Claudia Hewston won the NWA crown in the 1,600-meter race (5:26.64), while Anna DiGillionardo was first in the long jump (16-6). Those performances helped push the girls to a second place team finish at the divisional.

“Anna should be in the top three at state in the 100 and 200,” Ellis said. “She could also win both events. She should be in the top three or four in the long jump and place in the high jump. With jumps, it’s one of those things where you can have a good day or a bad day.”

For the boys, Polson again got speed from two of their football players as Vince DiGiallonardo placed fourth in the 100-meter dash (11.57) and Paul McClurg was fifth (11.65). In the 800-meter dash, Travis Hayes finished second (2:02.85) while Tel Motichka was fifth (2:04.44).

“We’ve been waiting for Travis to have a great race and he had one at divisionals,” Ellis said. “His 800 time is ranked third in the state. Tel dropped five seconds from his previous time and also dropped 10 seconds from his mile time.”

Jimmy Bjorge continued to be a leader for the Pirates in the 1,600-meter race with a fifth-place finish (4:46.22) and Motichka was right behind in sixth (4:47.7). In the hurdles, Adam Schmidt was fifth in the 110-meter hurdles (16.14) and third in the 300 hurdles (42.2), while Jared Rubel was sixth (43.8). Drew Fouty was sixth in the pole vault (12-0).

The relay teams placed fourth in the 400-meter relay (45.51) and third in the 1,600-meter relay (3:34.52). For the girls, DiGiallonardo continued to reach blistering speeds in the sprint races. She placed third in both the 100-meter (12.85) and 200-meter (26.81). Along with her divisional championship in the long jump, DiGiallonardo was second in the high jump (4-10).

Kidron Lee was third in the high jump (4-8).

While Hewston won the 1,600-meter race, Aja Starkey did work in the distance races as well, placing third in the 1,600 (5:32.57) and second in the 3,200-meter race (12:10.8). Hewston was also fourth in pole vault (8-0), with Mariana Llaguno placing sixth in the same event (8-0).

“Claudia and Aja have different running styles,” Ellis said. “We’re hoping they can prevail in their events and be in the top two.”

Starkey had seen limited running action during the regular track season but is back in action and will also compete in the 800-meter and the 3,200-meter race at state. Ellis said that Hewston could possibly reach 10 feet in the pole vault at the state meet.

“We ask an awful lot of Claudia,” he said. “She does a lot for us and at the divisional meet she could have probably made at least nine feet if she didn’t have to leave the pole vault event for the relays and come back. That’s tough on her to do.”

Erica Alfiero stood out in the hurdles, placing third in both the 100-meter (17.95) and 300-meter (50.52) races. In the 400-meter relay, Alicia Sicz, Taylor Davis, Alfiero and Anna DiGiallonardo combined forces to finish first (52.07). In the 1,600-meter relay, Jore, Maddie Hewston, Davis and DiGiallonardo finished second (4:19.03). Both Polson teams are now ranked seventh in the state and with some practice before the state meet they could definitely find themselves in the top three.

Jewel Zakit-Ackerman did work in the throws, placing third in the shot put (30-1) and second in the discus (109-0). Shelbi Mallon was solid as well, placing fourth in the shot put (29-11) and fourth in the discus (94-5). Shannon McGinnis was fifth in the shot put (29-7) and sixth in the discus (93-9) while Amanda Harrod was fifth in the discus (94-5).

“I was really proud of the girl throwers,” Ellis said. “In the discus, they had eight girls in the finals and five of them we’re from Polson. We placed second, fourth, fifth and sixth. In the shotput we went third, fourth, fifth and seventh.”

The state track meet will take place in Bozeman this weekend, May 25-26. One of the promising things that Ellis sees of his team is how his athletes keep improving every week.

“That’s something I’ve seen that in almost every meet we PR and in almost every meet we get better,” Ellis said. “At state it’s one of those deals where it depends on who shows up and competes. We’ll try to make sure our kids perform to their best ability, throw their best, run their best and jump their best."