Alexander, Bell shine
<p>Ronan's Paden Alexander crosses the finish line during the 1600-meter relay event at the high school track and field state tournament in Bozeman on Saturday.</p>
BOZEMAN – Ronan/St. Ignatius seniors Paden Alexander and Jalen Bell stole the show at this weekend’s state championships in Bozeman, taking home two first-place medals apiece.
Alexander dominated the competition in the 1600-meter run, covering the distance in 4:26.54 – almost 12 seconds ahead of the pack. For an encore, Alexander replicated the feat in the 3200, where his time of 9:32.86 was just a couple seconds shy of the Class B state record.
Alexander nearly prevailed in the 800-meter run, as well, where his time was eclipsed by just .07 seconds, and the St. Ignatius senior had to settle for silver.
Alexander’s gravity-defying senior teammate Jalen Bell also finished the weekend with two state titles – both in jumping events. Bell’s distance of 21-8 in the long jump was the best in the Big Sky, and his mark of 44-10 ? represented the best triple jump.
RONAN/ST. IGNATIUS GIRLS
Sophomores Sydnee Clairmont and Aspen Jore earned points for the girls team with top-five finishes in their events. Clairmont finished fourth in the high jump, clearing the bar at 5-0. Meanwhile, Jore delivered the fifth-best javelin throw with a distance of 116-1.