It was a young squad of Jefferson High athletes who qualified for the State Class B Track and Field Meet held in Butte Friday and Saturday. No seniors were among the 13 Panthers competing at the event. Four freshmen and six sophomores joined three juniors to represent JHS among the best athletes in the state.
When it was all said and done, the JHS competitors brought home a third-place and a sixth place in the boys high jump, a fourth in the boys long jump and plenty of great experience that will serve them well when the next track season rolls around. Freshman Avery Stiles led the way for the Panthers, turning in personal bests in both the high jump, where he took third, and the triple jump, where he made the finals but did not medal. Junior Josh Eckmann collected the remaining points for the Panther boys with a tie for sixth in the high jump and a fourth place in the triple jump. (See page 7 article for more details on Stiles and Eckmann.)
The boys 4×100 team turned on their jets in the preliminary round to capture their best time of the season, but it was not enough to make the finals. Stiles and Eckmann were on that crew along with sophomores Hunter Henschel and Mead Blake. Blake also ran the 400-meter dash and joined forces again with Henschel, Stiles and Eckmann for the 4×400. Eckmann’s weekend also included a run at the 300-meter hurdles.
