Montana’s so-called “spring” continued to take its toll on Jefferson High sports last week. But as conditions improved, the Panthers eased back into action—looking as strong as they had before snow and cold put their seasons on hold.
At the Cottonwood Hills golf course outside Bozeman, the Jefferson boys extended their winning streak; their 333 team score bested Manhattan Christian, with 341, Anaconda at 347, and six other schools. Preston Field tied for second with an 81, Colin Field tied for fourth at 82, Luke Eckmann and Marcus Lee were 10th with 85, and Ben Werner was 15th at 87.
The Lady Panthers took third, behind Manhattan Christian, at 370, and Three Forks at 392. Celi Chapman won individual honors by 12 shots, with a sparkling 75. Her teammate Jessie Harris tied for eighth at 98, Brynna Wolfe was 19th at 110, and Izzy Morris placed 23rd at 116.
This week, varsity was scheduled to compete at Missoula’s Range Club on Tuesday, after press time, and at Canyon Creek on Wednesday.
Tennis
The tennis girls took on Broadwater at Townsend. The Panthers’ Morgan Knickerbocker defeated Angie Theriault, 7-5, 0-6, 7-2; Macee Murolo lost to Kira Kyung, 3-6, 2-6; Candela Ruis de Erenchun defeated Liz Collins, 7-5, 6-4; and Shayna Williams defeated Sydney Forrey, 6-2, 6-3.
In doubles, Knickerbocker and Macee Murolo lost to Zoey Wickens and Lexi Howard, 2-6, 2-6; Rylee Baird and Williams defeated Brooke Edgerton and Cassidy Johnson, 6-1, 6-1. Makayla Murolo and Alexis Ris lost to Carson O’Dell and Ashton Obert, 1-6, 4-6; and Oma Chin and Ida Kalderon lost, 3-6, 2-6.
The girls then traveled to Great Falls Friday and Saturday for the large Simms meet, with 15 schools competing. In singles, Knickerbocker lost to Fort Benton, 0-6, 2-6; lost to Chinook, 1-6, 0-6, beat Granite, 6-3, 6-4; and lost to Choteau, 0-6, and Three Forks, 2-6, 2-6. Ruiz de Erenchun beat Fort Benton, 6-1, 6-4; lost to Chinook, 4-6, 2-6; beat Choteau, 2-6, 7-6, 7-3; and beat Three Forks, 6-2, 4-3.
Macee Murolo won four matches, topping Fort Benton, 6-3; Chinook, 2-6, 6-2, 8-6; Choteau in a rain and hail-shortened match 7-6, (7-5), 3-4; and Three Forks, 6-3, 2-6, 7-5. Joelle Quigley lost to Chinook, 1-6, 1-6; lost to Granite, 2-6; lost to Choteau, 1-6, 4-6; beat Three Forks, 6-2, 6-1; and lost to Poplar, 4-6. Agnes Lindberg lost to Fort Benton, 1-6; and Chinook, 3-6.
In doubles, Williams and Mikayla Murolo lost to Fort Benton, 0-6, 2-6; Williams and Grace Quigley lost to Chinook, 0-6, 0-6; Granite, 6-7, 1-7, 3-6; and Three Forks, 3-6. Kalderon and Grace Quigley lost to Fort Benton, 3-6, 3-6; and Kalderon and Murolo lost to Chinook, 1-6, 1-6, and Three Forks, 3-6, 1-6.
This Friday and Saturday the JV and varsity teams will compete in the Dawg Bite tournament, played in Helena and at Jefferson High.
Track and Field
The track and field teams took part in a triangular meet in East Helena with Townsend and East Helena. Once again, the Panther boys dominated, taking first with 217 points; Broadwater scored 153 and East Helena 137. Broadwater won the girls title with 173 points; East Helena finished with 121, and Jefferson with 95.
In the boys 100-meter race, Jace Oxarart finished third at 11.497 seconds, Tom Meyer was fourth at 11.531 seconds, and Luke Oxarart sixths at 11.796 seconds. Michael Emter won the 200 in 23.665 seconds; and Caleb Smartnick was second in the 400 in 1:01.25. In the 800, the Panthers crowded the podium: Jack Johnson finished second in 2:15.419; Dominick Hurlbert was third in 2:15.816; their teammate Logan Hornung was fourth, 2:23.557; Luke Mest was fifth, 2:23.894; and Dylan Mikesell sixts, 2:32.035. Hurlbert took the 1,600-meter race in 5:00.405; his teammate Hornung was second in 5:03.61; Mest third, 5:05.981; and Mikesell fifth, 5:08.766. Dylan Root finished second in the 110-meter hurdles at 15.684 seconds, while Braden Morris was fourth at 17.539, and Hunter Steele sixth, 18.559 seconds. And Morris won the 300 hurdles in 41.16 seconds; Root was second at 41.56 seconds.
In the field events, Riley Stock won the pole vault at 10 feet; John Armstrong was third, 9 feet; Jake Genger fourth, 9 feet; and Root fifth, 9 feet. Peyton Coates finished sixth in the long jump, 16′ 5″. Dalton Noble won the shot put at 40′ 11.25″, while Tavan McMaster threw 34′ 6.75″. McMaster placed fifth in the discus at 91′ 8″. Morris won the javelin at 152′ 4″; Luke Oxarart was third at 129′, and Kaynen Martin fourth at 111′. Genger won the high jump at 5′ 10″; Coates was third at 5′ 4″, and Hunter Stevens fourth at 5′ 2″.
For the Lady Panthers, Clare Ronayne took fourth in the 100, at 14.03 seconds; and second in the 200, at 28.56 seconds. Erica Shields was fifth in the 100, 14.73 seconds. Renae Parker placed second in the 1,600, 5:36.361, while Brooke Eveland finished sixth at 6:54.887. Kai Tayler won both the shot put, at 31′ 8.25″, and the discus, at 90′ 5″. Arena Faler was fourth in the discus, at 68′ 4″, and won the javelin, at 91′ 3″. MacKenzie Layng placed second in the javelin, at 90′ 7″. Emma McCauley was third in the long jump, 14′ 6″; and first in the triple jump, 35′.
And on Saturday, the track squads joined the Seeley Swan meet, with 18 schools competing in Missoula. The teams were short on athletes, but those who could make the trip enjoyed warmth and sunny skies—until the cold rolled back in.
The boys finished fourth in this one, behind Dillon, Bigfork, and Seeley-Swan. Meyer took third in the 100-meter race, in 12.15 seconds; and sixth in the long jump, 19′ 4.25″. Johnson was fifth in the 800 in 2:13.87. Hurlbert was fifth in both the 1,600, at 4:52.52, and the 3,200, 10:53.86. Root placed second in the 110 hurdles, 15.97 seconds, and in the 300 hurdles, 42.70 seconds. Morris finished third in the 110 hurdles, 15.95 seconds; sixth in the javelin, 143′ 8″, and third in the triple jump, 39′ 11″.
Wade Rykal took third out of 94 throwers in the shot put, at 48′ 2″, and fourth in the discus, 134′ 10″. Abram Williams was 11th in the shot put, 40′ 7.5″. Genger placed third in the high jump, 5′ 10″.
The Lady Panthers finished 13th as a team, with 14 points. Among individual performances, Faler was 16th in the 200, in 29.82 seconds, and 13th in the discus, 82′. Eveland placed ninth in the 1,600, 6:29.45. McCauley was fourth in the 100 hurdles, 17.32 seconds, and second in the triple jump, 33′ 5″. Tayler placed 10th in the shot put, 29′ 11.5″, and fifth in the discus, 103′. And Layng was eighth in the javelin, 94′ 9″.
This week the top-10 meet in Missoula was scheduled for Tuesday, after press time; the small-schools meet in Helena is Thursday at 3:30 p.m. and the Butte Central meet is Saturday at 10 a.m.
