It was another great week in sports, as Jefferson High added some new hardware last week for its trophy cases—including, best of all, two state championships.
Those came courtesy of the Panther golf teams, which put on a show at the state meet at Fairmont Hot Springs. The weather was certainly challenging, with strong cold winds—but that was an obstacle these athletes had faced all spring. As it turned out, they were more than up to it.
The boys squad of Luke Eckmann, Preston Field, Colin Field, Ben Werner and Tyson Lee won the school’s first-ever team golf title. The school without a golf course anywhere in the area proved that chipping balls into truck tires and driving into a net on the football practice field can do the trick.
Colin Field led the Panthers with a two-day total of 166. Eckmann finished at 169, Lee at 172, Werner at 173, and Preston Field at 179. Their team score of 677 easily bested Columbus, which finished second at 689, and Anaconda, third at 693.
For the girls, junior Celi Chapman took the individual Class B title with rounds of 81 and 81 for a two-day total of 162, After taking second last year, Chapman said she went into the championship this year determined to stay calm and have fun—and it certainly was a great and fun year.
Head coach Anna DeMars and assistant coach Anthony Connole both teach at Clancy school and drive to Boulder after school to coach the Panthers. Congrats to them—and great year, golfers!
Track and field
On Friday, the track teams were in Laurel for the divisional meet. The Southern Division is the largest in Class B, including 18 schools from Baker to Boulder, a little over 500 miles apart. The top eight finishers in each event qualify for the State meet.
The Panther boys captured the team title with 113 points, besting Broadwater with 84, Columbus with 77, Red Lodge with 68, and Manhattan with 57. The girls finished eighth as a team; Sweet Grass County took first with 102.5 points, with Colstrip second at 68 and Broadwater third at 62.
Among the qualifiers for State, Tom Meyer finished fourth in the 100-meter run at 11.62 seconds. Michael Emter was fourth in the 200 meters. Luke Mest took seventh in the 1,600 meters at 4:57.25 and fourth in the 3,200 meters at 10:35.42. Logan Hornung was eighth in the 1,600 meters at 4:59.55 and seventh in the 3,200 meters at 10:47.86.
Braden Morris won the 300-meter hurdles at 40.78 seconds and took second in the 110-meter hurdles at 15.74 seconds. Dylan Root finished third in the 110-meter hurdles at 15.81 seconds and third in the 300-meter hurdles at 42.51 seconds. The 4×100 relay team of Morris, Meyer, Emter and Jace Oxarart took second in 45.05 seconds, while the 4×400 team of Oxarart, Meyer, Root and Emter also was second in 3:31.71.
In the field events, Wade Rykal won the shot put with a throw of 50′ 6.25″, while Dalton Noble was third with 44′ 9.50″, and Luke Oxarart eighth with 42′ 5.25″. Noble took third in the discus with a throw of 118′ 8″. Morris won the javelin with a throw of 155′ 1″; Jace Oxarart was third at 144′ 9″, and Luke Oxarart sixth at 135′ 9″. Jake Genger took third in the high jump at 5′ 10″, Riley Stock was sixth in the pole vault at 11′, Meyer placed sixth in the long jump at 19′ 1.75″, and Morris placed second in the triple jump at 41′ 4.50″
For the Lady Panthers, Clare Ronayne finished eighth in the 200 meters, and Emma McCauley took third in the 100-meter hurdles at 16.73 seconds. The 4×400 team of Ronayne, Erica Shields, Arena Faler and MacKenzie Layng took seventh in 4:28.95. Kai Taylor was fifth in the shot put at 31′ 10.50″ and second in the discus at 100′ 7″. In the javelin, Layng took fourth with a throw of 107′ 1″, while Faler was seventh at 101′ 1″. McCauley was fifth in the long jump at 15′ 4.75″ and third in the triple jump at 32′ 0.5″.
It’s been an amazing spring for these athletes, with just one event remaining: the state championship is this Friday and Saturday in Great Falls.
Tennis
The Panthers entered the state competition nervous to play some tough opponents. Candela Ruiz de Erenchun, a junior exchange student from Spain, felt drained by spending 10 months away from her family. The thought of only nine days left in the U.S. drew most of her attention. While she had the skills to beat her competitors and made a great effort, she lost her first two matches and was eliminated.
Rylee Baird and Aliza Hays lost to Wolf Point’s top doubles team in their first round. In their second match, against Cut Bank, the two focused in and played the best tennis they had the entire season. Baird and Hays lost the first set but quickly took control of the second. With Jefferson climbing towards a win, though the Cut Bank team refocused and took the final set, ending Jefferson’s time at the tournament.
It was a short-lived journey at State, but it was well worth it to see all the players progress throughout the season. While we won’t get the chance to see Ruiz de Erenchun compete next season, Baird and Hays could, with more practice, take the division by storm. We hope to see many more Jefferson High tennis players make it to the state competition.
