It seems only a few weeks since there was a foot of snow on the ground. But suddenly, the spring sports postseason is here, with all of Jefferson High’s teams entering their respective district and division meets in strong form.
The Panther golf teams closed out their regular season with impressive wins. The boys have won nearly every tournament this spring, and their hot streak continued last weekend in Three Forks, where their team score of 338 was good for first place. Ben Werner carded an 80 for second place individually, while Luke Eckmann took third at 84, Preston and Colin Field tied for seventh at 87, and Tyson Lee finished at 96.
For the girls, number-one golfer Celi Chapman was unable to play in Three Forks, but her teammates came through with a 482 for fourth place. Jessie Harris came in at 116, Maryah Lindsay at 118, Izzy Morris at 120, and Brynna Wolfe at 128.
At the Top Two meet in Hamilton, featuring the top two golfers for each school, Celi Chapman took first in a chip-off with a 85, while Jessie Harris placed seventh at 118. Luke Eckmann shot a 85 for second place, and Preston Field took third with an 89.
This week, the Panthers were set to host the Division tournament at Fairmont Hot Springs on Tuesday. The State Class B meet will be at Fairmont May 17–18.
Tennis
The Panther tennis squad didn’t play any matches last week. They’ll be at the division tennis tournament this Thursday and Friday, May 12–13, at Stodden Park in Butte. State is May 19 and 20 in Bozeman. Good luck girls.
Track and field
The track and field teams tuned up for the district meet against Helena High and Great Falls High, two Class AA schools, in Helena last weekend. This was a varsity and JV meet, and Helena High won both, with Great Falls second and Jefferson third.
On a typical Montana spring day with cool temperatures and wind—but no snow—the sprinters did well. In the 100 meters, Tom Meyer took third in 11.49 seconds and Jace Oxarart seventh in 11.64 seconds. At 200 meters, Michael Emter took second in 22.91 seconds and Luke Oxarart seventh 24.50 seconds. At 400 meters, it was Hunter Steel finishing fifth in 59.51 seconds, and Caleb Smartnick sixth in 1:00.33.
Jack Johnson placed sixth in the 800 meter at 2:11.69, while Dylan Mikesell was seventh at 2:20.07. Luke Mest placed third in the 3,200 meter at 10:45.66. Dylan Root was second in the 110-meter hurdles at 15.20 seconds, while Braden Morris finished third in 15.44 seconds. Morris won the 300-meter hurdles in 41.74 seconds, and Root took second in 41.95 seconds. The team of Morris, Meyer, Jake Oxarart and Emter won the 4×100 relay in 44.61 seconds, and the same crew took second in the 4×400 relay in 3:36.04.
In the field events, Wade Rykal took second in the shot put with a throw of 50” 4.5”, and won the discus with a throw of 139’ 8.5”. Morris placed second in the javelin at 152’ 1”, while Luke Oxarart was fifth at 132’ 4”, Jace Oxarart sixth at 131’ 4”, and Kaynen Martin ninth at 112’ 4”. Root placed third in the high jump at 5’ 10”, with Jake Genger sixth at 5’ 8”, and Hunter Stevens eighth at 5’ 2”. John Armstrong placed seventh in the pole vault at 9’ 6”. Meyer placed third in the long jump at 19’ 6.5”, while Jace Oxarart was seventh at 18’ 8”, and Luke Strizich seventh at 18’ 8”. Morris finished second in the triple jump at 39’ 6.5”, with Strizich third at 38’ 4”.
For the Lady Panthers, Clare Ronayne took fourth in the 100 meter, at 13.17 seconds, and sixth in the 200 meter, at 28.06 seconds. Renae Parker won the 1,600 meter in 5:25.35 and placed second in the 3,200 at 11:57.47. Emma McCauley took third in the 100-meter hurdles, at 16.74 seconds, and third in the 300-meter hurdles, at 50.90 seconds.
The 4×100 relay team of Arena Faler, McCauley, MacKenzie Layng and Ronayne took third in 53.75 seconds; and Ronayne, Faler, Layng and Erika Shields won the 4×400 in 4:53.37. Kai Taylor took second in the shot put, at 30’ 7.50”, and seconds in the discus, at 98’ 4”. Layng won the javelin with a throw of 106’ 7”, while Faler was second at 90’ 10”. McCauley finished fourth in the long jump, at 15’ 3.5”, and second in the triple jump, at 34’ 5”.
For the boys JV, Luke Oxarart was second in the 100 meter, 11.87 seconds; and first in the shot put at 41’ 5.50”. Smartnick was sixth in the 200 meter, at 25.70 seconds. In the 110-meter hurdles, Steel was first at 17.87 seconds, Strizich second in 18.74 seconds. Kaynen Martin was seventh in the shot put at 32’ 5”, Hayden Yap eighth at 32’ 3”, Brady Armstrong 31′ 11” and Cannon LaLiberty ninth at 31’ 8”.
In the JV discus, Dalton Noble placed first at 109’ 3”, Brady Armstrong was third at 96’ 3”, and Brayden Martin fourth at 88’ 11”. Peyton Coates was second in the javelin at 110’ 9”, while Jed Williams threw 96’ 9”, Dylan Stevens 88’ 7”, and Zach Anderson 78’ 4”. In the long jump Hunter Stevens placed sixth at 15’ 11”, and Luke Mondloch was seventh at 15’ 7”. For the Lady Panthers Brooke Eveland finished seventh in the 1,600 meter. Brooklyn Miller was 10th in the 1,600, at 7:11.41, and fourth in the long jump at 13’ 3.75”. And Erica Shields was fifth in the long jump at 13’ 3.50”
The district meet is Friday, May 13, in Belgrade.
