It’s finally spring — or close enough, anyway, for Jefferson High sports to get in some action.
The Panther track and field teams were in Belgrade on Apr. 15 for the Gallatin Valley Invitational meet. Competing against schools from a range of classes, Jefferson’s boys took third place, while the girls finished ninth.
For the girls, Claire Ronayne took third in the 100-meter dash at 13.46 and second in the 200 at 27.29.
MacKenzie Layng placed third in the 200 and third in the javelin at 94’ 2”. Haileigh Henschel was ninth in the shot put at 27’ 7.5”, while Joslyn Buckley placed fifth in the discus at 91’ 7” and fourth in the javelin at 93’ 3”. The 4×400 relay team of Ronayne, Maria Mest, Maddy Averill and Layng took 10th in 4:41.60.
The boys scored 98 points overall, finishing behind Class A Beaverhead County and Class AA Belgrade — a strong early-season showing for the Panthers. Manhattan Christian was fourth and Missoula Loyola fifth, followed by Broadwater, Choteau, Park, Manhattan, Three Forks, Anaconda, Ennis, Harrison, Twin Bridges, Harlowton, Gardiner, Shields Valley, and Lima.
Jace Oxarart placed 10th in the 100 at 11.94, 11th in the javelin at 127’ 10”, and 13th in the long jump at 18’ 1.5”. Logan Hornung was eighth in the 800 at 2:11.64 and sixth in the 1,600 at 5:01.33. Luke Mest finished second in the 1,600 at 4:40.76 and won the 3,200 at 10:09.93. Jack Johnson was 13th in the 400 at 55.60, while McKenon Boyd finished 14th in the 800 at 2:16.02.
Dylan Root won the 110 hurdles in 15.34 and the 300 hurdles in 40.76, before placing third in the high jump at 5’ 8”. Hunter Stevens was eighth in the 110 hurdles at 17.68, second in the high jump at 5’ 10”, 15th in the long jump at 18” 1.5”, and second in the triple jump at 42’ 3”.
The 4×100 relay team of Luke Strizich, Root, Jace Oxarart and Luke Oxarart took second in 44.76, while Jace Oxarart, Jack Johnson, Luke Oxarart and Root were fourth in the 4×400 in 3:39.63.
Luke Oxarart placed 8th in the shot put at 39’3”, and 14th in the javelin at 124’ 1”. Kaynen Martin was 15th in the shot at 36’ 3”, while Dylan Stevens placed 10th at 38’ 1”. Zach Anderson was ninth in the high jump at 5’ 4”, while John Armstrong placed seventh in the pole vault at 9’, and Luke Strizizich finished 12th in the long jump at 18’ 4.5”.
The track teams will be at Gallatin field in Bozeman this Saturday for the Manhattan Christian Invite. Competition starts at 9:30 a.m.
Tennis takes the court (finally) in Choteau
The Jefferson High tennis squad had a much shorter visit to Choteau than expected last weekend. A spring storm wiped out Friday’s matches — and on Saturday, the Panther bus broke down in Great Falls. After three hours of team bonding games and conversation, the team hit the road again, arriving in Choteau worn out but in time for their afternoon matches.
Morgan Knickerbocker dropped her first singles contest to Choteau’s Ella Peach, 1-6, then lost to Aaliyah Standaford of Chester/Joplin/Inverness, 4-6.This was a tight match, with Knickerbocker staying even with one of the top finishers at last spring’s state tournament.
Aliza Hays lost to Chester/Joplin/Inverness’s Hannah Nelson, 1-6; and Mikayla Murolo dropped a set to C/J/I’s Trinity Case, 3-6. In JV action, Addy Leary lost to C/J/I’s Grace Cochell; Kenna Moore and Elizabeth Weninger both lost 1-6 to Avery Rich of Granite.
Facing Townsend, Bailee Silvonen lost, 2-6, to Kyra Kyung, and beat Cassidy Johnson, 6-1. It was a strong performance from the freshman, who is playing competitive tennis for the first time. Grace Quigley dropped her match to Addy Kraft, 2-6, and Moore beat Harper Wolfgram, 7-5.
In doubles, Quigley and Rylee Baird lost to Choteau, 2-6. Quigley and Hays teamed up to top C/J/I’s Cochell and Rosa Powers, 6-4, demonstrating that they could have a good partnership this season. And Leary & Weninger dropped their match to Townsend’s Carsyn O’Dell and Emily Bird.
The Panthers were scheduled to play in Missoula on April 18. They’ll travel to Billings on April 21 for a two-day tournament hosted by Red Lodge.
-Eliza McLaughlin
