The Darby boys claimed the top spot at the Western B Divisional track meet in Missoula over the weekend and have set their sights on state. The Class B State Meet begins on Friday in Butte and the Tigers will be there in full force.
Doug Raymer led the way for the Tigers, winning the 800, 1,600, and 3,200 races. Raymer won the 800 with a time of 1:57.75. His best time in that event is 1:56.36 which he set at the Top 10 Meet earlier this month and is the fastest in the state. Raymer’s time in the 1,600 was 4:31.06. He has the fastest time in Class B right now with a 4:24.25 which he also set at the Top 10 Meet. Raymer won the 3,200-meter race with a time of 10:06.67. The junior also ran a leg on Darby’s winning 4×400 meter relay team, which also set the fastest time in Class B at 3:28.92. Joining Raymer on the relay team were Colton Johnston, Jeremy Campbell and Aaron Johnston who ran the anchor.
Aaron Johnston brought home two first place finishes for Darby. As he has done all season, Johnston dominated in the 400-meter race, finishing with a time of 50.45, the fastest time in Class B to date. He also won the 200 with a time of 22.82,the second fastest time in Class B this season. Johnston also took third in the 100-meter sprint with a time of 11.72, right behind Loyola’s Forest Cooper (11.66) and Loyola’s Josh Janssen (11.71.) In his final event, Johnston took fifth in the long jump with a leap of 19-8 ¼.
Although he’s been somewhat overshadowed by Raymer, Darby’s Sean Abrahamsen has consistently put points on the board throughout the season. The Western B Divisional was no different. He finished second in the 1,600-meter race with a time of 4:33.33, right behind Raymer. Abrahamsen was fourth in the 800 with a 2:03.07 and fourth in the 3,200 with a time of 10:24.31.
Jeremy Campbell was third in the 800-meter race with a time of 2:02.20. He finished fifth in the high jump with a leap of six feet. Cougan Kidd finished fourth in the javelin with a throw of 143-11. Stirling Kim was sixth in the shot put with 41-9 and sixth in the javelin with 142-0 ½.
Florence finished in second place. Dylan Reynolds was the only event winner for the Falcons. He took first in the 300 hurdles with a time of 40.61, the fastest time in Class B to date. Reynolds also took fourth in the 110 hurdles with a time of 16.89, and he was fourth in the 400 with a time of 52.36. Madison Bolton was second in the 800 with a time of 2:00.55. He finished fifth in the 1,600 with a time of 4:39.23. Brady Blomquist was third in the 400 with a time of 51.75. Tanner Cobbs was sixth in the 110 hurdles with 17.23. He finished fifth in the 300 hurdles with 42.89.
The 4×100 relay team finished in sixth with a time of 46.31. Deer Lodge won the event with a time of 45.10. The Falcon 4×400 relay team finished in second place with a time of 3:30.29, two seconds behind Darby.
The Falcons also had success in the field events. Damon Ward finished second in the discus with a throw of 140-8, just four feet shy of Deer Lodge’s Brandon Forson’s winning throw. Ward was third in the shot put with a throw of 44-9 ¾. Reed Jenkins was second in the long jump with 20-0 1/2. He edged out teammate Ross Mangun by just a half of an inch. Mangun finished second in the triple jump with 42-6 ¾.And Jenkins was third in that event with 41-8 ¾.
Sarah Jakober of Darby won the triple jump with a hop, skip and leap of 34-4 ½. She finished second in the long jump with 16-2 ½.
The Florence girls were led by Megan Leathers’ winning throw in the discus. She threw the discus 129-6 1/2 which is the longest in Class B at this time. Leathers was second in the shot put with an effort of 38-8. She took second in the javelin with 105-7. Tess Porch was also a multiple placer. She tied for fourth in the high jump at 4-6 with Melissa Vanderveer of Bigfork. Porch was fifth in the 100 with a time of 13.53 and sixth in the 200 with 27.48. Sharli Leedom was third in the 3,200 with a time of 13:16.21. She finished sixth in the 1,600 with a time of 5:58.27. Rosie O’Brien was fifth in the javelin with a throw of 99-4. Jessica Desjarlis was fifth in the discus with a throw of 104-4. The 4×100 relay team came in second behind Bigfork.
Victor competed in the Western C Divisional that was also held at the Missoula County Stadium. The 4×100 relay team was second behind Charlo with a time of 45.52. Charlo’s time was a meet record of 44.06. The 4×400 relay team finished in third place behind Charlo and Twin Bridges. Kurt Manely won the javelin with a throw of 163-7, six feet farther than second place. Kyle Ball won the triple jump with 41-8 ¼. Ball was sixth in the 300 hurdles. Tyler Coorough was third in the triple jump with 41-0 ¾. Coorough was third in the 400 with a time of 53.74. He took fifth in the 100 with 11.81 and third in the 200 with 23.76. Zac Agee was second in the long jump with 19-10. He took sixth in the 39-7 ¾. Dennis Mitcham was second in the 1,600 with 4:46.16.
Shai Scheffer and Haley Tillotson will advance on to the Class C state meet in Missoula next week. Tillotson finished fifth in the 3,200 with a time of 13.25.33. She was sixth in the 1,600. Scheffer was third in the 300 hurdles with a time of 49.56, and she was sixth in the 100 hurdles. She finished fourth in t he long jump with a leap of 14-8.