The Darby girls captured their first district crown in at least 13 years on Saturday. Michelle Lewis and Tara Ray each had two wins with Ray taking the 300 hurdles and the long jump and Lewis winning the shot put and the discus.

Ray ran against Jessa Linford from Seeley-Swan who won the 110 hurdles. As Ray and Linford came to the third hurdle in the 300 race, she saw Linford stumble.

"Tara knows she (Linford) is going to come after her," said coach Steve Gideon of Darby. "Tara was able to focus and come off the blocks and run a complete race today. Linford hit that third hurdle and just stumbled over it and Tara was able to take advantage of it. That's what it's all about. The highs and lows of sporting events."

One of Ray's goals this year has been to break 47 seconds in the 300 hurdles and break the school record. The hand time she was given after the race was 47.03 but after the adjustment by AcuTrack, her final time was 47.39.

"I wish there was no such think as AcuTrack," said Ray. But then she said she would attempt to break it again this weekend at the Western B Divisional in Missoula.

After running the hurdles, Ray had to switch gears and move to the long jump pit. She said her legs were feeling good even after running the two hurdling events. "My legs have never felt this good. At tournament time they are usually in so much pain but this year they are strong. I'm excited."

Her legs were still strong as Ray completed her jumps and took the win. Missy DeWalt finished third for the Tigers.

Another high for the Tigers was Lewis and her throwing skills. Gideon said Lewis had a personal record in the shot. Her put was five feet farther than second place. In the discus Lewis dominated, throwing 18 feet farther than second place.

Kara DeWalt struggled with a hamstring injury but was determined to win one race. She set a meet record in the 800 and finished second in the 1,600 and 3,200.

"She has to take it one step at a time," said Gideon. "She came back really determined today and set a meet record and really felt good about herself. This happens when athletes are so determined to win, they are really hard on themselves."

Darby had several other athletes place which added to their point total. Gideon said his team worked hard to qualify the younger members. These were the points that made the difference between bringing home a first place trophy or not.

The boys team also worked to qualify younger members. Noah Stout, one of the top distance runners in the state in the 3,200, had everyone confused as he held back throughout the race. Stout finished in third place behind Loyola's John Eikens and Darby's Paul Abrahamsen. After the race, he said he was pacing his brother Matt, a freshman who was also in the race. Stout said he stayed with his brother, urging him on so Matt Stout could place in the race and also move on to Divisional. Stout won the 800 on Friday and the 1,600 on Saturday.

"My distance kids just flat-out kicked butt," said Gideon. "It was so much fun to coach those kids. Like Michael Abrahamsen. He came through in the 800 but we decided to drop him out of the 3,200 because of an ankle injury he got in basketball. He broke the school record as a sophomore in that event. It was a hard decision. He took third in the 1,600 and I couldn't be more proud."

Florence also will be sending several athletes on to Divisional. Tel Harris was the only Falcon to win an event. He threw the shot 53-4-1/2 to claim first. Teammate Bryan Slingsby finished second with a throw of 50-4. Slingsby was third in the discus also. Sam Fernandez finished second in he 300 hurdles and ran the anchor on the 1,600 relay which placed third. Greg Brown was second in the long jump. Kiel Hansen was fourth in the triple jump and ran on the 400 relay which was third as well as the 1,600 relay. Danny Lombardo finished fifth in the triple jump. Joe Redfern placed fourth in the 100.

Several girls from Florence also will advance to the Divisionals. Katie Neimeir placed in five events. She was second in the 100, fourth in the 100 hurdles, fifth in the 300 hurdles, and ran on both relays. The 1,600 relay finished second and the 400 relay finished second as well.

Others who will advance are Katie Kirby in the javelin and triple jump; Brooke Zeiler in the 400, the 800 and the 1,600 relay; Cortney Reynolds, Katelin Yuhas, Liz Miller, Sarah Schertenleib and Brandy Crews.

The top five finishers in each event including the relays will advance to the Divisional Meet this Friday and Saturday at Big Sky High School.

Girls

Team Scores: Darby 130, Loyola Sacred Heart 105, Deer Lodge 96, Seeley-Swan 87, Florence 87, Valley Christian 16, Superior 4.
100 - 1. Oxford, DL, 13.27; 2. Katie Neimeir, Flo, 13.46; 4. Cortney Reynolds, Flo, 13.59; 5. Nikki Center, Dar, 14.13; 6. Brandy Crews, Flo, 14.16.
200 - 1. Oxford, DL, 27.39; 2. Reynolds, Flo, 28.25; 4. Katelin Yuhas, Flo, 29.34; 5. Crews, Flo, 29.86; 6. Nikki Center, Dar, 29.93.
400 - 1. Sara Smith Loyola 62.83, 2. (Tie) Brooke Zeiler, Flo and Jennifer Reighard, DL, 64.26; 4. Kayla Schallenberger, Dar, 66.17; 6. Liz Miller, Flo, 66.96.
800 - 1. Kara DeWalt, Dar, 2:18.91 (meet record old record 2:20.22, Caitlin Stone, SS, 2005). 2. Stone, SS, 2:21.96; 4. Zeiler, Flo, 2:29.83.
1,600 - 1. Stone, SS, 5:04.74 (meet record old record, Kara DeWalt, Darby 2005) 2. K. DeWalt, Dar, 5:13.37; 6. Rachel Warr, Flo, 6:07.57
3,200 - 1. Stone, SS, 11:03.56 (Meet record, old record 11:27.38 (Stone, SS, 2005). 2. K. DeWalt, Dar. 11:53.16; 3. Keri Ledford, Dar, 14:15.88.
400 relay - 1. Loyola 53.35; 2. Florence, 53.68; Deer Lodge, 54.17; 4. Darby 54.77.
1,600 relay - 1. Loyola 4:14.01; 2. Florence 4:18.95; 3. Seeley-Swan 4:22.77; 4. Darby 4:26.42.
100 hurdles - 1. Jessa Linford, SS, 15.24; 2. Tara Ray, Dar, 16.69; 4. Niemeir, Flo, 17.14; 6. Sarah Schertenleib, Flo, 17.40.
300 hurdles - 1. Ray, Dar, 47.39; 4. Yuhas, Flo, 50.54; 5. Niemeir, Flo, 50.82.
Javelin - Marissa Tschida, Loy, 144-6; 3. Katie Kirby, Flo, 108-6; 6. Rae Baerlocher, Flo, 100-7.
Shotput - 1. Michelle Lewis, Dar, 34-11 1/2; 4. Mariah Cress, Dar, 29-3.
Discus - 1. Lewis, Dar, 119-2; 3. Cress, Dar, 97-3; 6. Kasey Blue, Dar, 91-8.
High Jump - 1. Amy DeGroot, Loyola , 5-4; 3. Missy DeWalt, Dar, 4-10; 4. Schertenleib, Flo 4-8.
Long Jump - 1. Ray, Dar, 15-7 1/2; 2. Christina Bender, Dar, 14-11 1/4; 4. M. DeWalt, Dar, 14-8; 6. Schertenleib, Flo, 14-8 3/4
Triple jump - 1. Linford, SS, 34-4 1/2; 2. Kirby, Flo, 32-4; 3. M. DeWalt, Dar, 32-2.
Pole Vault - 1. Susan Christnacht, DL 7-4; 5. Kelsey Blue, Dar 5-0.

Boys

Team scores: Deer Lodge 152, Loyola 87, Darby 76, Florence 64, Seeley-Swan 57, Superior 49, Valley Christian 40.
100 - 1. Jace Felde, DL 11.29; 4. Joe Redfern, Flo, 11.76.
800 - 1. Noah Stout, Dar, 2:02.56; 2. Mike Abrahamsen, Dar, 2:04.35.
1,600 - 1. N. Stout, Dar, 4:38.2; 3. M. Abrahamsen, Dar, 4:46.86; 4. Paul Abrahamsen, Dar, 4:50.69.
3,200 - 2. P. Abrahamsen, Dar, 10:41.35, 3. N. Stout, Dar, 10:51.18. 5. Matt Stout, Dar, 11:13.78.
400 relay - 1. Deer Lodge 44.62; 2. Seeley-Swan, 45.40; 3. Florence 45.82.
1,600 relay - Loyola, 3:36.39; 2. Seeley-Swan 3:37.52; 3. Florence 3:40.58; 4. Darby 3:40.58.
300 hurdles - 1. Zach Honey, Dar, 43.78; 2. Sam Fernandez, Flo, 43.89.
Shotput -1. Tel Harris, Flo, 53-4 1/2; 2. Bryan Slingsby, Flo, 50-4.
Discus - 1. Carson Bender, DL, 151-3; 3. Slingsby, Flo 142-1.
Long jump -1. Felde, DL, 21-4 1/4; 2. Greg Brown, Flo, 19-1; 5. Honey, Dar, 18-4.
Triple jump - 1. Felde, DL, 44-4; 4. Kiel Hansen, Flo, 39-11; 5. Danny Lombardo, Flo, 39-7 1/2.
Pole Vault - 1. Brikky King, DL, 12-6, 2. Travis Schallenberger, Dar, 12-6

Pirates advance to Divisionals

Imagine running a 100-meter dash to qualify for the finals, turning around and running the 1,600 meter race and winning it. Then, to top it off, once (more) around the track in the 400-meter race and then qualifying in the 200-meter dash. That's what Victor's Shannon Reinhardt did on Friday. Then, on Saturday, this red-headed junior finished sixth in the 100, fifth in the 200, fifth in the 400 and won the 800 and the 1,600 races.

Reinhardt's strategy and warm up varies from race to race. "In the 1,600 I have to work on pace more and in the 100, I have to change gears and work on sprints and speed."

She wasn't the only Pirate out there doing double, triple or quadruple duty. Amanda Burrington continued her dominance of the hurdles, winning both the 100 and 300 hurdles in fine form. However, the feisty senior was upset in the 100 and the 200 meter races by Lincoln's Jaycee Keaster.

"She was just having one of those days," said Burrington of Keaster. "Some days are like that."

Burrington did win the 400 as well.

Britany Mitcham took the 3,200 and was sixth in the 800 and second in the 1,600 and the long jump. Kayla Wildey finished third in the discus and Katie McCormick was fifth.

Michael Wemple was a little worried about the gusting winds on Friday afternoon as he waited to throw his javelin. Fortunately, the winds died down a little and he used some strategy to win the javelin throw with a toss of 164-6.

"It was my second best throw," said Wemple. "The strategy for next week depends on the weather and if there's wind or not."

Sophomore Chris Mai won the 3,200 for Victor. He also finished second in the 800 and 1,600 and was fourth in the triple jump.

Girls

Team Scores: Lincoln 134 1/2; Drummond 133, Victor 121 �; Philipsburg 66; Alberton 36.
100 -1. Keaster, Lin, 13.35; 2. Amanda Burrington, Vic, 13.49; 6. Shannon Reinhardt, Vic, 14.20
200 - 1. Keaster, Lin, 27.31; 2. A. Burrington, Vic, 27.68; 3. Reinhardt, Vic, 28.74.
400 - 1. A. Burrington, Vic, 62.54; 5. Reinhardt, Vic, 66.83.
800 - 1. Reinhardt, Vic, 2:30.77; 6. Britany Mitcham, Vic, 2:42.54.
1,600 - 1. Reinhardt, Vic, 5:59.03; 2. Mitcham, Vic, 6:06.03.
3,200 - 1. Mitcham, Vic, 13:22.30; 3. Hannah Johnson, Vic.
100 hurdles - 1. Amanda Burrington, Vic, 16.76.
300 Hurdles - 1. Amanda Burrington, Vic, 48.31.
Discus - 3. Kayla Wildey, Vic, 89-10, 5. Katie McCormick, Vic, 84-4.
Shotput - 1. Billy Bard, Dru, 29-1; 6. Katie McCormick, Vic, 26-8 1/2.
Long jump - 1. Melanie Graham, Phi, 15-5; 2. Britany Mitcham, Vic, 14-1.
High jump - 1. Shanda Richards, Lin, 5-0 1/4; 4. Kristen Burrington, Vic, 4-4.

Boys

Team scores: Drummond 213, Lincoln 119, Philipsburg 78, Victor 51, Alberton 49 800 - 2. Chris Mai, Vic, 2:08.25;
3,200 - 1. Chris Mai, Vic, 11:11.02; 6. Eric Taylor, Vic, 12:13.44
Javelin - 1. Michael Wemple, Vic, 164-6,
1,600 - 3. Chris Mai, Vic, 5:03.45
110 hurdles - 1. Tel Reynolds, Dru, 16.93; 4. Ryan Callaghan, Vic, 22.36
1,600 relay - 1. Drummond 3:3. Victor, 4:09.61
Triple jump - 4. Chris Mai, Vic, 37-7 12; 5. Eric Taylor, Vic, 35-3-1/2. 4.38.2

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