Bound for state
Polson, Ronan/St. Ignatius track members qualify for state tournament
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After a stellar performance at the class A divisional track meet, both Ronan/St. Ignatius and Polson will have a number of athletes heading to the Class A State Tournament in Missoula this weekend.
It was a big day for RSI senior Adessa Durglo, who won her fourth divisional triple jump, setting a new St. Ignatius school record with 36 feet 0.75 inches. She also set a new school record in the long jump, with a mark of 17 feet, .25 inches, and also took her first divisional high jump at the meet, leaping 5 feet, 2 inches.
Teammate Jenny Larsson took second in the high jump after clearing 5 feet even, allowing the RSI girls to go one and two in the high jump at state. Larsson also finished the meet with a third place victory in the javelin, after throwing 97 feet, 4 inches.
A throw of 31 feet, 5 inches in the shot put matched Twyla Hogge’s best ever, and also advanced her to state after taking second in the event last weekend. Also heading to state for the RSI girls is Stephanie Lewandowski, after she placed second in the 100 hurdles.
As for the RSI boys, Jordan Franklin defended his 100-meter divisional title on Saturday, after finishing with a time of 11.63. Franklin also finished first in the high jump, clearing 6 feet, 5 inches. He then took second in the 200-meter dash, with a time of 23.60.
Sophomore Jalen Bell, who came out for track for the first time this year, won the triple jump divisional championship, along with a third place finish in the high jump with a personal best of 5 feet, 10 inches. He also finished fourth in the long jump with a personal best of 20 feet, 6.5 inches.
Paden Alexander started out strong in the 1600 meter, yet finished third with a time of 4:45. The sophomore also fared well in the 3200 meter run, finishing in second place with a personal best of 10:24.
The RSI boys 1600 meter relay team shaved four seconds off their best to tie the school record with a time of 3:32, however the team co-opt record is 3:31, which they will attempt to break next week at state. The boys 400 meter relay team set a school record two weeks ago with a time of 44.62, a record that was then broken again at district with a time of 44.12.
Polson will be taking 16 boys and 11 girls to the state meet after a good day on their home track.
“A number of our younger kids, while they didn’t qualify for state, had personal best efforts in their events.” head track coach Rob Gunderson said. “Hopefully, we can show continued improvement in this weekend’s state meet.”
Pirate Breanne Kelley led the team with 30 points at the meet.
“She has placed in every event she was entered in over the 4 years, winning multiple championships in the 100-meter hurdles, 300-meter hurdles, 400-meter, 200-meter, and both relays,” Gunderson said.
Kelley finished third in the 400-meter dash, with a time of 1:00.66. She then took first in both the 100 and 300 hurdles, and was part of the second place finish in the 400-meter relay.
The Polson girls track team finished second at the meet with a score of 116. Anna DiGiallonardo finished third in both the 100 and 200-meter dash, with a time of 12.28 in the 100, and 26.89 in the 200. Teammate Claudia Hewston ran her personal best in both the 800 and 1600. She took third in the 800, after finishing with a time of 2:24.49, and took fifth in the 1600 with a time of 5:29.71.
Mesa Starkey took first and a season best in the 3200 despite pain in her lower calf muscle, according to Gunderson.
The Polson girls’ 1600-meter relay team took third at the meet, with a time of 4:27.69.
In the shot put, Pirate Jewel Zakit-Ackerman threw the weighted ball 29 feet, 9 inches to take third place, while teammate DJ Conko-Camel finished fourth, throwing 29 feet, 7 inches.
For the Polson boys’ team, Clark Rubel took first in the shot put, after throwing 47 feet, 9.5 inches, a personal best, while teammate Riley Sampson took fifth in the event, throwing 42 feet, 1 inch. The boys’ 1600-meter relay team took second at the meet, finishing with a time of 3:30.35.
“Our boys did as good as they could do in this meet. They competed very well as indicated by the number of season best performances.” Gunderson said. Travis Hayes finished fourth in the 800-meter dash, after crossing the line with a time of 2:02.12.
Jared Rubel took fifth in the 300 hurdles with a time of 44.21, while Vince DiGiallonardo jumped 20 feet, 3 inches to take fifth in the long jump. Clark Rubel secured a divisional championship in the shot put after throwing a personal record of 47 feet 9 ? inches. He also took third in the discus, throwing 129 feet, 8 inches.
Teammate Zion Lee won the pole vault divisional championship, clearing 13 feet even. Jesse Alfiero took second in the event, clearing 12 feet 6 inches, while Brock Bleazard took third, clearing 12 feet even.
This will be Gunderson’s final year with the Pirates, as he is retiring at the end of the season.
“I have been blessed to have great kids and outstanding assistant coaches over all of these years,” Gunderson said.
The state meet starts Friday and continues through Saturday in Missoula at the Big Sky High School track.
