Two Troy Trojans were invited to compete in the 17th annual Russ Pilcher Top 10 track meet in Missoula April 21. Sean Opland and Pate Scott made the trip down with their parents to compete in the event that invites the top 10 western Montana athletes in each event. 

Troy head coach Neil Newton said he was proud of Opland and Scott. 

“With all the great athletes that reside in western Montana, it is quite an honor to be invited. Not only are Pate and Sean among the top in western Montana for their events, they are among the top 10 in all of Montana,” Newton said.

Both athletes were bit by the injury bug and only competed in one event each. Opland had to scratch the 200-meter dash and the triple jump and Pate dropped the high jump.

In the 400-meter run Opland took fourth place and ran the race in 50.36 seconds. Scott took third in the long jump with a leap of 20-7.

Despite the injuries, Opland managed to run his personal best in the 400 meters and Scott had a nice jump in the long jump.

“It is always great for our kids to be able to see that level of competition. As their coach, I just hope it fueled their internal fire a bit,” said Newton.