As if a rehearsal for the upcoming post-season, a pair of District 14C stars who will be teammates this Fall at Carroll College, squared off in a long-awaited, multi-event, head-to-head track and field showdown.

And the one clear thing which emerged from the meeting, which took place at the Kim Haines Invitational this past Saturday in Missoula, was that Carroll College has some good recruiters.

Led by senior Sorren Reese, the Superior women’s team finished fourth in the event, which attracted athletes from 20 Western Montana high schools. Right behind Reese and the Lady Bobcats, who also got a big lift from junior Isabella Pereria, was Katelyn Christensen and the Lady Savage Heat from Hot springs.

The Hot Springs women finished sixth in the team title with 33 points, while Superior tallied 40 team points.

Throughout the day, it was also evident there are some really good high school track and field athletes in rural Western Montana.

And on the men’s side of the event, Noxon rode the big shoulders of senior Cade VanVleet to a 14th place team finish, while Superior was 16th, Hot Springs was 18th and Plains was tied for 20th.

Reese and Christensen, who are both bound for the Helena college with track and field scholarships in hand, have long been among the top performers in numerous events, highlighted by the javelin.

Saturday, Reese unleashed a season-best throw of 127 feet, four inches to bring home a first place medal. Not far behind was Christensen, who also had a season-best throw of 115-2 in placing fourth.

Christensen also shined in the sprints, with a second-place showing in the 200 meters to go with her sixth place finish in the 100 meters run, where she clocked a personal record 13.24.

The Lady Savage Heat standout also added a pair of second place finishes, when she was runner-up in both the shot put and discus events.

Superior speedster Pereria was second in the 100 meters race with a time of 13.04, while Anaconda’s Cora Persanti took home the top prize with a 13.02 time.

From the short sprints to the medium distance runs, Christensen add an eighth place placing in the 400 meters as part of her daily haul.

Reese, meanwhile finished fifth in the 800 meters run and capped her day when she tied for seventh in the high jump.

Pereria added a second place finish in the triple jump and tied for eighth in the pole vault to wrap up her productive day.

Superior also got third place finishes from senior Cassie Green in the shot put and discus.

Another area multi-event athlete who had a good day was Noxon’s Emily Brown who was fourth in the 400 meters run, tenth in the 800 meters event and eighth in the javelin throw.

The Plains Trotters, meanwhile, got an outstanding day from Alexis Deming, who won the discus with a personal record throw of 113-5. The promising freshman also took fourth in the shot put with a PR of 33-9.5.

In the men’s events, Hot Springs’ pole vaulter Kyle Lawson, who is headed to Western Montana this fall on a football scholarship, tied for first in the event with a PR vault of 11-6. A pair of Superior vaulters, Lucas Kovalsky and Decker Milender finished tied for first and tied for seventh respectively.

The highlight events of the day in the men’s competition was found in the throwing arenas, where VanVleet battled again with Seeley-Swan’s Walker McDonald, who won the shot put event with a state best throw of 55-0.25, a foot ahead of VanVleet’s 54 foot heave.

Garth Parker of Hot Springs, who also played in a Legion baseball tournament over the weekend, took fourth in the shot put with a PR 42-10 throw. Superior’s Silas Acker was seventh at 41-1.

Following the shot put competition, all eyes focused on the discus ring, where McDonald and VanVleet once again went head-to-head for B-C superiority. And again McDonald emerged with a first place throw of 170-10, while VanVleet’s best throw of 140-11 was good for fourth place.

Plains’ top finisher for the men was multi-event sophomore Joseph Martin, who was sixth in the triple jump and sixth in the 800 meters run.

Seeley-Swan won the men’s team title with 98.33 points. Noxon was 14th with 10 points, while Superior tied for 16th with eight points, Hot Springs took 18th with six, and Plains was 20th with four team points.

All the schools involved will now head to their respective District championships, with the 14C boys and girls meeting up in Missoula this Friday and Saturday. Class B schools hold their District events in Bigfork this Saturday.