This may as well have been a preview of next month’s Montana high school track and field postseason as a pair of local teams strutted their stuff at the Thompson Falls Invitational meet this past Tuesday.

Host Thompson Falls and Sanders County rival Plains basically went toe-to-toe in the team competitions, with both schools showing individual and team depth up and down the line-up.

T Falls won the women’s team title by four points, 86-82 over the Plains Trotters, while the Plains mens’ team finished third with 64 points and T Falls guys finished fifth with 53.

Troy won the men’s team title outdistancing the field with 104 points, while Valley Christian was second with 68.

Granite (Philipsburg) was third in the women’s title chase.

Thompson Falls senior Trinity Riffle had an outstanding meet for the Lady Hawks, winning the high jump and 200 meter sprint events and placing second in the 100 meter sprint.

In the 200 meter race, Riffle nipped Granite’s Montannah Piar at the tape with a time of 29.58. Piar was right behind, clocking 29.99. Plains sophomore Kali Tuma was third, 30.15 Two other Plains runners, Aly Roy and Amy Hill finished tenth and eleventh in the 200.

Riffle, who earlier finished second to Piar in the 100 meter sprint (13.51 for Piar, 14.08 for Riffle), then went to the high jump pit where she once again battled Piar, with both girls clearing 4-8. The title went to Riffle who had fewer misses at the winning height.

Plains sophomore Katelyn Subatch was fifth for the Trotters with a jump of 4-4.

In women’s weight events, Plains junior Alexis Demming out dueled Cora Mitt (St. Ignatius), winning the event with a heave of 35-05.25, 10 feet better than Mitt.

Alberton junior Georgia Fredette was fourth (23-05.75) and Plains teammates Ireland Corbin (22-01.25) and Mackenize Tulloch ( 21-11) placed seventh and eighth respectively.

Demming, the defending state B discus champ, lost for the first time this season to Lexi Lunceford (Deer Lodge), with Lunceford uncorking a throw of 108-7 to edge Demming, who threw the discus 107-9. Plains teammate Ashely Ferlan was fourth with a throw of 82-10, while Fredette placed sixth (73-04). Natalie Fisher of Noxon was eleventh with a toss of 53-10.

Ferlan went on to win the women’s 300 meter hurdles with a time of 55.80. Third place went to St. Regis sophomore Lilly Samson, while Noxon’s Fisher finished fifth.

The Trotter’s Hill won the women’s 100 meter hurdle event and Fisher was second.

T Falls women also got points from their 4X400 relay team, which was first. The team consists of Addyson Deal, Peighton Kenney, Aubrey Baxter and Riffle.

Noxon women were fourth in the 4X400 event.

Deal added the women’s javelin title to her day’s work as the freshman threw 100-2, nearly 15 feet better than second place Kaya Butterfield of Lincon. Kenney was eighth in the javelin (67-2), while St. Regis junior Kyla Bush was sixth (73-7).

Deal and Kenney also finished three-four in the pole vault respectively.

Plains sophomore Tuma won the 400 meter run, posting a time of 1:06.41. T Falls freshman Baxter was second (1:07.59), Bush from St. Regis was sixth (1:12.50) and Kenney placed eighth in the 400 for T Falls (1:15.87).

In the women’s long jump, Granite’s Piar was first with a leap of 16-02, while Subatch placed third at 13-10. Sansom finished seventh (11-7).

Baxter was second for T Falls in the 1600 meter run, which was won by a runner from Troy, Jaylee Meyers. Noxon distance runner Sophie Pizzini was fifth in the event, while T Falls freshman Evy Edwards placed sixth.

Edwards also placed second in the 3200 meter run, which was won by Meyers. Plains senior Peyton Wasson came home second in the 800 meter run, while the Plains 4X100 relay team was third.

In the men’s individual competition, Plains’ Nicholas Hill won the 100 meter sprint with a time of 12.03. Noxon’s Owen Ramsey was seventh (12.26) and Plains freshman Matthew Thurston came in twelfth (12.93), while Horseman teammate Aiden Silva was tied for fourteenth (13.08).

Thompson Falls had three other first place finishers, paced by senior distance ace Cael Thilmony, who won the grueling 3200 meter run with a time of 11:19.01. Plains junior Mike Reistroffer was a close second with a time of 11:32.78. Horseman sophomore Kalem Ercnbrack was fourth with a time of 12:22.0)

Thilmony also picked up a third place finish in the 1600 meter event, which was won by Troy’s Nolan Morris (5:02.35).

Alberton’s Shea Fredette was second in the 1600, crossing the finish line at the 5:07.72 mark, while Thilmony clocked 5:08.07. Noxon junior Chance McDaid was seventh with a time of (5:42.03).

Another winner for the Blue Hawks was junior javelin thrower Ian Myers, who threw the spear 139-7, while Alberton junior Colton Baughman was second with a throw of 129-3. Third place in the javelin event went to Plains senior Joseph Martin (127-2).

St. Regis’ James Roe was sixth in the javelin with a throw of 121-11, and Noxon’s Shane Murray was ninth (116-08).

Thompson Falls also got a first place medal from junior Ethan Geisbusch, who won the 300 meter hurdles event with a time of 48.84.

In the relay events, Plains hurdlers were second in both the 4X100 and 4X400 races, both of which were won by relay teams from Valley Christian. Thompson Falls placed fourth in the 4X400 race, and St. Regis was fifth in the 4X100 relay.

Plains’ Martin also picked up some team points for the Horsemen with his second place finish in the 800 meter run, while Fredette came in third. The event was won by Troy’s Nolan Morris.

In the men’s shot put, Troy’s Jacob Gromley won top honors with a put of 42-6, while Noxon’s Ramsey was second (38-10.5) and T Falls junior Zach Ames was third (38-0). Plains thrower Brenden Vanderwall was fourth in the shot put event with a toss of 37-10, while T Falls senior James Schmidt was ninth (36-5). Noxon junior Ricky Williams was tenth in the event with a throw of 36-1.5.

Vanderwall also took fifth in the long jump with a leap of 18-2, while Alberton’s Baughman was seventh (17-7), the same distance as T Falls senior Braxton Dorscher.

Dorscher was also third in the 200 meter sprint with a time of 25.56. Marcus Hermes won the event with a time of 25.40. McDaid (Noxon) picked up points with his fifth place finish (25.68). Nicholas Hill placed ninth (26.46) and Shamus Wheeldon of Noxon was tenth (27.06). Plains’ Thurston placed twelfth at 27.58.

Plains had two finishers in the top 10 in the discus event, Darren Standeford (106-6) was fourth, while Vanderwall placed sixth. St. Regis Barrett Bassette finished 11th, and Williams had a throw of 89-4 for Noxon, good for thirteenth place.

McDaid placed fifth in the 400 meter run, just ahead of Thompson Falls’ Myers and Plains’ Reistroffer. The event was won by Issac Umphrey of St. Ignatius (54.65).

Leevy Bush of St. Regis was eighth in the 400 and Aiden Silva (Plains) came in ninth.

Plains also got a sixth place finish from freshman Cooper Merdith in the high jump as he cleared 5-4.

Next up for most area teams is the ARM Whitefish Invitational this coming Saturday. Some tracksters will also take part in the Top 10 event today (Tuesday, April 23) in Missoula.

    Plains sprinters Amy Hill (left) and Aly Roy give it their all in the 100 meter sprint event at this past week's Thompson Falls Invitational. (Photo by Tracy Scott)
  

    Plains senior Greg Tatum readies to release the javelin during this past week's Thompson Falls Invitational track and field meet. (Photo by Tracy Scott)