Something is brewing among the mountains and valleys that make up Sanders and Mineral counties.

It’s too early to carve it in stone, but this could be shaping up as a banner year for the high school track and field athletes in the bi-county boundaries. 

To wit, the showing this past weekend by the Plains Trotters and Horsemen girls’ and boys’ track teams, who may have let the cat out of the bag with their showing at this year’s Bigfork Invitational. 

The Trotters placed second in the 13-team women’s varsity team chase, while the Plains boys were fourth in the men’s team final standings. 

Led by arguably one of the GOATs (greatest of all time) of Plains track history, the Trotters piled up 62 team points. The women’s team title went to Class A Whitefish, which had 134 points. 

But for Alexis Deming and company, Plains posted the best team score among the Class B schools who took place.  Deming won the discus event and followed it up with a first-place medal in the shot put. 

In the men’s competition, the team title was also claimed by Whitefish, which accumulated 100 team points. Plains was fourth with 59 points, just seven points behind third-place Choteau. 

Superior finished fourth in the women’s title standings, Thompson Falls was eighth, St. Regis finished eleventh and Hot Springs, which was without several key athletes who were attending the state FFA (Future Farmers of America) convention. 

Superior’s boys took seventh in the team race, one point ahead of Thompson Falls (27-26), Hot Springs was tenth and St. Regis was thirteenth. 

Deming dominated the discus event with a throw of 118-11, more than 12 feet better than Superior junior Juliette Evans (104-9) and almost 20 feet better than third place Georgia Uski of Hot Springs (99-5). 

Deming is unbeaten in the discus event so far in the fledgling 2025 track season and is attempting to become a three-time state discus champion in this, her senior year. 

In the shot put pit, Deming won by seven feet with a put of 38-6.5.  Evans was fifth with a heave of 29-2 and Uski placed sixth with a throw just one-half less than Evans. 

Superior’s Maryisa Swope actually had the best haul of team points winning two events and placing second in two others for the Lady Bobcats. 

Swope, a junior, won the women’s long jump with a leap of 14-8.5 feet.  She added another first place medal in the javelin event, where she uncorked a throw of 105-7, two inches better than runner up Addyson Deal of Thompson Falls.  

Swope came home second in the women’s 400-meter run and was second in the pole vault. 

Plains got a basket of team points from versatile junior Kali Tuma, who won the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 52.61. She also had a second-place finish in the 100-meter hurdles. 

And the Trotters long distance ace, defending state cross country champ Marina Tulloch, won the 3200-meter run with a time of 13:05.43, almost 10 seconds ahead of second place Sophie Douglas of Whitefish. 

St. Regis, which brought one of the smallest contingents to the meet, got a pair of top five finishes from eighth grader Cielee Mitchell, who was fourth in the 100-meter sprint (13.77) and fifth in the 200-meter event (29:07). 

The Lady Tigers also had a fifth-place medal in the 800 meters and a sixth place in the 1600-meter middle distance runs by junior Lilly Sansom. 

Thompson Falls acquired team points from several different girls, led by sophomore Addyson Deal, who won the triple jump with a hop, skip and jump of 30-1, edging second-place Destiny Finley of Ronan by half an inch. 

Deal was second in the javelin with a throw of 105-4, eighth in the pole valut and ninth in the 100-meter sprint. 

Senior Peighton Kenney was fifth in the javelin and sixth in the pole vault events for the T Falls girls. 

Also racking up multiple top ten finishes was Plains junior Katelyn Subatch, who was fifth in the 300-meter hurdles, fifth in the women’s long jump, fifth in the high jump. 

Superior senior Braelynn Mangold was fourth in the 400-meter run. 

Highlights among local boys included Superior sophomore Landon Richards, who set a new school record in the high jump with a winning leap in Bigfork of 6-3.  A school official said the old record was set in early 1980s.  Hot Springs freshman Chase DePoe was seventh with a jump of 5-6.  The 6-5 Richards was also 26th in the 100-meter sprint. 

Plains Italian foreign exchange student Luciano Ferranti swept the men's sprint events for the Horsemen, winning the 100-meter sprint with a time of 11.50, edging out Whitefish’s Riley Zetooney and Eureka junior Josh Lamberton, both of whom crossed the finish line at the 11.54 mark. 

Ferranti also won the 200-meter sprint with a time of 23.92. 

Hot Springs sophomore Daniel Slonaker was sixth in the 100-meter event with a time of 11.82.  Slonaker also placed fifth in the 200-meter sprint. Savage Heat teammate David Chapman was sixth with a time of 25.51. Chapman was also second in the 110-meter hurdles. Chapman added a tenth-place finish in the shot put as part of his daily haul. 

Plains also got a first-place medal from senior Darren Standeford, who captured the 400-meter event with a time of 55.69, well ahead of runner up Landree Arnold of Whitefish, who crossed the line at 57.47.  Standeford added a second-place medal in the javelin with a toss of 149-4.5.  The event was won by Choteau sophomore Kesston Thomas who threw the spear 158-9. 

Thompson Falls senior Ian Myers was fifth in the javelin with a 132-5 mark, while St. Regis senior Hunter Stolla was ninth (125-6). 

 T Falls senior Braedon Ferris also had an outstanding meet, winning the shot put with a throw of 41-11.5.  Plains’ Greg Tatum was sixth in the shot put at 39-5.5.  Standeford was seventh in the discus with a throw of 110-11. 

Plains distance ace John Owen Jermyn was fourth in the 1600-meter run for the Horsemen, while T Falls freshman Weston Block was fifth in the 3200-meter event. 

Superior junior Phin Cataldo was fourth in the long jump with a leap of 18-7, while teammates George Hanson and Gannon Quinlan tied for sixth in the pole vault. 

Cody West captured third place in the 300-meter hurdles, while St. Regis senior Hunter Stolla was seventh. St. Regis teammate Nathan Bohn was fifth in the triple jump with a mark of 35-1. 

In the relay events, Superior was third in the 4X400 event and fifth in the 4X100.  The Superior team consisted of Quinlan, Cataldo, Richards and Trizten Avila.  Avila was also fourth in the men’s 100-meter sprint. 

Plains’s relay teams placed fourth in both events. Members of the relay teams were Cody West, Cooper Meredith, Greg Tatum and Ferranti. 

Next up for local tracksters is the MCPS Invitational in Missoula this Friday and Saturday (April 11-12) and the Dave Tripp Invitational this Saturday in Polson. 

    Thompson Falls relay team members Peighton Kenney and Evy Edwards pass the baton during the Bigfork Invitational track and field meet this past weekend.  (Photo by Sarah Naegeli)
  

    Hot Springs shot putter Georgia Uski gives the iron ball a heave during the Bigfork Invitational track meet this past Saturday.  (Photo by Sarah Naegeli)