Briefs: Little Sullivan; Eagle Bend ace; Bella Downing wins award

BILLINGS — A pair of Flathead Valley products, Hania Halvorsen out of Flathead High and Jake Sanderson out of Whitefish, are finalists for the Montana AAU Little Sullivan Award to be announced on May 2.

Halvorsen, a 2022 Flathead graduate, just completed her college wrestling career at Colorado Mesa, finishing with a 77-43 record. She won two Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference titles for the NCAA Division II Mavericks was a four-time first-team all-RMAC Academic. 

Sanderson, currently a defenseman for the NHL Ottawa Senators, played on Team USA as it captured Olympic hockey gold with a 2-1 overtime win over Canda in the Winter Olympics in February. 

The other men’s finalists are Montana State receiver Taco Dowler out of Billings; Great Falls and MSU rodeo hand Cole Detton; and Helena’s Konnor Ralph of the Team USA freeski team. 

Joining Halverson as women’s finalists are UM soccer player Eliza Bentler out of Billings, MSU track and field standout Hailey Coey of Billings; and Marleigh Nieto, another Billings product who played softball for MSU-Billings. 

Last year’s Little Sullivan winner were Ben Perrin and Skyleigh Thompson, both of Kalispell. 

Haley scores Eagle Bend ace

BIGFORK — Alan Haley shot a hole-in-one on No. 6 at the Eagle Bend Golf Club’s Eagle Nine on Sunday. 

Haley used an 8-iron for the shot, which covered 130 yards. Witnessing the feat were Louise Cholette-Haley, Grant Snitker and Paula Snitker. 

Bella Downing takes down Saunders Award 

STILLWATER, Okla. — Flathead wrestler Bella Downing is Montana’s recipient of the Tricia Saunders High School Excellence Award, as announced by the National Wrestling Hall of Fame on April 25. 

First presented in 2014, the award is named for Tricia Saunders, a four-time World Champion and women’s wrestling pioneer. Saunders was the first woman to be inducted as a Distinguished Member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2006 and was inducted into the United World Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2011.  

Downing just finished a standout wrestling career with the Bravettes, in which she finished fifth, first, second and second at the state tournaments, at 120 and 115 pounds. She went 136-13 in her high school career and will wrestle collegiately at Ottawa University in Kansas.  

Zetooney, Wilde hit high marks 

While there was too much wind for a school record, but Callie Wilson, Brooke Zetooney, Rileigh McGree and Tara Ohlwiler hold the top four 100-meter dash times in Montana women’s track and field history after their performances on April 16. 

Wilson ran the fastest, at 11.46 seconds, at the Pacific Coast Invitational in Long Beach, California. Zetooney, a sophomore out of Whitefish, ran 11.64 and McGree 11.72.  

Ohlwiler clocked 11.53 to set the school record in 2025. 

At that same meet Karsen Beitz ran the 200 in 20.55 seconds, breaking the 58-year-old men’s school record of 20.84 set by Jack Emeigh in 1939 and matched by Willie Jones in 1968. 

On April 18 at the Beach Invitational, on the same track, Wilson ran the 100 in 10.67. Meanwhile senior Erin Wilde of Whitefish cleared 5 foot, 10.5 inches to finish fourth in the high jump. The school record-holder at 6-0, Wilde will be gunning for a fourth straight Big Sky outdoor title in her signature event May 13-16 in Portland, Oregon.  

The Grizzlies host the Montana Open this Friday and Saturday at Dornblaser Field.