Glacier races past Flathead

The weather got a little dicey, some familiar faces were missing and the Glacier Wolfpack had the speed and power to sweep the Crosstown track and field dual Wednesday at Legends Stadium.

With Cooper Pelc, Liam Palmer and Will Astle winning two events each, the Wolfpack boys outscored the Flathead Braves 94.33-45.67.  

Freshman Ada Thiel was the lone double-winner for the Glacier girls, and she set one of two girls meet records Wednesday. The Wolfpack girls beat the Bravettes 74.5-70.5.  

Pelc won the 100 and 200 for Glacier’s boys while Palmer swept the hurdles – winning the 110s in 15.41 seconds, a personal record that also ranks sixth in AA. Palmer and teammates Kruz Robinson and Matthew Ahner went 1-2-3 in the race. 

Astle won the shot put and discus, throwing 145 feet, 8 inches in the latter. Glacier won 12 of 17 events overall, including the long jump: Ryne Gillette, a member of the Wolfpack baseball team, won that event. 

Jack Robinson hit a PR while winning the triple jump for Glacier: 41-1.5. 

The notable exception was Flathead junior Christopher Holland, who swept the 800 and 1,600. His 1,600 time of 4:35.39 was a PR.  

Glacier’s short relay team of Spencer Hodge, Pelc, Palmer and Brodie Cooke set the meet record while winning in 43.24. The old standard was 43.36, set by Flathead two years ago. 

Flathead’s Will Hollensteiner sat out the meet with a sore hamstring, Braves coach Dan Hodge said. Brett Chivers, a top hurdler, ran just the 400 (he won) and on the winning 1,600-meter relay team. That event concluded the meet minutes before the rain picked up. 

Thiel and teammate Dacie Benkelman provided a girls highlight with a photo finish in their 1,600. Thiel won in 5:18.12, and she and Benkelman (5:18.73) both came across under the old meet record of 5:25.67, set by Glacier’s Annie Hill in 2016. 

Thiel’s time is the best run within Montana for AA this spring; she clocked 4:53.63 at the Arcadia Invitational on April 11. Benkelman’s time sits fourth. 

Also setting a new meet record was Flathead’s Bristol Lenz, who won the 100 hurdles in 15.33 seconds, breaking the record of 15.72 held by Glacier’s Lexy Boschee since 2012. Lenz also won the long jump with a PR of 17-1; that’s sixth in AA. 

The Wolfpack’s Lauren Bissen won her lone race, the 800, on Wednesday; among the Pack’s winners were sophomore Bailee Dahlman in the 100 (13.34), freshman Anika Ackerly in the 3,200, junior Allie Krueger in the shot put and sophomore Lucy Holloway in the javelin. 

Holloway’s mark of 118-5 sits fifth in AA.  

Full results can be found at athletic.net.