Excellence through persistence and good old fashioned hard work. With some valuable technical guidance provided by the Mountain West Track Club factored in.

Standout Superior track and field athletes Landon Richards, Ava White and Siri Cooper have continued on with track and field competition following the recently completed school seasons, and all turned in winning efforts in the USA Track and Field Association Junior Olympic Championships in Butte June 19-20.

The three Superior standouts – Landon will be a senior in high school this fall, Ava a junior and Siri an eighth grader – qualified for the Region 11 Junior Olympic Championships to be held at Idaho State University in Pocatello July 9-11 with their efforts in Butte.

Owing at least part of their success to the Mountain West Track Club in Missoula, Richards and White have been actively working out in Missoula with the club since the end of the high school season, while Cooper worked with the club last winter before taking this summer off before entering her eighth grade year, all three Superior athletes excelled in Butte. Landon and Ava competed for Mountain West, while Siri competed unattached, accompanied and coached by her father Micheal Cooper.

The current and two-time State C champion and State C record holder in the high jump, Richards won the Men’s 17-18 title in the event with a best effort of 6 feet, 8.75 inches in Butte. Richards set the new State C record of 6-9.5 at the State C meet in Laurel last month.

A big point-producer for the Bobcat girls on the other side of the State C in Laurel, White pole vaulted a lifetime best of 10 feet, 2 inches to win the Girls 15-16 division in the event in Butte, in addition to winning first place in the 400 meter hurdles (in 1:07.47) and second place in the 100 meter hurdles (16.39 seconds).

White’s previous best mark in the high jump was 9-0, meaning she cleared her previous best height by an amazing 14 inches in the Junior Olympic event. The 400 meter hurdles in not a sanctioned race in Montana high school track and field but the 100 meter hurdles is.

Although she will only be entering eighth grade this fall, Cooper posted marks that would compete at the highest levels of Class C high school track and field in dominating her events in the Girls 13-14 division in Butte.

Siri soared 15 feet, 1.25 inches in the long jump, nailed a clutch triple jump of 31-10.25 on her final attempt and sped over the 200 meter hurdles in 31.81 seconds to impressively win all three of those events in personal best fashion.

Now 14, Cooper successfully defended the triple jump title she first earned at last year’s Montana Junior Olympics as a 13-year-old.

Cooper scored a fourth Junior Olympic medal this year by placing third in the 100 meter hurdles in 17.81 seconds.

Currently training with the Mountain West Track Club, Richards and White practice at Dornblaser Stadium in Missoula up to four nights a week and receive specialized training in their events from some of the best coaches in the area, including head coach Diane Cummins and assistant coach Erica Fraley.

Cummins was an Olympic athlete for Canada in the 2004 Games in the 800 meter run and Fraley, a top flight pole vaulter, was on the 2008 USA Olympic team.

Michael Cooper said his daughter has benefited greatly from her time with Mountain West and does not dismiss the idea of rejoining the club in the future.

“She still trains during the evening at the field in Superior,” he said of the current training plan for his daughter. “Siri did (join the) Mountain West Track Club during the winter season - which was a blast, but the travel, time and financial commitment was too much for summer, as well as considering she is only in junior high.”

Cooper said participating with Mountain West can also help open doors of opportunity for local athletes, pointing to former Superior students Sorren Reese (who went on to compete at Carroll College in Helena) and Isabella Pereira (Whitworth College in Spokane) as two recent examples of Bobcat athletes who have benefitted from training with the Missoula track and field club.

He said Siri, Ava and Landon all gained valuable expertise and experience, and had fun doing it. “For all three of these athletes, this summer track season means an extension of the sport they love and excel at,” he said. “In the future, it can also mean college recruiters getting a good look at their skills and possible offers for athletic scholarships.”

    CHAMPION SIRI COOPER playfully bites her first place medal on the podium following one of her three event wins in Butte at the USATF Montana Junior Olympics in Butte two weeks ago. Cooper won the long jump, the triple jump and the 200 meter hurdles, in addition to placing third in the 100 meter hurdles, in the Girls 13-14 division in Butte. (courtesy photo)