The numbers didn’t work for Hot Springs football and basketball but, when it came to track and field, Savage Heat math ended up working out perfectly as the Hot Springs boys surged to a stunning win of the Western C divisional team championship in Missoula Saturday.

Putting together some of their finest individual and team performances of the season at precisely the right time, seemingly time after time at MCPS Friday and Saturday, the Heat boys finished their torrid two-day run in Missoula with 93 team points to easily out-distance second place Drummond (68), third place Valley Christian (54) and the rest of the Western C field.

The Savage Heat girls scored 13 team points in the Western C meet behind the stellar efforts of Kara Christensen, Kora Hensrude and Alisha Jakabosky.

Qualifying Hot Springs athletes, and that is virtually every one of them with the boys, now move on to the State C meet in Laurel Friday and Saturday, hoping to repeat the virtuoso performance they just provided in Missoula.

The Heat boys were a great evolving story last week, shock jocks if you will, posting a surprising explosion of point-scoring ability at the most important point in the season.

One week after scoring 92 team points and placing third in the District 14C meet, the Heat boys ran out and rang up 93 team points against much better competition this week and streaked to first place in the Western C. All of which leaves a school that struggled mightily to field enough players for 6-Man football last fall and canceled its boys basketball season last winter because they didn’t have enough active bodies for that sport, as unexpected but very happy Western C divisional track and field team champions.

Ben Aldridge, Chase DePoe and Daniel Slonaker did much of the scoring damage with career-best efforts at the best possible times in their expected events, but the Heat also received a few welcome surprises, like Samson Jakabosky pitching the shot put a personal -best distance to grab second place in that event, or like Jakabosky, Bill DeTienne, DePoe and Aldridge teaming up to run a lifetime best time of 44.72 seconds in the 400

meter relay to win that event Friday, setting the stage for the Heat’s huge run Saturday to the divisional title.

Aldridge finished with quite a list of Western C accomplishments all in personal best fashion, winning the 300 meter hurdles in 40.09 seconds, taking second in the 110s in 15.74 seconds, second in the 100 meters in 11.49 seconds and third in the long jump with a best leap of 20-5.

DePoe was also career-best in winning second in the long jump (20-8), tying for second in the high jump (6-0), placing third in the 300 meter hurdles (42.14) and fourth in the 110 hurdles.

Slonaker did his part by winning the 100 meters in a personal best time of 11.30 seconds, finishing second in the 200 in 23.26 and running a leg on the winning 400 meter relay.

Perhaps not as successful as their surprising counterparts in the Western C, the Savage Heat girls also competed very well in Missoula.

Kara Christensen won second place in the discus, with a best throw of 116-4, and took sixth place in the shot put to lead the Hot Springs girls.

Kora Hensrude won fifth place in the 300 meter hurdles and sixth in the 200 meters, and Alisha Jakabosky speared sixth place in the javelin with a career-best throw of 105-10 for the Savage Heat girls’ other points in the Western C meet.

THE WESTERN C CHAMPION Hot Springs Savage Heat boys celebrate on the podium at MCPS in Missoula Saturday after being awarded the first-place trophy. Brayden Colyer, Chase DePoe, Bill DeTienne, Daniel Slonaker, Samson Jakabosky and Ben Aldridge enjoy the moment and now make plans to attend the Stat C meet in Laurel this week. (courtesy photo)