Merchant sets record, Vikings lead State A track

LAUREL — That’s the way to cap a day.

Bigfork senior sprinter Robert Merchant set a record in Friday’s final timed event at day one of the State A track and field championships, burning through the 400 meters in 47.89 seconds.  

It was so fast only a handful of AA athletes, including Flathead’s William Hollensteiner, have run faster. It was so quick it knocked one of Miles City legend Jeff Muri’s records off the books. Muri ran his 48.10 in 1976, at the “English distance” of 440 yards.  

Add in Tamret Savik’s win in the high jump — he cleared 6 feet, 6 inches, and beat Lewistown’s Chaz Walsh on criteria — and a 3-5 finish for Savik and Quinn Kerr in the long jump, and Bigfork scored 28 points. 

That led the way after eight boys events. Host Laurel was next at 27. Billings Central, with Grey Piseno winning his 3,200 duel with Polson’s David DiGiallonardo, had 24. 

Three-time defending champion Corvallis had 21 and Polson, Hardin and Havre scored 18 each.  

On the girls side, Hamilton led the team race after seven events with 31 points. Billings Central (24) was next, Havre and East Helena had 18 each and Corvallis came in at 17. 

Merchant won a fast 400 — Billings Central’s William Snell ran 48.16, the third-fastest time in State A history — and also had the top trials times for the 100 and 200 on Friday while helping Bigfork run the fastest 400 relay in prelims. 

Savik, meanwhile, executed a seven-point turnaround with Laurel standout Chrisa Dennis in the high jump. Dennis cleared 6-6 last week but tied for third Friday at 6-2. Savik cleared 6-4 on his first attempt, while Walsh got it on his second try. That separated first and second. 

Laurel’s Bridger Burrows won the long jump, going a personal record 23-9.25, and teammate Gabriel Glassing was fourth. Savik (21-10.75) and Kerr (21-8.5) both hit PRs — the top 12 places did, in fact. 

Piseno won the 3,200 in 9:24.12, the second-fastest time in A history; DiGiallonardo came across in 9:37.22. The two will battle in the 1,600 on Saturday. Polson’s Jackson Bontadelli’s was fifth in the 3,200. 

Polson’s Isaak Kinnick cleared a PR of 13-6 in the pole vault, and finished second on criteria to Havre’s Teegan Soloman. 

Other top marks came from Livingston’s Finn Schretenthaler, who won the 800 in 1:53.45, a couple strides off the 11-year-old record of 1:52.17 by Belgrade’s Jonathan Eastwood.  

Frenchtown’s Henry Griffin, as expected, won the shot put (59-1). Hardin’s Darrel Lefthand uncorked a throw of 192-0 to win the javelin; Libby’s Tristan Andersen was fifth at 165-4, right behind Joe West of Columbia Falls at 169-2. 

Whitefish’s Colby Minton was sixth in the 400 and Browning’s Kayden Rutherford was sixth in the 800. 

On the girls’ side, Billings Central freshman phenom Addison Kegel is two thirds of the way to a distance triple, taking both the 800 (in 2:09.88) and the 3,200 (10.31.86), both in State A-record times. 

Polson junior Morgan Delaney finished second in the latter, at 10:36.26; in third was Libby sophomore Capri Farmer at 11:15.16.  

It’s notable that Kegel and Delaney own the fastest times run in Class A in the 3,200 — and also that Kegel and Corvallis junior Annalise Lewis (second at 2:11.78) are now 1-2 all-time in the State A 800. The old 3,200 record was held by Beatrix Frissell of Polson: 10:47.33 in 2019. Miles City’s Peyton Frame ran 2:12.35 a year ago to set the 800 record; Frame was second in the 400 Friday, and didn’t run the 800.  

Columbia Falls had Peyton Ross finish fourth in the long jump — Corvallis senior Ella Varner won at 18-10.75, an inch off the A record — and Soli Bullemer finished the third in the pole vault. 

Bullemer cleared 11-6 while Sidney’s Morgan Kindopp got 13-0.25, which breaks the 26-year-old record of 12-4 set by Sidney’s Leila Ben-Youssef. 

Whitefish’s Kendall Dye was sixth in the 800 while teammate Brooklyn Shoff was fifth in the 400. Both are freshmen. Chantry Krack, a sophomore, was fifth in the high jump. 

Bigfork’s Millie Hall was fifth in the shot put, which Gracie Werst of Corvallis (42-6.75) won. 

East Helena’s Bailey Leuthard and two others cleared 5-2 in the high jump, and Leuthard won on criteria. In second was Havre’s Daceen Verploegen. Macy Brandon breezed to the 400 title, in a PR of 56.86, and she and the rest of the Blue Ponies have a lot of points within reach Saturday. 

Full results can be found at athletic.net.