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Belgrade reloads for year

two of baseball in Montana

Following a highly successful inaugural season of high school baseball, Belgrade has reloaded for year two and returns a plethora of talent.

The Panthers won the East Division crown a year ago — they were 9-1 in league play — en route to placing third at state. It was the first-ever baseball season for the Montana High School Association and Belgrade finished with a 17-2 overall record.

During preseason practices head coach Joel Barnett has been stressing the mental aspect of the game as much as the physical play. The coaching staff has been talking with players about why last year’s

team fell short of winning the state championship and how to build on what that team did accomplish.

“I feel like they saw how it ran last year. We’re not going to change a whole lot from how we did things last year as a coaching staff,” said Barnett. “So I think these guys are really prepared to have another good year.”

Belgrade lost six seniors from last year, including All-State pitcher Collin Delph, All-State catcher Diego Casas and All-State infielder Brody Jacksha. Delph was among the top pitchers in the state and posted a 6-1 record on the

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mound, while Casas and Jacksha combined for four home runs.

The Panthers also lost Jayden Jacksha, who transferred out of state to complete his prep career.

“We lost about six guys off of that varsity roster, which is always tough. But we feel like we’re in a good position to fill those gaps,” said Barnett. “Losing a catcher like Diego is always tough because he’s such a special talent, having a catcher that flies, that doesn’t happen every day. But I feel like our coaching staff does it right.

“I feel like we did a good job of getting everyone prepared for last year. They got meaningful reps still even with all those seniors, and they saw how those seniors carried themselves, and I feel like they’ve really stepped into those roles. So we feel pretty confident with all the guys who are filling those gaps.”

The coaching staff retained all

Belgrade Baseball

34 athletes who showed up for tryouts and among them are several returning varsity players in seniors Keenan Kraft and Landon Wander; juniors Ryas and Sawyer Olson; and sophomores Hayden Robson and Brayton VanDyken.

“We have quite a few returners who got some varsity action last year, so we’re looking for big things from them,” said Barnett.

Kraft, Wanders and the Olson brothers each earned second team all-conference honors last year. Kraft was 4-0 on the mound, while Wanders and VanDyken were 3-0 and 2-0, respectively.

“Brayton VanDyken was really dominant on our JV team as was Hayden Robson,” noted Barnett. “Both of those guys, we’re looking for big things from them this year.”

Sophomore Andrew Hazen is also expected to be a key contributor for the varsity, likely

filling the void left by Casas.

“Andrew Hazen is probably going to be our catcher. He’s a sophomore that got a lot of JV time for us last year,” said Barnett. “We’re looking for big things from him this year.”

Belgrade spent the first two weeks of practice indoors in preparing for road games against Polson and Whitefish. Barnett noted baserunning will be a team strength.

“I’m hoping that’s dialed in week one. I hope we bunt well and I hope our two strike approaches are great,” he said. “As far as swing mechanics and all that stuff, it’s going to take a while to come along. Building up arm strength will obviously take a while to come along, but I just want to see them compete and I think that they’re prepared for that.”

Belgrade is slated to make its home debut April 2.

2024 Schedule

Holes to fill, but BHS fastpitch strong again

There are plenty of holes

Joey Roberts needs to fill in the lineup heading into the 2024 softball season. But the fourth-year Belgrade head coach is confident the right players will step into those positions this spring following the departure of a veteran crew.

With 26 athletes out for the team, including four seniors and three juniors, the Panthers are looking to build off a tough finish from a year ago. Belgrade qualified for state for a third consecutive season in Class AA, but lost six of its final eight contests, including both games at state.

Just three years removed from

winning the AA championship, the coaching staff is taking a fresh approach with this year’s group.

“Kind of revamping things,” said Roberts. “Mostly a lot of it from a mental standpoint and really just focusing on the process. Not worrying about outcomes, focusing on the process and the daily grind, as well as how we’re going to handle hard stuff better and how we respond to adversity.”

Belgrade finished with an 11-11 record last year and had six players garner all-conference honors.

Among that group were veterans Abbie Morin (CF), Sierra Tuss (C)

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and Tayler Thomas (SS/P).

“Obviously, we lost a lot in the infield and outfield,” said Roberts. “Trying to replace Tayler Thomas and Abbie Morin, shortstop and center, pretty tough positions to fill. But we’re pretty confident (we can).”

The good news is that Belgrade returns three all-conference players in senior Brooklyn Ragland (IF), junior Olivia Mills (P) and senior Ella Seaman (3B/P). Seaman was the lone All-State selection and named the Eastern AA’s co-Offensive Player of the Year after leading the team in batting average (.457), hits (32), home runs (9) and RBIs (30).

“Teams are probably going to approach her a little bit differently this year (at the plate),” noted Roberts. “But she’s such a gritty player, great head on her shoulders, moments never get too big for her, and she’s works just as hard or harder than anyone else. I think

Belgrade Softball

she’s going to have a great year this year, and like I said, she’s going to be approached differently but I think she’s going to handle it the way she handles everything and that’s just with toughness and grit.”

Seaman also compiled a 3-2 record in the circle with a 4.01 ERA.

“You can tell she’s put in a lot of work,” said Roberts. “Mills is probably our primary pitcher, but Ella is just someone who can come in and get the job done. Trust her 100 percent to come in and shut the door whenever needed.”

Mills, who was an honorable mention selection, finished with an 8-5 record in the circle with 93 strike outs and batted .426 at the plate with four home runs.

“She put a lot work in as well in her pitching. Just from a physical standpoint, she looks great and has improved and really hits on her location and mixing different

pitches and speed and stuff,” said Roberts. “But also from a mental standpoint, I’m excited to see how she responds to things going well and not going well for her this year.”

Ragland, a second-team allconference selection, will help anchor the infield at second and shortstop.

“Brooklyn Ragland has looked really good,” said Roberts. “I think she’s going to have a great year both in the field and at the plate.”

Other key returners for Belgrade are seniors Julia Blossom (OF) and Ella Hoskins (OF), and juniors Ava Lund (C) and Tara Osler (OF).

Lund is expected to fill the void at catcher, while Blossom will likely take over in center for Morin.

Roberts said some of the positions in the infield and outfield were still up for grabs during preseason practices.

2024 Schedule

Veteran crew to lead Belgrade boys in ‘24

There are many returning athletes this spring for the boys’ track and field team at Belgrade, including the lone state placer from a year ago.

Thus, head coach Scott Palmer feels the team will see a lot more postseason success after placing 13th at state as a team.

“We have a lot of guys that put in a lot of time in the offseason, and we’ve seen a lot of good improvements,” Palmer said.

There are about 60 boys out for the team, which is down from previous years. Some of that is due to the school’s new baseball program, which played its inaugural season last year.

“Not too bad on the boy’s side,” Palmer said of the numbers. “We kind of knew that baseball was going to pull into those boys numbers a little bit. So we’re seeing a little bit of that, but still a solid number of boys out.”

Among the returners is distance runner Wilson Schmidt. The sophomore accounted for all 16 of the team’s points at state after winning the 800 (1:51.31) and taking third in the 400 (50.23).

Schmidt broke the school record in the 800 and boasted the fastest time in the country for a freshman.

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“He’s looking strong. Had a good offseason,” said Palmer. “Lot of strength and stability and building bases, so we’re excited to see what he’s going to be able to offer and bring back this season.”

Palmer added that fellow distance runners Aidan Brown, Jack Nash and Brody Tirrell also put in a lot of miles during the offseason in an effort to be competitive in their races this spring.

Jordan Fetterman and Beau Kastner competed at state in throws and jumps, respectively. Fetterman reached the finals in the discus.

“Really started to catch some ground right there at the last part of the season and outqualified for state,” said Palmer. “Got to finals, and was just a few feet off of placing, so we have big expectations for Jordan for the season.”

Kastner also came strong late in the season and just missed placing

in triple jump.

‘He’s looking strong in the javelin as well,” noted Palmer. “I think that he also ran the hurdles for us last year and didn’t start until late in the season, but really made a strong push to put himself in position to even go to state in the hurdles.”

Rodney Schmidt had a strong finish last year in pole vault, and Palmer noted he had a strong indoor season.

“He’s really kind of found his stride, did a lot of work in the offseason, and is hitting pretty big numbers for being early in the season,’ said Palmer. “He did some indoor work and was able to get some 14-foot vaults in, so we’re really excited to see what he’s going to be able to bring this season for us.”

In the throws, Palmer feels a crew of upperclassmen have the

potential to be in the mix for big things by season’s end.

“We have a lot of senior throwers that are going to come out and they get a couple good throws and they’re right in there with it,” he said.

Belgrade held an intrasquad meet March 23 and then opened the season March 26 at a quad in Missoula.

“I think we’re going to see more kids this year going to the state meet. One, because it’s no longer six go to state, it’s eight to state out of divisionals. It’s the new change,” said Palmer. “So there’s that aspect to it, but also just through the maturity and growth that you see on the boys’ side. I think we’re going to see more kids getting on the podium there or competing for a spot.”

The State AA meet will be held May 23-25 in Great Falls.

Panthers’ girls return 4 state placers this spring

Led by four returning state placers, Belgrade’s girls boast plenty of talent heading into the 2024 track and field season.

Numbers are up for the girls — there are more than 70 athletes — and many are returners from a year ago.

“We see a lot of growth on the girls’ side of the program,” Panthers head coach Scott Palmer said. “It’s coming out in large volumes and it’s fun to see them.”

The four notable returnees are seniors Josie Blazina, Taylor Simon and Grace Stewart, and sophomore Nora Elliot. The quartet combined for all 16.50 of

Belgrade’s team points at state last year and are expected to be key contributors again this spring.

“They’ve all, in their own right, in their own event, have put in a lot of work in the offseason and are definitely leaders of their events,” said Palmer. “(They’ve) recruited other people to come work out with them. It’s going to be exciting to see what the girls can bring to divisional and state.”

Stewart set a pair of personal bests at state en route to placing second in the 800 (2:15.98) and fourth in the 1600 (5:17.42). She was the lone member of the team

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to place in multiple events.

“The 800 is going to be a very competitive event this year and she’s put in time in the offseason getting some miles in building a base, and she’ll be able to compete at that level,” said Palmer.

Simon and Elliot placed fifth in shot put and high jump, respectively, with personal best marks of 37-11.75 and 5-02. Blazina took sixth in triple jump (35-05) and was eighth in long jump (167.50) with a personal best leap.

While those four will likely be atop the leaderboard at meets, Palmer also noted the work that senior distance runner Justine Pommerville put in during cross country and in the offseason.

“Justine Pommerville, her work ethic is extraordinary,” he said. “We saw a lot of growth out of her towards the end of cross country season and I’m really excited to see

what she’ll be able to put together in terms of the season.”

While she didn’t place at state, Mayiehl Shaw also competed for Belgrade. She’s a versatile athlete that Palmer feels will be an allaround talent for the team.

“She just missed going into the finals in terms of jumps. Very good competitor in the long jump,” he said. “Sprint-wise, ran in the low 13’s. So we’re kind of looking at her and saying, ‘It’s your time to shine.’

“Potentially looking at putting her in some difference races. She’s a very athletic young lady and we want to try and utilized that as much as we can.”

Sophomore Audrey Thelen is expected to be a key contributor in the sprints and relays.

“Great work ethic, and (she’s) put in a lot of time in the offseason to try and better herself going into the season,” said Palmer. “So we’re

excited to see what she’s going to be able to do.”

Another sophomore, Hayli Milliron, is a first-time track athlete that Palmer is excited to work with. She also competes on basketball and volleyball teams.

“We don’t know where she’s going to fall out in terms of scoring points,” he said. “But if nothing else we get another athlete on the team and it’s going to help her in the basketball and volleyball world as well as it does help us too.”

Overall, there are more than 70 athletes out for the team. With talent strewn across all disciplines, Palmer feels the team has the potential to earn a better placement at the state meet.

“Every year our goal is to do better than we did the year before and I think the girls, and boys, both have potential to move up our overall state placing,” he said.

Belgrade tennis returns solid core for ‘24 season

While more than half a dozen veterans graduated last year, Belgrade’s tennis team returns plenty of players with varsity experience heading into the 2024 campaign.

Still, numbers are down a bit overall for the team as Brent Turner takes the reins of the program. He had 17 girls and 10 boys to work with during the first week of practice.

“We did have a bunch of kids graduate out of the program,” Turner said. “Just a minimal recruiting effort for underclassmen. About twothirds of the team is still juniors

and seniors this year. Just a low underclassmen engagement.”

Turner takes over the helm of the program from Paula Zabala, who did not return after one season as head coach. But all three of last year’s assistant coaches are back — Scott Thorn, David Schuman and Logan McCauley — and there are a handful of volunteer coaches helping out too.

Key returners for the girls included seniors Cassidy Deboer, Shae McCauley, and Alianza Zwang; juniors Lexi Thorn, Teagan McMahon and Natalia Smetana; and sophomore Ivory Davis.

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Belgrade Tennis

Zwang and Lexi Thorn were the team’s No. 1 and No. 2 singles players, respectively, a year ago.

McCauley was on the No. 1 doubles team, but partner Alauna Colarik graduated. Turner was unsure if she’ll continue in doubles or move to singles.

For the boys, key returners include seniors AJ Chidester and Andrew Simon, junior Talon Blackburn and sophomore Linus Mckenna. Chidester was the team’s No. 1 singles player last year.

As far as the team’s underclassmen, Turner said further evaluation was needed to determine who could challenge for a spot on the varsity.

“It’s a little too early to tell on the girls side who’s going to take a run,” he said. “The upperclassmen who are returning are going to hold the one and two spots. There’s no student coming in as an underclassman that has been playing tennis since they were eight and can just challenge a top spot.

“But there could be some turnover in the third and fourth singles and doubles spots kind of across board. We’re going to keep it open for challenges so everyone gets a chance to work their way up if they’re working hard through the season.”

About half of the team participated in practices during spring break and then the full team began on March 18. Turner said practices were fundamental based to start and then players would be allowed to begin internal play for spots on the varsity.

“Before the first match we’re going to have all the challenge and seeding matchups,” he said. “It’s been drills, drills, drills and no match play to this point.”

Once things finally shake out, Turner plans to have 13 players on varsity for the girls and all 10 players for the boys.

2024 Schedule

MARCH 29 at Billings

30 at Bozeman/Gallatin

APRIL

6 at Billings

16 Butte Central 20 at Bozeman

27 Great Falls/CMR

29 Park MAY 4 at Billings

6 at Park 10 at Billings

16-18 Divisional (Billings)

23-25 State (Bozeman)

Both Belgrade squads placed fourth at last year’s Eastern AA Divisional (amongst four teams) and failed to qualify a player for state. Turner feels there is potential within the team for players to make it this year.

“Andrew and AJ probably can set their sights on challenging people and making it to the state tournament, and same with Ali and Lexi,” he said. “They’re showing promise there.”

Belgrade’s division includes all three Class AA schools from Billings — Billings Senior, Billings Skyview and Billings West. West’s boys won the divisional title last year, while Skyview’s girls claimed the top spot.

The Panthers are slated to begin the season at a tournament in Billings March 29. Then they’ll travel to Bozeman the following day for duals against Bozeman and Gallatin. The team’s home opener is scheduled for April 16.

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Veteran crew seeking next step for Manhattan

With nearly the entire starting lineup back from a year ago, expectations are high for Manhattan’s softball team entering the 2024 season.

The Tigers return their entire starting infield, and centerfielder, from a team that posted a program-record 17 wins last year and advanced to state for a fourth consecutive season.

“These ladies are ready to go,” first-year head coach Dennis Elgas said. “We set high expectation goals for us this year and they’re working hard to achieve the goals that we set.”

There are 17 players out for

the team, including returning seniors Emma Kabalin and Paige Ballantyne; and returning juniors Ryley Gault, Camdyn Holgate, Zohy O’Rourke, Morgan Pavlik and Abby Samuel. All seven were starters last year.

The coaching staff will have to find replacements at right and left field. Morgan Friese graduated, while senior Delaney Doherty, who would have been the starting left fielder, was tragically killed in a car accident in August of 2023.

Kabalin, a pitcher, earned AllState and first team all-conference honors as a junior, after posting a

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13-6 record in the circle and tying for the team lead in home runs with four.

“Emma is looking really good this year,” said Elgas. “She’s picked up some more velocity on her pitches. She’s worked on a couple of new pitches this year that we’ll be using. She’s been working hard in the offseason and it shows.”

Morgan Pavlik saw plenty of action in the circle last year too, compiling a 4-5 record. She also hit four home runs en route to earning second team all-conference honors.

“I have full faith in Emma Kabalin and Morgan Pavlik in the circle this year,” said Elgas. “We’re working on a bunch of skills and drills to make ourselves better. I’m excited to see what those ladies can do this year.”

O’Rourke was a first team allconference selection at catcher, while Holgate earned second team

honors at shortstop.

Another key returner for the varsity is junior Aalia Matheson.

Elgas noted there a handful of newcomers who could be key contributors. Among them is senior Mason Steele, who did not play the past two years.

“She’s fitting right in with everybody,” he said.

Abby Hill, a sophomore, missed all of last year due to an injury.

“Last year she was out the whole season with a knee injury and she’s healthy,” said Elgas. “So I’m excited to see what she can do for the team this year.”

Maizy Pulasky, a sophomore, is promising newcomer to the team.

“I think Maizy Pulasky’s going to be able to fit into one of those open positions this year,” said Elgas.

While the Tigers have advanced to state in each of the past four years, they’ve been unable to bring

home hardware. Elgas has stressed team unity as a way to hopefully get his team over that hump.

“This year, I talked to them at our first practice, and my big thing is being a team, have each other’s back,” he said. “If one person’s down the other person’s going to pick them up. My big thing this year is talking about being a team on and off the field.”

This season will be Manhattan’s last in the South B-C conference. With realignment taking place next year, Elgas said the Tigers will move to the Eastern B-C.

“Next year we’re going to the eastern conference, so this year we want to make sure that the west conference will be happy to see us go to the east,” said Elgas.

Manhattan made its home debut against Belgrade’s sophomores on March 25 and is back at home April 2 against Ennis.

Manhattan’s track teams combined to score just three points at last year’s state meet. But with a plethora of talent returning, there’s renewed optimism heading into the 2024 campaign.

There are nearly 50 athletes out for the program — 28 boys and 20 girls — and head coach Adriana Norris likes the mixture of returners and newcomers.

“It’s (our numbers) about where we were last year, so I’m really happy with that,” she said. “We have quite a few freshmen boys out this year, which I’m really excited for. A lot of them had a really good junior high track season last

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year, so I’m pretty excited for our freshmen boys.”

The boys, who did not score a point at state, have a several key returners including seniors Gabe Johnson, Cole Pipal, and Luke Randall. Norris is also very excited about a senior newcomer Callin Fenno.

Pipal, a team captain last year, was a state qualifier in the 400 and a member of the 4x400 relay.

“Just a really solid kid, great in the classroom and a really good leader for us out on the track,” said Norris.

Norris also touted Johnson’s

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“(He) has shown some really strong leadership just in this last week,” she said. “He did indoor track this year in the offseason and had a really good offseason indoors. So I would anticipate that outdoor will be a really good year for him.”

Randall will anchor the team in the throws — his speciality is the javelin — and on the 4x100 relay.

“I think he’s just a really versatile kid,” said Norris. “I think he’s got a lot of potential in a lot of different areas for us.”

Fenno will be a first time track athlete, but helped the football team reach the state championship game as a wide receiver/defensive back and the basketball team qualify for state.

“He’s been a phenomenal athlete for Manhattan both in football and basketball, so we’re pretty stoked to actually have him for track,” said

Norris. “It’s kind of funny he chose his senior year (to come out), but I’m really excited.”

Fenno has been training with the distance runners and Norris foresees him competing on the relays.

“He’s a pretty stellar athlete and his sister Miah was phenomenal,” said Norris. “She was a great 400, 800 runner, so I think if he’s anything like her we’re going to be pleasantly surprised.”

Miah Fenno was one of the girls’ two placers last year at state. She placed fifth in the 800 as a senior.

Manhattan’s lone returning state placer is sophomore Della Sebring, who was sixth in the 3200. Sebring and junior Ella Miller are expected to anchor the girls in the distance races. Miller is also a hurdler.

“Really got some good distance girls,” said Norris. “They were state champs in cross country this fall, so I think that distance group

works well together and I think we’re going to see some pretty great things on the distance side.”

The lone senior is Zoe Axtman as the girls team is comprised primarily of juniors and sophomores. Axtman specialized in the 800 and 4x400 relay last year.

Norris noted that Hadley Jones (javelin, 4x400 relay) could be a key component for the team. The junior has been working hard on additional track events in an effort to add to her overall ability.

“I think she’s, like Luke Randall, one of those versatile athletes,” said Norris. “And I think we’re just kind of waiting for that standout year, and I’m kind of feeling it’s going to be this year.”

The Tigers are scheduled to begin the season at a meet in Belgrade on March 30. The District 5B Meet will also be held in Belgrade on May 9.

2024 Schedule

Sikveland takes over reins of Manhattan golf

Heading into the 2024 season, there is a new person at the helm of Manhattan’s golf program. Torger Sikveland was hired to replace longtime head coach Pat Lynch, who has retired.

There are more than 20 golfers out for the team, which includes 17 boys. Thus, Sikveland was pleased with the turnout, which is quite a bit more than in recent years.

“We have good numbers,” he said. “A lot of them, this might be their first time really golfing, so I can’t really say what the uptick (in participation) is other than it just might be something to try. The three freshmen girls, I know one of

them this is the first time she’s ever had a golf club in her hands, so they’re pretty raw.”

There are just four girls total out of the team, including Kaitlin Sander, the lone returner. Sander placed 21st at last year’s divisional tournament, and Sikveland feels she has the potential to place higher this spring.

“I think Kaitlin’s going to improve and she should be challenging to qualify for state I would expect,” he said. “She appears to be a pretty good player.”

Having not worked with the team last year, Sikveland noted it’s

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Best of Luck

All Area Teams!

Have a Great Season...

difficult to say too much about players without further evaluation. But he sees a lot of potential for both the boys and girls.

“I think they have the potential to improve a lot. I’ve got a couple kids that look like they’re willing to work and do the right things. It’s hard to make a judgement where I didn’t see them last year and really all I’ve seen from them is chipping in a hula hoop and putting on some carpet,” Sikveland said. “But I coached a good portion of these kids in either baseball or basketball, so I know them, I know their work ethic there, so I think that we’ll be able to improve quite a bit if we and get an opportunity to get on grass and actually practice. Which this year is looking a little more promising than last year.”

Key returners for the boys include Blake Bentle, Grady Kieckbush, and Colton Yadon, who

were all members of the divisional team last year. Kieckbush placed 33rd to lead the team, while Yadon and Bentle were 37th and 39th, respectively.

“We’ve got some returners on the boys side,” Sikveland. “A couple of them I expect to by the end of the year to be playing pretty well.”

Others expected to challenge for varsity spots are David Diffendender, Keagon Metcalf, Ryan Rathe and Ethan Sullivan.

“Grady, Blake, Colton and Ryan will certainly be on that divisional team this year and have a chance to qualify for state,” said Sikveland.

For the past several years

Manhattan has failed to advance to state as a team and placed ninth at divisional last year. The top four teams move on to the season finale.

In 2023, due to an extended winter, the team rarely had an opportunity to practice

outside. Thus, it showed in their performance at tournaments.

“Obviously, the biggest concern for us is what it’s always going to be in the spring, can we get them on the course and practicing in that kind of environment,” said Sikveland. “They’re pretty raw, but they’ve got some good foundation to build off of. It’s just can they get enough reps in to be peaking at that time when we need them to be playing well.”

If the Tigers are unable to qualify for state as a full team, Sikveland feels there’s potential to get some through as individuals.

“I really do expect Kieckbush to qualify as an individual at the very least,” he said. “And if we can get a couple of those other kids to play well I think we have a chance to get a team to state on the boys side.”

Manhattan begins the season April 11 (the March 28 opener was canceled) hosted by Gardiner.

MARCH 28 at Jefferson Invite

APRIL

Eagles reload for another run at Class C hardware

With the boys claiming gold and the girls silver at last year’s State C meet, it was a special season for Manhattan Christian’s track and field teams. And, the Eagles are ready to soar again as the 2024 season commences.

The boys’ team, which won its first-ever state championship last year, has seen their numbers increase from 18 to 23 and return a veteran crew with talent spread throughout the events.

Will it translate to a repeat championship this spring?

“Honestly, this is a really strong team for us,” Christian head coach Laura Arthun said. “I’m always

hesitant to say anything about the outcome of state, but I do feel pretty confident that we do have a very strong and talented group of guys going into this season, and I’d say probably one of the strongest we’ve ever had. As long as everything goes well and we can keep free from injuries, we should have a strong season.”

While the Eagles no longer have the services of jumper/sprinter Seth Amunrud, distance runners Oren Arthun and Shaphan Hubner return. The duo combined for 56 team points as individuals last year at state.

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Hubner won the 800 and 1600-meter runs and placed fifth in the 400, while Oren Arthun won the 3200 and placed second in the 800 and 1600-meter runs. They also ran a leg on the state championship 4x400 relay, which set a school record.

Amunrud and Nathan Adams, who also graduated, were on the relay as well.

“We are really pretty excited about having the opportunity to be competitive on that relay team again,” said coach Arthun. “We had other athletes even last year who could have filled in, so some of those returning athletes like Rance Hamilton, I’m pretty sure he’ll get added to that relay.”

Hamilton placed fifth in both hurdle events at state and also competes in the jumps.

“I really expect him to place a lot higher in both of those events,” said

coach Arthun. “And I think he’s got a shot in some of the jumps as well.”

Other key returners for the boys include Jack Scott (LJ, TJ) and Andrew Young (HJ), who qualified for state in the jumps. Benjamin Kimm (PV), Dominic Holst (throws), Nolan Street (middle distance), and Jonathan Venhuizen (sprints/jumps) are also back.

Coach Arthun added that freshman Tate Hamilton and transfer Landon Honey could also have an impact for the team.

Girls numbers are down from 16 to 12 following the departure of a record-breaking senior class. Sprinter/jumper Jadyn VanDyken, pole vaulter/hurdler Alexis DeVries, and pole vaulter Tori Venema have all moved on to college.

The Eagles do return a handful of state qualifiers from last year’s runner up team including sophomore Hadley Bradford and

junior Bella Triemstra.

Bradford qualified for state in the sprints and hurdles and ran a leg on the state championship 4x100 relay along with junior Sam Veltkamp, DeVries and VanDyken.

Triemstra specializes in the sprints and hurdles and competed on the 4x400 relay last year.

“She’s going to be a huge member of the relay teams and different events,” said coach Arthun. “Also sophomore Eliza Kimm in the pole vault and the hurdles.”

Other key returners include Olivia Appleby (sprints/jumps), Sierra Flikkema (sprints/jumps), and Addie Venema (PV).

Newcomers expected to contribute to the team are Clara and Hannah Braaksma, Cecilia Morrison, and senior transfer Gracie Honey.

The Eagles begin the season March 23 at a meet in Corvallis.

2024 Schedule

Manhattan Christian Golf

Eagles’ girls set sight on 7th straight State C title

In the closest finish to a state tournament in the history of Class C girls, Manhattan Christian hung on by one stroke last year to claim a sixth consecutive championship. With three members of the title team returning, the goal is once again to claim goal. But co-head coach Tom Hubers noted it won’t be easy following the departure of veteran golfer Grace Aamot.

“I think it’s going to be an uphill battle to get that seventh one, but we’ll just have to see,” he said. “I’m pretty confident that Broadus has all of their golfers back and they were one of the schools that we only beat by one

and then Lone Peak was the other one, but they went to Class B.”

Aamot placed third individually, while Broadus and Lone Peak tied for second with a team score of 582.

“Grace, obviously, is a huge loss,” said Hubers. “She’s kind of been our anchor the past four years minus the Covid year.”

Lindsay Cook placed in the top 10 — she was eighth — and Hubers noted her effort to improve over the offseason.

“She played a ton of golf last summer and I think she won at least one or two local

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tournaments,” he said. “She was playing really well at the end of last summer, so we’re really hopeful and optimistic that she’s going to come out swinging this season and do well and maybe take over that role of kind of the anchor on the team.”

Jocee Ruffatto placed 16th at state, while Haley Sander also is also back. She was the team’s No. 4 golfer last year and her score did not count at state (only the top three scores per team are used).

A newcomer to the team, Lydia Visser, might be vying for a spot on the varsity this spring, said Hubers.

“From what I understand, she’s a pretty good golfer,” he said. “I don’t know, I’ve never seen her swing, but I would imagine that she’ll be on the varsity.”

While Christian’s girls have dominated Class C for more than half a decade, so too had the boys. However, their pursuit of a fifth

straight championship came up short a year ago.

The Eagles placed fourth in the team standings, but were just two strokes out of second in a very tight finish. With all but one varsity player back, Christian is set up for another run at the gold trophy.

“Optimistic that we will make it to state and potentially make a run at winning it again,” said Hubers. “Only time will tell I guess.”

The Eagles return their No. 1 golfer in Cavan Visser, and Carter VanDyken and Isaac Hoekema also return from the state team. The lone loss was Caleb Anderson, who moved out of state.

“Looking to fill that fourth and final spot on the varsity roster,” said Hubers.

Visser placed fifth at state, while Anderson and VanDyken finished in a three-way tie for 10th.

“I think Cavan and Carter are

going to be a couple of the best players in Class C returning, so I think there’s a lot of potential there,” said Hubers. “Obviously in Class C we need three scorers, so we’ll see where Isaac’s at. I don’t know how much golf he played last summer, but he’s got a good swing and showed some potential last year and we’ll see who we can find to round out the fourth and final spot and kind of go from there.”

Joining the coaching staff this year is Garret Nielson, the head pro at Cottonwood Hills Golf Course where the Eagles practice.

“He’s going to be helping out at practices,’ said Hubers. “His title for this year would be JV coach, but looking forward to having him help Ryan (Ruffatto) and myself.”

Christian is scheduled to begin the season April 6 and then hosts the first of two tournaments at Cottonwood Hills on April 10.

Spor OnLine Spor ts

Three Forks battle tested entering softball season

In their first season as a program a year ago, Three Forks’ softball team gained valuable experience. Now, as year two commences, they’re hoping to take the next step.

The entire starting lineup returns from last year’s team and nearly two-dozen athletes are out for the team, including eight eighth-graders.

“We have all of them back and we’ve added eighth-graders,”

Wolves head coach Clay Feliciano said. “We wanted to have a full JV team, so we have 21 total girls. We got three seniors this year, we’ve got four juniors and then a handful of sophomore and freshmen.”

The three seniors consist of Fallon Page (P), Eva Parker (1B) and Sierra Schall (C). Page was the team’s No. 1 pitcher and hit two home runs in 2023, but will not have quite the same impact.

“We don’t have a full Fallon, that’s for sure,” said Feliciano. “She’s still going to contribute in every way that she can, but unfortunately, it’s her senior season and she had an ACL and MCL (injury) is my understanding. So she’s very limited with mobility, but she’s still able to pitch.”

Page was injured early in the

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basketball season, but has delayed surgery to compete in softball. She’ll play with a knee brace and has had to make some adjustments.

“She’s honestly looked better and better every day. She looks more and more comfortable,” said Feliciano. “That’s biggest concern for me is that she’s such a competitor it’s going to be hard to lay off of balls that’s going to put her down. So I’m kind of expecting that to happen a time or two, and it’s already happened in practice and she seems to bounce back just fine.”

Freshman Ada Rae Thomas is expected to be the team’s primary pitcher. As an eighth-grader, she compiled a 5-4 record in the circle, hit a team-best three home runs, and started at shortstop when not in the circle.

“We’re going to work them both obviously just to try and keep pitch counts down,” said Feliciano. “But

absolutely Ada Rae will be playing a much larger role pitching. We’ve got a sophomore who’s going to get some looks definitely in our JV games and we’ll have her as our No. 3 if something happens to Fallon.”

Other key returners include Nora Ervin, Maycee Church, Tycie Davis, Karlie McDermott and Sierra Lindquist.

“We’re pretty excited about the whole returning group for varsity,” said Feliciano. “Having a year now under our belt we’re feeling a little bit more confident and know what it looks like and what to expect, and got to see our conference teams twice (last year). Wish we could get a few more JV games, but we have improved from three games last year to seven on the schedule right now and we’re trying to squeeze in some more.”

The varsity finished with an 8-10 record (3-7 South B-C) in its

inaugural year, which included winning a play-in game to get into the divisional tournament. The Wolves finished 1-2 at divisional.

Feliciano feels the team has the potential to do even better this year.

“Obviously the goal is to advance further,” he said. “I think that we have the potential to do that. I do believe in them and I think they’re hungry.

“I truly believe that we will be back at divisionals and hopefully go a little deeper. I don’t want to bite off more than I can chew or get ahead of myself, but we’ve definitely got a pretty talented team and I expect them to be better now that they’ve got a year of high school ball experience.”

Three Forks opened its season with a conference game against Ennis on March 26 and hosts Butte Central on April 2 before playing its first road game.

Record numbers for Three Forks track in ‘24

As Dillon Gongliewski takes over the reins of Three Forks’ track and field program, there are a record-breaking number of athletes out this spring.

Gongliewski said there are roughly 38 boys and 20 girls participating, which based on conversations he had with middle school Principal Jake Lynch and Athletic Director Terry Hauser is a record.

“We are looking at what we believe to be the biggest track team in Three Forks history,” said Gongliewski. “Real big turnout so far in the first week as far as people coming out to give track a shot this

year, which is very, very exciting to see the kids trying to turn themselves into more well-rounded better athletes across the board.”

Gongliewski attributes the large turnout to the support of coaches from other programs and the positive impact that track can have for athletes in their other sports.

“Overall, we are really excited for the season,” he said. “We are focused on making sure these athletes are having fun and trying to change that culture to make track seem like something that isn’t seen as a chore, to help you with other sports. And also getting

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athletes to realize their potential in other avenues as well.”

Three Forks’ boys scored five points at state last year behind the effort of distance runners Bryon Fanning and Beau Johnston, who placed fourth and sixth, respectively, in the 3200. Fanning returns and is coming off a strong cross country season.

“Bryon is back and doing incredibly well,’ said Gongliewski. “We’re really excited to see him build off of a All-State and AllAmerican cross country season that he had, and see how that cross country success is going to translate into the spring. He has been putting in an incredible amount of work and we’re just really excited to see that pay off.”

Other key returners include Cass Violett (distance), Isaiah Gather (sprints), Jace Kopp (sprints), and thrower Josh Delger, who just

missed qualifying for state last year.

“He’s been getting incredibly strong, spending massive amounts of time in the weight room, even starting joining some powerlifting competitions,” said Gongliewski. “So we’re ready to see how much that extra strength is going to propel him to the next level.”

Gongliewski also noted that brothers Dylan and Sawyer Anderson are expected to be key contributors along with Colton Hayder and Shane Williams.

“We have a few freshmen as well who we anticipate will be able to be staples for the program over the next four years like Kanon Reichman and Marcus Pestel,” he said.

The girls did not score at state but did have a handful of qualifiers last year. Maya Noble tied the school record in pole vault (8-06) as an eighth-grader and ran a leg of the 4x400 relay, which placed fourth.

Devynn Judd and Hailey Williams were also members of the relay and return as well as Bella Jones and Kylie Rowan.

Gongliewski is also expecting big things from eighth-grader Teegan Gifford, who earned All-State honors in cross country.

“Really excited to see what Teegan does because she’s an eighth-grader that we’ve pulled up to run some varsity meets,” he said. “For her to earn All-State in cross country as an eighth-grader, we’re really excited to have her kind of be part of that next wave of the young athletes. Because we are incredibly young on the girls side.”

The girls team, Gongliewski noted, is primarily comprised of freshmen that he feels are going to be strong contributors not only this season but well into the future.

“We have a lot of potential despite how young we are,” he said.

Three Forks girls reload for another run at title

With four returning players from last year’s state tournament team, Three Forks’ girls are once again set up to make a run at state championship.

The Wolves earned a fourth place finish at state a year ago — just two strokes out of third — and return a veteran crew this spring. Thus, head coach Aaron Harkins is expecting a lot out of this year’s team.

“I have great expectations on what we can do,” he said. “We’ll just see how the season progresses, but I think if Ari (Judd) plays the way she can play she’ll be top 10 again. And state, hopefully the

other girls work on getting their scores down a little bit lower and help the team and maybe we can sneak into the top three as well.”

Judd placed fifth at state last year to lead Three Forks to a score of 846. Lydia Kluin also placed in the top 10, but she graduated.

The other three returning players on the state team are Paige Lein, Kennedy Rogers and Claire Van Vleet. The trio placed 43rd, 61st and 55th, respectively, at state.

“We’re still looking pretty strong there,” Harkins said of the returners. “We got a couple of other newer golfers on the girls

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side, hopefully one of them can jump in on that fifth spot.”

Harkins added that Rogers did not compete at full strength at state. “Kennedy basically played the state tournament with one hand,” he explained. “She had a big sore, callas sack on her hand that she had surgery on the week after. So she played the whole state tournament with one hand and we still took fourth.”

Shelby won the championship with a score of 799, while Jefferson and Malta rounded out the top three with an 802 and 830, respectively.

Overall, there are nearly twodozen athletes out for the program, six girls and 17 boys.

“Definitely down from years past,” said Harkins. “But the couple years past have been pretty huge teams, so we’re sitting right around that mid-20 mark. Enough to field

boys and girls teams, so that’s good.”

The boys also return a veteran varsity squad with Carter Allen, Hunter Feddes, Devon Long and Carson Woodland all back for the varsity. The team placed fifth at the divisional tournament — one spot out of qualifying for state.

“It was a little more competitive on that side and just hadn’t put it together at the divisional tournament where we needed to,” said Harkins. “Maybe this year.”

Feddes led the team with a 22nd place finish, while Morgan Karn and Dylan Kamps tied for 27th. Kamps and Karn have graduated.

Harkins noted a newcomer to the program, Trey Miller, has the potential fill a varsity spot.

In order to qualify for state this year, Harkins theorized that the boys will need to post solid scores in the 80’s at the divisional

tournament.

“Just a random number picked out of my head, but I think if we can get four guys that can shoot somewhere around mid-80s in a divisional tournament, maybe one or two of those go low-80s, I think we’d have a good chance of sending a team to state,” he said. “I think that’s definitely doable with what we’ve been seeing the past week in practice. Just hope it can come to fruition.”

Jefferson won the divisional team title last year with a score of 308, while the Wolves carded a 373.

Three Forks was scheduled to begin the season March 28 at an invite hosted by Jefferson. However, the course opening was push back, thus it was canceled.

The Wolves are now scheduled to make their debut at a tournament hosted by Florence-Carlton on April 4.

2024 Schedule

Three Forks girls tennis boasts experience in ‘24

With the departure of just two seniors from a year ago, Three Forks’ girls tennis team returns a veteran crew for the 2024 season.

All five of last year’s juniors are back and overall head coach Janna Lauver said there are nearly 20 athletes out for the program.

“It’s a good chunk of veterans,” she said.

The Wolves lost the No. 1 doubles team of Alicia Deriana and Ruby Warden. The duo went 1-2 at state in helping the team place 15th with five points.

The No. 2 doubles team, seniors Madison Griffiths and Karin Williams, finished 2-2 at state. They’re expected to take over the No. 1 spot.

2024 Schedule

“We’re expecting good things out of them this year,” said Lauver.

All four of the team’s varsity singles players from last year are back. They consist of seniors Sarah Christman, Alexandria Kotter, and Sophie Meskimen, and junior Malia Eriksson.

Kotter and Eriksson both competed at state, while junior Claire Cutler was an alternate. Christman and Meskimen competed at the divisional tournament.

“Ali, Malia, Sophie and Sarah right now will probably round out my top four singles and they’ve

been doing really great,” said Lauver. “They’ve been all four years together, Malia’s a junior, but they’ve been together. So I feel like they’re really leaning on each other, they’re challenging each other, they’re motivating each other.”

Overall, there are 19 athletes out for the team, including two exchange students — Maria De La Torre Blanco (from Spain) and Seojin Shin (from South Korea).

a ninth-grader, but she’s actually played before. She was in my camp this summer, so I’m kind of looking forward to seeing what that looks like for her.”

In addition to Donnelly, there are three other freshmen — Caylee Espeland-Morales, Lydia Ogeka and Dawson Petersen — who have impressed Lauver.

While Three Forks boasts a veteran crew, Lauver noted two promising newcomers, sophomore Mikayla Lear and freshman Violet Donnelly.

“We are picking up Mikayla Lear, a tenth-grader, she plays club volleyball,” said Lauver. “So I have her doing that for a few weeks. She’s coming in as a sophomore first time player.

“And then Violent Donnelly is

“My freshmen group, they’re locked and loaded already. We were working on forehands and backhands yesterday (Day 2 of practice) and they were acting like it was no big deal. It was crazy,” she said. “They’re athletic, they have that kind of natural talent and they’re not afraid, so that really does give me a lot of excitement for the future.”

The team will have intrasquad “challenge matches” throughout the season to determine where they rank, and Lauver noted it will

Three Forks Tennis

be very competitive, especially among the top four singles players.

“They’re all pretty level with each other and so that is an interesting place for me to be for maybe the first time in my five years,” she said. “It’s anybody’s game, it really is, so we’ll be kind of keeping challenge games going so we can kind of see where they’re all ranking.”

Three Forks’ schedule features a handful of overnight trips, an invite to the highly competitive “Best of the West” tournament in Missoula, and “home” events on three courts at Manhattan High School.

“They’ve been a really great partner,” said Lauver. “Manhattan has been really great to us and we want to be good stewards of the space and use it well.”

The Wolves began the season hosting an event om March 22. The state tournament is slated for May 23-25 in Missoula.

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