Palmer helps Troy boys to third in Charlo
Although the Vikings swept their own Charlo Invitational Tuesday, Troy junior Aaron Palmer helped boost the Trojans to third place with triple wins in the high jump, triple jump and javelin.
Along with the two personal-bests in the javelin at 187-5 and 42-3 in the triple jump, the junior, Palmer, also snagged second in the long jump (19-0 /34) behind teammate Scott Harper, besides his win in the high jump.
“He scored a lion's share of our points,” said Troy track coach Rich Ramondelli, “but he wasn't the only one. Scotty Harper in that long jump had an outstanding jump.”
Junior Harper's personal best of 19-111/2 in the long jump also catapulted Troy to third place, who finished with 101 points behind Arlee at 113 and Charlo at 181.
Both Palmer and Harper have met the qualifying standards for the Top Ten meet next Tuesday in Missoula and will most likely compete in the upcoming track tournament.
Other highlights included freshman, Jacob Lopez, who took first in the 3,200 with 11:44.54 and third in the 1,600 with 5:21.
“Jacob Lopez won the two mile,” he said, also noting sophomore Jordan Stapley's win for the girls 3,200. “They were good efforts as far as that goes.”
Ramondelli said despite the windy conditions for the track meet, his team performed well.
For the boys, Troy placed fourth in the 1,600 relay with 4:31.03.
Freshman Justyn Mack took fourth in the 3,200 with 13:22.32 and fifth in the discus with a 95-7 1/2 throw.
Mack also placed third in the javelin with 121-7, while sophomore Kalip Gregory took sixth with 116-5.
Junior Dalton Powell took third in the 400 with 60.67, while junior Brady Thompson took sixth in the 800 with 2:38.
Sophomore Cullen Metz placed second in the shot put with 40-9, while senior William Swimley placed fifth with 35-1 and senior Ian Metz placed fifth with 34-8.
The girls came in fifth with 51, behind first placed Charlo, with 157, Hot Springs with 129, Arlee with 78 and Lincoln with 70.
“Our leading scorer, Allie Maestas, got close to 19 points,” he said. “She has come a long way. A lot of kids are continuing to do well.”
Maestas placed first in the 400 with 68.36;2, third in the 100 with 14.30, and second in the 200 with 31.13; 3.
Maestas also snagged third in the long jump with 13-11 1/2.
In the 3,200, sophomore Stapely's first place time was 14:40.62. Stapley also placed third in the 1,600 with 6:49.
The Trojans travel to Thompson Falls tomorrow (Thursday) to compete in both varsity and junior varsity categories, before heading to Libby for their invitational this Saturday.
Ramondelli noted the JV and Varsity assignments help level the playing field.
“It sure does help,” he said. “It gives our kids a chance to compete against kids of their own caliber. We'll have a number of kids competing at both the junior varsity and varsity division.”