Lady Trojan duo provides plenty of points

Whether you see them running together in the sprints, competing for distance in the jumps or relaxing near the end of a meet on the high jump mat, Ali Maestas and Molly Harpole spend a lot of time together.

The Troy High School tandem has given the Lady Trojans a competitive punch.

“They’re in a lot of the same events and just having fun,” THS coach Neil Newton said during Saturday’s Libby Invitational. “I’m happy with both of them – Ali in the 400 and Molly in the 100 and 200.”

Harpole had an exceptional meet with Troy’s lone first-place finish. The senior went 14 feet, 8 1/4 inches for first place in the long jump while finishing third in both the 100 and 200.

“I’m really happy with Molly … that was definitely a gift to have her on the team,” Newton said, referring to her decision to switch from softball to track.

Maestas got third in the 400-meter dash with a 1:05.56.

The Trojans had one other top three finish at the invite when Cullen Metz took third in the shot put. Metz had a throw of 42-9 and missed second place by a mere half-inch.

Among Troy’s other athletes, sophomore Jacob Lopez has been turning in consistently good performances, including a couple of firsts. At Libby, the field was tough with Whitefish’s Drew Coco leading the way but Lopez held his own with a time of 11:17.53 for fourth place.

“He’s done really well … it’s definitely something to build on for the future,” Newton said. “Today, he ran his best time in the two-mile.”

Senior Aaron Palmer did not compete at the meet. Palmer was out of town on a trip to Boston but Newton said he was expecting him to participate at Tuesday’s Top Ten Meet in Missoula.

In the team standings, both the boys and girls teams placed sixth.

The meet also featured competition for junior varsity athletes. Troy’s Cory Orr won the high jump by clearing 5-4.

The Trojans will head to Whitefish on Saturday.