Opland dominates field as Troy takes second at state track

The Troy Trojan track and field team tied for second at the Class B state tournament Saturday in Butte. Sean Opland led his team with five top-four finishes. The sophomore claimed first in the 400-meter, second in the 200-meter and high jump, and fourth in the 1,600-meter relay and the 100-meter.

Thompson Falls freshman McKenzie Holt challenged Opland all year in the 100-meter sprint, and ended the season with the last laugh when he edged the Trojan by .01 seconds. One week ago at the Western B Divisional, it was Opland besting Holt by the same, slim margin.

“That’s been an awesome battle to watch all year,” Troy Coach Neil Newton said. “They’re great athletes and great kids. It’ll be fun to see them grow going forward.”

Long jump specialist Pate Scott claimed second in his best event. Fellow leaper Nathan Olds earned second in the triple jump and third in the high jump. Olds’ triple jump of 42-3.25 was a one-foot improvement from his Divisional mark.

“What a great weekend Nathan had,” Newton said. “That was the best jump of his life. He is only the second Troy athlete to earn All-State honors four years in the same sport.”

Senior Gabe Hickman placed sixth in the javelin, and Troy’s 1,600-meter relay took fourth. The Trojans actually led the meet going into the 1,600-meter, the final event.

“The Manhattan team ran a great race, and we took second behind them,” Newton said. “It all came down to the 4X400, and that’s how it should be. Our group of Mason Chapel, Noah Erickson, Michael Miller and Sean did a great job. I am just so proud of the kids. They deserved to have a great weekend. I said at the beginning of the year that I thought we could make some noise at state, and that’s what we did. I want to thank the Libby coaches for helping us with our practice facilities, and I want to thank Gabe and Nathan for their four years of hard work.”

Charlie Merrifield Track

Team scores: Manhattan 66.5, Glasgow 61, Troy 61, Bigfork 44, Loyola Sacred Heart 42, Colstrip 28.5, Big Timber 27, Huntley Project 22, Choteau 22, Eureka 21, Fairfield 20, Thompson Falls 17, Townsend 16, Baker 12, Shelby 10, Sheppard 10, Red Lodge 10, Ronan 8, Deer Lodge 5, Cut Bank 4, Conrad 4, Three Forks 4, Joliet 4, Whitehall 4, Boulder 2, Forsyth 2, Roundup 1.

100 – 1. Ryan Grandchamp, Glasgow, 11.11; 2. Austin Batson, Fairfield, 11.24; 3. McKenzie Holt, Thomp Falls, 11.31; 4. Sean Opland, Troy, 11.32; 5. Pat McCarthy, Whitehall, 11.37; 6. Zachary Iffland, Shepherd, 11.42.

200 – 1. Ryan Grandchamp, Glasgow, 22.43; 2. Sean Opland, Troy, 22.57; 3. Austin Batson, Fairfield, 22.84; 4. Silas Hasselbrook, Loyola Sacre, 22.86; 5. McKenzie Holt, Thomp Falls, 22.97; 6. Pat McCarthy, Whitehall, 22.99.

400 — 1. Sean Opland, Troy, 50.53; 2. Caleb Neth, Manhattan, 50.66; 3. Chase Fossum, Glasgow, 51.09; 4. Michael Miller, Troy, 51.39; 5. Holt, Thomp Falls, 52.03; 6. Darren Hecker, Sweet Grass, 52.41.

800 — 1. Darren Hecker, Sweet Grass, 1:57.63; 2. Kenny Wilbur, Broadwater, 1:58.55; 3. Logan Morley, Bigfork, 2:00.61; 4. Luke Colberg, Three Forks, 2:01.01; 5. Rahkei Eyer, Jefferson, 2:02.39; 6. Bridger Sanders, Glasgow, 2:02.89.

1,600 – 1. Logan Morley, Bigfork, 4:34.58; 2. Tyus Mendoza, Colstrip, 4:34.84; 3. Darren Hecker, Big Timber, 4:39.54; 4. Paul Bielawski, Shelby, 4:40.45; 5. Ivan Colmenero, Manhattan, 4:45.75; 6. Kyrn Dykema, Red Lodge, 4:46.49.

3,200 — 1. Tyus Mendoza, Colstrip, 10:06.51; 2. Logan Morley, Bigfork, 10:19.69; 3. Paul Bielawski, Shelby, 10:24.17; 4. Kyrn Dykema, Red Lodge, 10:28.48; 5. Tony Krogstad, Manhattan, 10:28.88; 6. Tanner Laws, Thomp Falls, 10:36.62

110 hurdles – 1. Silas Hasselbrook, Loyola Sacre, 15.01; 2. Brandon Conard, Eureka, 15.27; 3. Bryce Green, Townsend, 15.44; 4. Christian Langston, Eureka, 15.91; 5. Michael Jobman, Huntley Project, 16.01; 6. Jared Schwend, Joliet, 16.29.

300 hurdles – 1. Caleb Neth, Manhattan, 40.17; 2. Silas Hasselbrook, Loyola Sacre, 41.36; 3. Gabe McCauley, Big Timber, 41.38; 4. Jacob Simpson, Deer Lodge, 42.18; 5. Jared Schwend, Joliet, 42.29; 6. Carson Cantrell, Bigfork, 42.66.

400 relay – 1. Loyola Sacred Heart, 43.54; 2. Glasgow, 43.89; 3. Thompson Falls, 43.91; 4. Bigfork, 44.19; 5. Manhattan, 44.46; 6. Deer Lodge, 44.85.

1,600 relay – 1. Manhattan (Conner Cross, David Schachman, Shondel Connerton, Caleb Neth), 3:29.66; 2. Glasgow, 3:30.31; 3. Loyola Sacred Heart, 3:31.64; 4. Troy, 3:32.32; 5. Townsend, 3:32.69; 6. Bigfork, 3:34.72.

Discus — 1. Tanner Miller, Huntley Project, 168-7; 2. Alec Nehring, Manhattan, 160-4; 3. Jeff Fisher, Baker, 155-8; 4. Chance Wessel, Sweet Grass, 154-5; 5. Tyler Iverson, Bigfork, 154-3; 6. Brady Ostermiller, Shepherd, 150-3.

Javelin — 1. Tay Hall, Choteau, 185-2; 2. Lane Herbert, Glasgow, 180-7; 3. Lucas Gerhardt, Ronan, 179-2; 4. Benji Phillips, Glasgow, 168-10; 5. Josh Sandry, Bigfork, 166-9; 6. Gabe Hickman, Troy, 164-2.

Shot put – 1. Tucker Yates, Colstrip, 57-11*; 2. Brady Ostermiller, Shepherd, 51-11; 3. Jeff Fisher, Baker, 51-02; 4. Alec Nehring, Manhattan, 49-06; 5. Austin Oldenburger, Manhattan, 48-03; 6. Lucas Gerhardt, Ronan, 47-11.75.

High jump – 1. Josh Sandry, Bigfork, 6-02; 2. Sean Opland, Troy, J6-02; 3. Nathan Olds, Troy, 6-00; 4. Javan Carroll, Conrad, J6-00; 5. Seth Omsberg, Cut Bank, J6-00; 6. Cole McCloud, Manhattan, 5-10; 6. Christian Olson, Colstrip, 5-10.

Long jump - 1, Caleb Neth, Manhattan, 21-5 1/2; 2, Pate Scott, Troy, 20-11; 3, Chase Fossum, Glasgow, 20-10 1/4; 4, Noah Pohlman, Loyola Sacred Heart, 20-6 1/4; 5, Luke Schwagler, Forsyth, 20-1; 6, Justice Marjaama, Roundup, 20-0.

Triple jump – 1. Wyatt Pannabecker, Choteau, 42-05.75; 2. Nathan Olds, Troy, 42-03.25; 3. Cantor Coverdell, Fairfield, 42-01; 4. Khaz Yanak, Eureka, 41-07; 5. George Barrett, Cut Bank, 41-05.50; 6. Brock Beede, Joliet, 41-03.

Pole Vault — 1. Garrett Frieling, Huntley Project, 13-6; 2. Cody McCloud, Manhattan, 12-6; 3. Cole Jankovsky, Lincoln Coun, 12-6; 3. Renny Schultze, Red Lodge, 12-6; 5. Collin Achenbach, Choteau, 12-0; 6. Connor Benn, Ronan, 12-0.