Rivalry ends after four decades

Flathead qualified three athletes for state on Thursday at the Libby-Flathead dual, finding success at the close of a decades-long track tradition.

The Bravettes won all but two events. Gillian Maness qualified for the state meet in the 800-meter dash, winning the race in 2 minutes, 19.34 seconds, ahead of teammate Nicole Bouma, who set a season-best time of 2:20.46.

Alyssa Wisher qualified in the javelin, winning the event with a toss of 116 feet, 3 inches.

Bravettes senior Monica White narrowly missed qualifying in the 400, winning the race in 1:01.57, just .46 shy of the qualifying mark. White won the 100 in 13.23 seconds.

Janae Moon won the high and long jumps for the Bravettes.

Libby’s Shyla Stevenson won the 200 in 28.68 seconds and Shelbie McLinden won the discus with an effort of 102-8.

The Flathead boys swept all 17 events at the meet, led by Jess Beaman’s three-event winning afternoon. Beaman won the long and triple jumps and the discus. Micah Bucy won the 400 and high jump.

Braves senior Josh Osborne qualified for state in the 110 hurdles, winning the race in 15.68 seconds. Junior Jake Perrin was fractions of a second off setting a season-best in the 1,600, winning in 4:23.98.

As Libby High School begins its curtain call in Class A, the Loggers are finding the unfortunate side of change, having to say goodbye to decades old partnerships that have brought mountains of memories.

Facing dwindling population and low participation, the Libby School Board voted a year ago for its sports teams to make the transition down to Class B, a move that will take place this fall.

It was a controversial decision — one made even as a large majority of Libby coaches recommended staying put — but one many felt was inevitable. In the Northwestern A conference, the Loggers regularly play competition with 150 to 350 more students in their schools. Next year, Libby will be one of the larger Class B programs in the state, and will be aligned with Lincoln County counterparts Troy and Eureka.

It is seen by some as a good move, one that should put the Loggers back in contention for state championships. Libby’s last state championships came in 2010 and 2008 in boys’ soccer. Boys track won in 2007 and boys basketball in 2004.

As part of the move, the Loggers’ golf teams will change seasons from the fall to the spring. Every sport except soccer will find a new list of conference foes.

However, the biggest loss may be on the track, where a nearly 40-year-old tradition is coming to a close today.

The Libby-Flathead track dual has been run on the last week before divisionals every year since 1982 and the two schools have met for a dual every season since at least 1976. With its move to Class B, Libby will be running in the District 7B tournament during this week next season, making this year’s event the last for the foreseeable future.

“It’s been a relaxed meet,” said Flathead boys’ track coach Dan Hodge, who has led the Braves for the last 39 years. “It’s been a meet where both of us have taken our athletes and used it as a tune-up for divisional week.”

Over the years, the meet has served as a last-chance opportunity for athletes from both schools to make their marks before the postseason. It has also been notoriously fast, seeing at least three athletes set what were at the time the best marks in state history.

The meet began when both schools were in Class AA. Libby, the nearest AA school to Kalispell, was an easy choice to partner for a friendly dual. The tradition continued, even as Libby dropped to Class A in 1987.

“Even though our numbers kind of shrunk, they still come up here ... I always in the back of my mind thought, Kalispell doesn’t want to come up here, but they love the meet,” Libby coach Jim May said.

A week after the ultra-competitive Archie Roe Invitational in Kalispell and a week before divisionals, the Libby-Flathead dual has been a place to relax for many.

Themed races highlight the end of the meet, with athletes running in scuba gear or wedding gowns, with weight throwers using a piece of cake as a baton, eating it as they circle the track. Distance runners hop into nearby Flower Creek after the meet.

It’s also been a proving ground. Coaches from each team used the meet to narrow the divisional field for the next week. If two athletes were even for the last spot in the 200, they’d race for the opportunity to compete the next week. If an athlete hadn’t made a mark to qualify for state, he or she could use the meet as a last-chance attempt.

“All the times, when kids finally made their qualifying marks and jumped up and down and hugged their coaches,” May said. “That’s happened a lot at our meet.”

Where it’s shined the most has been the distance events, where Flathead’s long tradition of accomplished distance athletes has taken advantage of a track situated at the lowest elevation in the state to find a few extra seconds.

In 2004, Zoe Nelson ran what was then the fastest 1,600 time in state history, finishing in 4:55.04, a record that would stand for eight years.

In 2013, Zach Perrin ran the fastest boys time in state history, cruising to a finish in 4:09.24, more than four seconds faster than the old mark, set by Flathead standout David Vidal in 2001.

Vidal ran what was then the fastest 3,200 time in state history at the Libby meet in 2001, a record Perrin would also eclipse, albeit in Kalispell.

“It’s been a real pleasure to go there for our kids,” Hodge said. “We’ve always had good performances there.”

It’s unlikely the meet can be moved back to earlier in the season. Most of the calendar is already filled with set invitationals, and with only nine weeks in the season, both teams are already booked with previous engagements.

When the teams wish each other good luck at the close of the meet, it will likely be the last time for a tradition that is unmatched in northwest Montana.

“Just a lot of good memories,” May said.

“Change is supposed to be good, but this is not good. We’ll move on, we’ll find other stuff, but the camaraderie and the competition is going to be hard to match.”