LPHS sports teams compete at Divisional and State tournaments

By Gabrielle Gasser

Track:

At the May 7 Lone Peak High School track meet, sophomore Isaiah Holst achieved a personal record in the 200-meter events as well as the javelin throw. Head Coach James Miranda said Holst’s javelin toss would have qualified him for the Divisional tournament but unfortunately, he was unable to make the District meet to qualify.

“Every meet, each athlete has gotten a personal record,” Miranda said. “If it wasn’t for a COVID year I have a feeling, we would have had a lot more results.” 

LPHS track athletes performed well at the District 12C tournament on May 14. “We have seven of eight athletes competing in the Divisional tournament this coming weekend,” Miranda said. “All of our athletes continue to achieve personal records as the season progresses.” Seven athletes are prepping for the Divisional meet, which will take place May 21 and 22 in Missoula:

Reilly Germain (Senior) – 200m & 4×100

Madison Strauss (Senior) – Triple Jump & 4 x 100

Jessica Bough (Sophomore) – Shot put, 800m & 4×100

Astrid McGuire (Freshman) – 800, 1600 & 4×100

Orrin Coleman (Sophomore) – 800 & 1600

Colter Marino (Sophomore) – 800

Pierce Farr (Sophomore) – Shot put

Miranda said he is proud of all the track athletes who consistently placed in the top ten throughout the year. “I’m proud of their work,” he said. “Every meet we have they improve every single time.”

He expressed regret that the track team was unable to sign up for more meets this year and he said had the athletes competed more, “we would have seen some records broken.” Currently the track team is young, and Miranda said they have a few up-and-comers who will excel moving forward.

If any athletes qualify for the State tournament, they will move on to compete again in Missoula on May 29 and 30.

Golf:

The girls and boys golf teams performed well at their tournament at Ennis on May 10. For the boys Pierce King shot a 79 placing second overall in the tournament, Aidan Miller shot a 101 and Henry Slade finished with a 118. 

On the girls’ side, TJ Nordahl shot a 93 to claim fourth place overall and Josie Wilcynski finished the day with a 109. 

Five athletes qualified for the State C tournament which took place on May 18 and 19. On the girls side, TJ Nordahl and Josie Wilcynski qualified, for the boys, Pierce King, Nolan Schumacher and Nathan Browne all qualified. Unfortunately, due to conflicts with IB testing, Browne did not compete at state although head coach Jenny Wilcynski noted that he was set to finish top ten for the boys.

“I am super proud of all of our State players,” Wilcynski said. “Playing the State tournament back to back 18 holes can be challenging for the entire field. All players today had a harder time finding the bottom of the cup and saw numerous putts lip out.” 

LPHS athletes played hard at State with Nordahl finishing second for the girls with a two-day total of 176, just five strokes behind Paityn Curtiss who took first place with a 171. Wilcynski completed her tournament play with a 256.

For the boys, King finished the tournament with a 196 and Shumacher wrapped with a 211.

Wilcynski offered her congratuations to all LPHS golfers and said she was happy with the 2021 season.

Tennis:

After competing against Three Forks on May 7, the LPHS tennis team went to the Divisional tournament on May 13 and 14. Three girls, Charlee Sue Dreisbach, Vera Grabow and Avery Dickerson, headed to Belgrade to play in the tournament hosted by Three Forks. Dickerson played as a single in four matches gaining two wins and two losses. Dreisbach and Grabow made a doubles team making their way through the bracket until a loss in their final match where the winner went to state. 

The season for the girls is now over but the head coach of the team said she is proud of all the girls and looks forward to great things from them moving forward. Dreisbach and Grabow are freshman and Dickerson is a sophomore leaving plenty of room to grow. Unfortunately, the other three
girls were unable to attend the Divisional tournament due to
IB testing but their coach also commended them for a
great season.

The lone boy, freshman Charlie Distad, placed fourth in the Divisional tournament at Missoula on the 13 and 14 and he will move on to the state tournament which will take place May 19 through 21. Charlie’s coach said he had a great season, and she is excited to coach him moving forward and create a strong team.