Prep Track: Bozeman takes gold at Optimist Invite

The annual Great Falls Optimist Invite showcases this state’s best athletes.

It has also been known to showcase the worst weather.

“It’s hard to stay warm, and hard to get warm,” C.M. Russell High’s Cali Modglin said. “You feel everything tighten up.”

The Class AA all-girls’ competition was marred by snow and rain as dark clouds overlooked Memorial Stadium on Saturday. The conditions, and 30-degree temperatures, caused several athletes to pass on events they would have normally competed in if the weather had cooperated.

The Bozeman Hawks took home team honors with 104 points, Flathead finished in second with 78.25 and Helena High claimed third with 69.5. Great Falls High (54) and C.M. Russell High (51.5) placed sixth and seventh, respectively.

With only three first-place finishers, the Hawks used solid balance and depth to win going away.

“We had a good day, without a doubt,” said assistant coach Clint May, filling in for head coach Levi Wesche, who was in Butte for the Dahlberg Invite.

“There were a lot of teams that pulled a lot of girls today,” he continued. “ … That’s not to say we wouldn’t have had a great day, but we are not seeing the best of some teams.”

Billings Senior, the 5-time defending state champions, was seeking its third straight Optimist title Saturday. Bronc head coach Jerry Weik, though, decided to sit several of his top performers – and Senior finished toward the bottom of the field in eighth. Christina Aargon won the 800 on Saturday, but chose to skip the 400. Taylor Mims, another top point-getter, was back home because of other obligations.

“We have quite a few girls who have little nagging injuries,” Weik said. “And we just felt with the cold weather and everything, the snow and the rain and the sleet, that it just wasn’t a good day to run them today. Let them heal up. We have another meet Tuesday right away, and then the Helena Invite next week.”

The weather Saturday wasn’t any different than some of the state meets in the past, said C.M. Russell High head coach Mike Henneberg. He understands, however, if teams hold athletes out of certain events.

“If you get somebody injured at this point, it’s hard to get them back for divisionals and state, so I think a lot of people are pretty cautious when it gets cold like this at this point in the year,” he said.

Modglin bypassed the 200, but won gold in the 100 (12.52) by a hundredth of second and stood atop the podium in the long jump (16-2.25). Henneberg didn’t discover Modglin as a sprinter until this time a year ago. The head coach calls what she’s been able to accomplish since then “phenomenal” and is excited about her future.

Modglin smiled from ear to ear when asked about her day.

“Well, I wasn’t expecting to win because it’s very cold,” Modglin said. “ … I don’t know, it was just a surprising day. I wasn’t expecting to do as well as I did with both of them.”

Other top Rustler performers included Trisha Carlson, who finished second in the triple jump (33-11.25) after never before competing in the event. Shana Cosby’s mark of 126 feet in the javelin, a personal record, helped her take second.

Henneberg was also encouraged by Caitlin Sexton, who placed in both the 100 and 200. Senior standout Ashleigh Lehotsky, who will attend the United States Air Force Preparatory School next year before competing in track and field at the Academy thereafter, placed second in the shot put (38-10).

“We had a good day,” Henneberg said. “There were a lot of bright spot that we are pretty excited about. I feel very good about today.”

The Bison, meanwhile, were sparked by Morgan Evans, who triumphed in the 100 hurdles with a time of 15.88, finished runner-up in the 200 and third in the 100.

Freshman Danielle Devlin had a fifth place finish in the 300 hurdles, just behind fellow teammate Alyssa Jonasen in fourth. Sophomore speedster Hannah Collins qualified for the state meet in the 100 with a 13 flat.

“We had a good day on the track,” assistant coach Scott Donisthorpe said.

Great Falls High’s 400 relay team of Renae Heisler, Jonasen, Collins and Evans claimed first with a time of 52.03.

“We kind of were (surprised) because it was like our worst time, so it was really surprising,” Jonasen said. “We were really happy about taking first, but we have to get our time down a little bit.”

For the second straight year, the weather at the Optimist Invite was unkind at best.

It was only fitting then, when Henneberg finished cleaning up at Memorial Stadium and all but one event had concluded over on the field, the sun emerged from the clouds and shined its brightest.

As he walked away, he pointed to the beam of light and shook his head.