As the spring track season winds down, it looks like Flathead freshman Zach Perrin already knows who his biggest challenge to the Class AA titles in the 1,600 and 3,200 meters might be at state. And he knows him well. After all, it’s his teammate.
With only one regular season meet left before divisionals, Perrin has the best times in Class AA in both the 1,600 and 3,200. Right behind him in second place is teammate Leif Castren, a senior. Perrin’s top time in the 1,600 is 4:29.07, and in the 3,200 it’s 9:40.91. Castren’s best marks are 4:31.72 and 9:46.8.
Over the weekend at the Archie Roe track meet in Kalispell, Perrin narrowly beat Castren to win both of the distance events. Perrin edged Castren by less than a second in each event: 4:32.22 to 4:32.38 in the 1,600 and 9:46.07 to 9:46.80 in the 3,200.
During the cross country season, Castren finished third in Class AA and Perrin was 21st. Fellow Brave Jesse Bennett, a senior, came in 10th at the state cross country meet and is among the Class AA leaders in the 800 and 1,600. Bennett is the defending state champion in the 800. Teammate Hunter Schutt has one of the top times in the 3,200.
In addition to the long-distance runners at Flathead High School, the valley has a number of state contenders as the regular season comes to a close. District meets are this week for Class B and C, while divisional meets for all classes are held May 17-22. The Class AA and C state meets are on May 28-29 in Great Falls and Class A and B meets are on May 28-29 in Laurel.
Bigfork senior sprinter Keenan Evans recently broke the boys school record in the 100 meters, running a 10.82, the best mark in Class B this year. Evans won the 100 meters at the Archie Roe Invitational with a time of 11.32.
Another Bigfork senior, Kayla Carlson, has the quickest times in Class B in the 800, 1,600 and 3,200. Junior Mallery Knoll’s time of 45.98 in the 300 hurdles is the best in Class B and she is also one of the top sprinters in the state.
Glacier High School’s boys and girls teams have been steadily improving throughout the season, led by some of the top individual athletes in the state. Senior Maddey Frey is looking to defend her Class AA title in the 100 meters and has the fastest Class AA time in the event at 12.41. Sophomore Lexy Boschee is trying to defend her high jump title and has the best jump in the state at 5 feet 6 inches.
Sophomore sensation Tess Brenneman of Flathead could contend for five different titles at state: the 100, 200, 400, high jump and long jump. Brenneman’s top marks in each of those events rank among the top four in Class AA. Her leap of 18-7 in the long jump tops Frey’s jump of 18-0 ½ by more than half of a foot.
Columbia Falls has several runners who should compete for Class A titles in the 400, 800, 1,600 and 3,200. The Wildcats also have the top long jumper in Class A in Taylor Martinson, who has a state-best leap of 20-6 ½. Whitefish’s Anto Daoud is the top 400-meter performer in the state at 49.77.
High schools wrap up their regular seasons this week.