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Memories from Archie Roe

By Beacon Staff

There was one track meet I looked forward to most when I was in high school. Archie Roe was it. The early morning drive from Missoula to Kalispell every spring produced equal parts nervousness and excitement. After all, everyone competed. It didn’t matter how old you were, there was an event for you. Yes, Archie Roe took all day and sometimes finished in twilight — bless the volunteers who make it possible — but everyone went home with some of the final memories of the season before the state meet.

I still remember my first Archie. I ran the 1,600 in just over five minutes in the freshman race and nearly set a personal best. I was still catching my breath by the finish line when the crowd erupted. Flathead’s phenom, David Vidal, was coming around the final corner of the varsity race. The scoreboard displayed his time, and no one could believe it. Vidal crashed through the finish line in 4:17.4, breaking the meet record a few feet in front of me. The whole stadium — what felt like 10,000 people — went wild.

I never thought I’d see anyone run faster than that again. Then a year later, at the state meet in Great Falls, I watched Vidal bring the crowd to its feet again. He ran 4:13.29 and broke Derek Stordahl’s all-class state record of 4:14.94 set in 1986. I remember that day clearer than my own high school graduation.

This year’s Archie Roe, on Saturday, May 4, will hopefully produce similar memories for the latest generation of athletes.

Here’s a list of the meet records, which remain some of the best marks in state history:

Archie Roe Records
BOYS
100 – Craig Galle, Flathead, 10.70, 1995
200 – Ralph Dempsey, Cut Bank, 21.90, 1991
400 – Cody Henning, Whitefish, 49.25, 2004
800 – David Vidal, Flathead, 1:55.9, 2001
1,600 – David Vidal, Flathead, 4:17.4, 2000
3,200 – Seth Watkins, Flathead, 9:23.9, 2001
110 hurdles – Jamison Banna, Flathead, 14.10, 1988
300 hurdles – Drew Owens, Missoula Big Sky, 38.91, 2010
400 relay – Hellgate (Mark Terrazas, Robb Hollenback, Mike Molloy, Joe Thompson), 42.90, 2002
1,600 relay – Whitefish (Justin Scoggin, Chris Hicks, Cody Henning, Matt Helgath), 3:23.8, 2004
Shot put – Scott Steckel, Havre, 60-5 1/2, 1980
Discus – Lee Tillman, Havre, 187-7, 1987
Javelin – Nate Bach, Thompson Falls, 206-4, 2005
High jump – Mark Koefelda, Hellgate, 7-0, 1993
Long jump – Trevor Gunlock, Polson, 22-7, 2000
Triple jump – David Schwenk, Big Sky, 46-8 1/2, 1998
Pole vault – Curt Rogers, Whitefish, 15-6, 2007
GIRLS
100 – Kim Kindle, Eureka, 12.5, 1995; Michelle Cartwright, Havre, 12.5, 1985
200 – Emily Alspaugh, Hellgate, 25.8, 1999
400 – Chantelle Grey, Missoula Sentinel, 57.29, 2009
800 – Kasey Harwood, Polson, 2:16.3, 2003
1,600 – Zoe Nelson, Flathead, 5:07.3, 2004
3,200 – Zoe Nelson, Flathead, 10:27.9, 2004
100 hurdles – Lexie Miller, Flathead, 14.4, 1979; Claudine Robinson, Hellgate, 14.4, 1989
300 hurdles – Kasey Harwood, Polson, 44.91, 2003
400 relay – Flathead (Brittany Berger, Cricket Johnson, Molly Burt, Krista Jimenez), 49.66, 2003
1,600 relay – Flathead (Ashley Younkin , Jenae Lister , Nicole Hall , Shannon Ross ), 4:03.12, 2007
Shot put – Laine Botchek, Big Sky, 44-6 1/4, 1999
Discus – Bree Fuqua, Polson, 148-9, 1999
Javelin – Marissa Tschida, Loyola Sacred Heart, 141-6, 2005
High jump – Brenda Naber, Havre, 5-9, 1992; Lexy Boschee, Glacier, 5-9, 2012
Long jump – Tess Brenneman, Flathead, 18-7, 2010
Triple jump – Kasey Harwood, Polson, 37-4 1/4, 2004
Pole vault – Melinda Owen, Polson, 12-3, 2003