The Flathead Valley has been a good source of talent for the upstart track and field program at Carroll College and head coach Matt Morris recently corralled three more local runners.

Columbia Falls’ Derrick Williams and Flathead’s Michael Managhan and Bailey Hughes have all signed national letters of intent to compete at Carroll College next year in Helena, according to Morris.

Williams is one of the top high school distance runners in the state, with three Class A championships already under his belt. He won the cross country title last fall. As a junior in track he won the 800 with the fastest time in the state and the 1,600 with the state’s third fastest time. He also finished second in the 3,200. When it comes to academics, he's just as strong, and plans on studying pre-med.

“When you’re a young program like we are, you’re really looking for strong personalities and kids who can be leaders who you can build a program around,” Morris said. “Derrick’s definitely a good signing for us.”

Williams said he narrowed his college options down to Carroll and the University of Montana. He picked Carroll because he “really meshed” with Morris and saw the stature of Carroll’s pre-med program.

“I’m a strong believer in education comes first. I really do believe that. Running can only take you so far,” Williams said.

“I’m really excited. It’s a weight lifted off my shoulders so now I can focus on my senior year of track and trying to keep up with school.”

Managhan is a sprinter at Flathead and also played football. Carroll coaches saw him as a “diamond in the rough.”

“We’re excited to see what he can do,” Morris said. “I think that he’s really under the radar. We feel he can come in and make an impact right away.”

Hughes has competed in cross country and track for Flathead.

“She’s a really hard worker and I feel like she’s got the tools to be successful at the college level,” Morris said. “I think she will really be able to manufacture herself into a really competitive runner.”

The Carroll track program is already off to a strong start for only being in its second year. The program had three athletes compete at the NAIA nationals last year, including Glacier grad Ben Cutler, and had 11 athletes earn NAIA All-American honors during the indoor season.

The latest local recruits join a few former Flathead Valley standouts on the track program: Cutler; Whitefish's Willie Roche and Carly Schwickert; and Bigfork's Mallery Knoll.

Morris credits the early success with a roster filled with that kind of homegrown talent.

"We definitely want to win the recruiting battle in Montana to the best of our ability," he said. "There's a lot of talent in this state."

 

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Who needs a lottery ticket when you can just go fishing? The Schrader family found this out last weekend on Flathead Lake.

Joe Schrader of Kalispell took his daughter fishing Saturday during the Spring Mack Days event, and she caught 10 lake trout, including one worth $100. The following day Schrader took his son out on the boat and the boy caught himself a $100 lake trout. That same day Schrader landed a tagged trout, too.

The big prize, a $10,000 tagged trout, continues to evade anglers, but several catches brought in cash prizes in the third weekend of the spring fishing event on Flathead Lake last weekend.

Scott Mahlen caught two $100 tagged fish at the same time on Saturday – one on a jig and the other on a fly, according to a Mack Days news release.

Joe and Adam Schrader with their tagged lake trout.

Anglers caught 2,882 lake trout last weekend. There were 747 landed on Friday, 1,535 on Saturday and 600 on Sunday, hiking the total catch amount to 9,031.

Mike Benson moved into first place for total fish count with 355. Chuck Forgey is runner-up with 311.

Susan Martin from Polson is in first place for women with 69. Tracy Powers from Missoula is in second place with 53.

Connor Kowalski from Florence leads the 13-17 division with 111.

Columbia Falls’ Tanner Murry is second with 78. In the 12 and under division, Garett Vaughan from Charlo holds first place with 56. Dylan Hodgson of Kalispell follows with 21.

A total of 289 anglers have caught fish in this spring’s event.

Entries are taken until the last day of the event on May 20. Information can be found online or by calling (406) 883-2888 (ext. 7294).

Spring Mack Days Leaderboard
Through Three Weekends
Men
Mike Benson, Lonepine, 355
Chuck Forgey, Arlee, 311
Steven Benson, Four Lakes, Wash., 302
Don Beville, Lakeside, 293
Scott Bombard, Missoula, 275
Danny Smith, Hot Springs, 274
David McDaniel, Polson, 257
Jason Mahlen, Kalispell, 257
Craig Morigeau, Polson, 256
Terry Krogstad, Kalispell, 249

Women
Susan Martin, Polson, 69
Tracy Powers, Missoula, 53
Terry Biere, Butte, 37
Kathryn Cox, Lakeside, 36
Sharon Beville, Lakeside, 18
Michelle Slyder, Billings, 18
Deana Knipe, Polson, 11

Youth 13-17
Connor Kowalski, Florence, 111
Tanner Murry, Columbia Falls, 78
Roger Guillory, Kalispell, 16
Brady Weible, Charlo, 12
Keegan Noyd, Missoula, 11
Wyatt Jensen, Polson, 7
Eric Sams, Polson, 6
Kobe Cox, Charlo, 4
Bailey Weible, Charlo, 3

12 & Under
Garett Vaughan, Charlo, 56
Dylan Hodgson, Kalispell, 21
Autumn Powers, Missoula, 18
Danner Shima, Kalispell, 11
Kailey Schrader, Kalispell, 10
Adam Schrader, Kalispell, 8
Carson McDaniel, Polson, 5
Cole Gilleard, Charlo, 5
Casey Bradshaw, Kalispell, 2
Brianna Stone, Polson, 1

 

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Glacier senior Shane St. Onge has been named the top student-athlete wrestler across the state for Class AA by a law firm in Great Falls.

The Hoyt and Blewett Law Firm, which sponsors the annual Montana Tournament of Champions, awarded St. Onge a $1,000 scholarship. St. Onge won an individual state championship and helped Glacier win its first team title this winter and competed at the all-star high school wrestling tournament. He carries a 4.0 grade-point-average and will attend the University of Montana where he will study Pre-law or Political Science, according to a statement from Hoyt and Blewett.

Myers Reece wrote about St. Onge's remarkable season this winter.

The scholarships are awarded every year to the top wrestlers in each class who displayed the best combined qualities of wrestling and academic achievement. This year’s winners exemplify the precise purpose of the scholarships, the law firm said in a statement.

Eli Hinebaugh of Havre was the winner in Class A. Hinebaugh was a two-time state champion and two-time runner-up.

The Class B/C award winner is Ben Stroh of Chinook. Stroh was a four-time state champion and is currently ranked #3 in the nation at his weight class. He set a national high school record by earning 101 consecutive pins.

“We love wrestling for the life lessons it teaches and these kids embody what this great sport is all about,” Zander Blewett said.

For more information visit http://montanawrestling.blogspot.com.

 

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The infamous $10,000 lake trout remains elusive but another 3,000 fish met their match last weekend at the Spring Mack Days tournament on Flathead Lake.

Entries for the second weekend numbered 3,088, raising the overall catch total to 6,088 for the tournament so far.

Chuck Forgey from Arlee leads the event with 287 lake trout. Mike Benson is second with 260. Steven Benson is third with 229. Kalispell’s Terry Krogstad is fourth with 217.

Terry Biere from Butte leads the ladies competition with 37. Kathryn Cox from Rollins is second with 24. Susan Martin from Polson is third with 24.

Connor Kowalski has 71 in the 13-17 category, followed by Columbia Falls’ Tanner Murry with 51.

Garett Vaughan from Charlo leads the 12 & under group with 32.

Both Matt Guckenberg from Kalispell and Connor Kowalski from Florence turned in tagged lake worth $500 each.

Mack Days continues until May 20 on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Between May 11-20 there will be 10 straight days of fishing. The top 10 anglers are limited to their best 18-day average and tickets for their best 18 days.

For more information, visit the Mack Days website. Or call 406-883-2888 ex. 7294 (Monday-Thursday) or 406-982-3142 (Friday-Sunday).

Spring Mack Days Leaderboard
After second weekend
Men
Chuck Forgey, Arlee, 287
Mike Benson, 260
Steven Benson, 229
Terry Krogstad, Kalispell, 217.
Scott Bombard, Missoula, 212
Danny Smith, Hot Springs, 198
Jason Mahlen, Kalispell, 182
Don Beville, Lakeside, 175
Jerry Benson, Plains, 158
Craig Morigeau, Polson, 153

Women
Terry Biere, Butte, 37
Kathryn Cox, Rollins, 24
Susan Martin, Polson, 24
Sharon Beville, Lakeside, 18
Michelle Slyder, Billings, 18

13-17
Connor Kowalski, Florence, 71
Tanner Murry, Columbia Falls, 51
Brady Weible, Charlo, 12
Keegan Noyd, Missoula, 11
Wyatt Jenson, Polson, 7

12 and under
Garett Vaughan, Charlo, 32
Autumn Powers, Missoula, 18
Dylan Hodgson, Kalispell, 9
Carson McDaniel, Polson, 5
Cole Gilleard, St. Ignatius, 5

 

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Whitefish’s 10-year-old Colter Upton capped a great season with three podium finishes, including a victory in the slalom race at the USSA Northern Division Youth Ski League Championships at Whitefish Mountain Resort last weekend. There were 185 youth skiers competing from three states, including 26 members on the Whitefish Mountain Resort Race Team.

Upton’s total points for the three-day competition earned him third place overall, an impressive finish for the first-year racer. He placed third in both the J5 giant slalom and kombi competitions.

Whitefish eight-year-old Gardner Dominick earned first place on Sunday in his division thanks to two runner-up finishes, in giant slalom and slalom.

Ten-year-old Whitefish racer, Liam Nelson, finished on top of the J5 podium in Giant Slalom and also placed fourth in slalom.

Cameron Kahle of Whitefish also earned fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-place finishes for J6 boys.

Several other Whitefish team members earned top 10 finishes:

J4 Pixie Moore, 8th in kombi
J5 Walt Hollensteiner, 6th in kombi and 10th in giant slalom
J5 Ian Calloway, 7th in giant slalom
J6 Zane Elliott, 5th in kombi and 8th in giant slalom
J3 Piper Howeth, 1st place in all three races
J3 Kelly Shea, 2nd place in all three races
J3 Britt Walton, two 1st places and a 3rd
J3 Oliver Van Everen, 1st and two 2nd’s
J3 Cameron Welch, 2nd and a 3rd.
6-year-old Trey Nelson, two 1st places and a 2nd
6-year-old Elizabeth Spradlin, 2nd place

For more information visit the team's website.

 

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Jon Heselwood, the superintendant at Buffalo Hill Golf Club the last 10 years, is this year’s lone Hall of Fame inductee.

Heselwood has shepherded several improvements throughout the Buffalo Hill clubhouse and course over the years, including the construction of the new Cameron Nine and driving range last summer.

Heselwood designed the changes on the Cameron Nine and the brand new the driving range. He also supervised construction efforts.

“The (Cameron Nine and driving range) project had been discussed, attempted, kicked around for years with no success and a fair amount of money spent getting nowhere. Jon took it and created something that will serve Buffalo Hill in perpetuity and serve it well,” Craig Drew, who nominated Heselwood, said in a news release.

The Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held at the annual meeting of the Kalispell Golf Association on April 25 inside the Buffalo Hill clubhouse.

Heselwood, from Selah, Wash., previously served as superintendent from 1982-83 before taking over the same position at Eagle Bend until 1990. After that he was superintendent at the Missoula Country Club from 1991-2001.

Heselwood was inducted into the Montana State Golf Association Hall of Fame in 1994. He has won several state championships including the amateur title in 1992, state mid-am titles in 1992, ’93, ’96 and ’98. He also won state match play championships in ’96 and ’98.

The Buffalo Hill Hall of Fame was created last year. Marv Combs, Gene McGlenn, Dave Morberg and Alice Ritzman made up the inaugural class.

 

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The Kalispell Lakers Legion Baseball Program is holding tryouts starting April 2 for this season’s AA and A teams.

The tryouts will be held April 2-5 starting at 4:30 p.m. at Griffin Field south of Kalispell. Those interested should bring a hat, baseball cleats and a mitt.

For more information, visit the program’s website.

 

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Last weekend some of our best local talent hit the slopes and terrain park at the seventh annual Corn Cup at Whitefish Mountain Resort for one of the final competitions of the winter.

The talented group included 13-year-old Whitefish skier Maggie Voisin, who is featured in this week’s Beacon, and members of the Whitefish Mountain Resort Freestyle Ski and Snowboard team.

The freestyle squad is wrapping up another successful winter of thrilling competition and high-flying tricks. Before the season started, head coach TJ Andrews said his goal was to have every team member gain confidence on the slopes and set a goal that could be reached. From the sounds of it, that’s exactly what happened this winter. Andrews said almost everyone on the team has been landing flips, including a 9-year-old member, and others have gone on to notable success throughout the region.

In one of his first big competitions, 13-year-old Wyatt Coe from Whitefish placed 27th out of 68 competitors on March 8 at the Freestyle Skiing Junior Nationals in Steamboat Springs, Colo.

“For Wyatt to break out of the shell like that and do well, that was a real eye-opener for him,” Andrews said.

Baylen Connolly, who took second in last week’s men’s open snowboard competition at the Corn Cup, has been one of the best competitors in the Northwest and qualified for the United States of America Snowboard Association Nationals.

Tatum Bennett, who finished third in the women’s open snowboard at the Corn Cup, also qualified in slopestyle and bordercross for the USASA Nationals.

Cole Maxwell won the overall men’s open snowboard competition at the Corn Cup. Tatum Hanks placed first overall in the youth snowboard division.

“We had a great turnout of kids each week this winter,” Andrews said. “Pretty much the freestyle team dominated all the competitions on our mountain.”

The freestyle team's annual fundraiser will be held on March 24 at the Bierstube at the mountain.

7th Annual Corn Cup
Overall Results (both days combined)
Whitefish Mountain Resort

Men's Open Snowboard
Cole Maxwell, 1st
Baylan Connolly, 2nd

Men's Amateur Ski 13+
Eli Taylor, 2nd
Scott Marsh, 3rd

Men's Amateur Snowboard 13+
Hunter Lamoreux, 2nd
Ethan Lannaghan, 3rd

Women's Ski Open
Maggie Voisin, 2nd

Women's Snowboard Open
Tatum Bennett, 3rd

Grom Ski
Ladd Costain, 2nd
Gardener Dominick, 3rd

Grom Snowboard
Tatum Hanks, 1st

 

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