Whitewater Girls win 3C District Title

The Dodson, Saco, and Whitewater track teams competed at the 2021 District 3C track meet in Wolf Point last Saturday, May 15, in Wolf Point.

The Whitewater Lady Penguins won the girls' meet with a total of 131 points. Scobey was second with 120 points, Saco was third with 100 points, Hinsdale was fourth with 83 points, Nashua was fifth with 43, and Lustre Christian was fifth with 42.

Scobey won the boys' meet with 219 points. Hinsdale was second with 136, Lustre Christian was third with 76, Nashua was fourth with 25, Whitewater was fifth with 18, Dodson and Saco tied for sixth with one point.

WHITEWATER

The Whitewater Penguins were led by Beau Simonson who won discus with a throw of 116-0. Simonson was also second in shot put with a throw of 43-2.

Hunter Ellis set new bests in shot put and discus with throws of 23-11.50 and 77-8 respectively.

The Whitewater Lady Penguins were led by seniors Kelsee Cummings and Kia Wasson, who each won individual district titles.

Kelsee Cummings was first in shot put with a throw of 36-3.5.

"It feels pretty good but it is also kind of sad that it's coming to an end," Cummings said. "But it's also exciting."

Cummings said that she hopes to surpass her previous best of 37-8 in the event, so she was asked what she needed to do next week to make it happen.

"I need to get to the toe board, stay closed, and my dad (Darin Cummings) wants me to grunt to try and get it further," Cummings said.

Cummings was also fourth in discus with a throw of 85-2.

Wasson won the 3200 with a time of 13:01.64. She also took second place in the 1600 with a time of 5:54.83.

Wasson was also a part of the long relay team that won the event with a time of 4:30.13. The long relay team consisted of Kora LaBrie, Kendall Scheffelmear, K. Wasson, and Paige Wasson.

The short relay team consisting of LaBrie, P. Wasson, Cummings, and Scheffelmear took second place with a time of 56.28.

"I think that all of our handoffs were good," LaBrie said. "That always helps when you get good handoffs. I think that both of our relay teams will be up there."

Junior Hannah Hanley placed second in the 100 hurdles with a season's best of 18.33. She also took third place in the 200-meter dash with a time of 29.64, third in the 100 with a time of 14.11, and fourth in the 300 hurdles with a season record of 53.19.

Freshman Ava Hanley placed second in the 100 with a time of 14.11, fourth in the 100 hurdles with a time of 18.59, fifth in the 300 hurdles, and sixth in the 200 with a time of 30.50.

"In the 300 hurdles, I had a good start and my form was good and then I just got tired in the end," Ava said with a laugh. "I got third in my heat. The only reason that I did good was because God gave me strength."

Scheffelmear qualified in all three individual events that she entered, placed fourth in the 400 with a personal best of 1:09.29, fourth in high jump by clearing 4-6, and fourth in triple jump with a mark left at 30-5.5.

Sophomore Sammie Wisher qualified in both long-distance running events, taking third place in the 3200 with a time of 15:14, and fifth place in the 1600 with a time of 6:50.96.

LaBrie set personal bests in the 400 and 800 races, and took fifth in each event. She had a time of 1:10.57 in the 400 and a time of 2:51.22 in the 800.

"I am excited to go and compete at Divisionals," LaBrie said. "It will be fun."

Sophomore Kendra Cummings placed fifth in the 3200 with a time of 16:57.04. She just missed qualifying in the 1600, finishing seventh with a time of 7:41.34.

SACO

The Saco Lady Panthers were led by Josie Brown who won both sprinting events. She won the 100 with a time of 13.67 and the 200 with a time of 28.64.

"My coach tells me to hold my breath for half of the 100 but I don't know if that really helps," Brown said. "I think that getting off the blocks right helps the mist because it can be the difference between a PR or just an average run.

Brown was also third in the 100 hurdles with a time of 18.44 and third in pole vault by tying her personal best of 7-6. Brown just missed placing in triple jump, taking seventh in the event with a mark at 29-3.

Freshman Teagan Erickson won the high jump event by clearing 5-2. She was second in long jump with a leap of 16-2.5, second in the 800 with a personal best of 2:30.6, second in triple jump with a mark left at 33-11.25, and fourth in javelin with a personal best of 96-8.

Teagan was asked about her performance in the 800, shortly after the race was run.

"I feel a little tired and winded," Teagan said.

She said that the experience of her first high school district meet was fun and that it felt different than at the junior high level.

Junior Jaycee Erickson won the javelin event with a new personal best of 118-11. She was also second in pole vault by clearing a mark of 9-0. Though she had cleared a best 9-6 earlier this season, clearing 9-0 had been a height that Erickson had struggled with.

"Speed and warm weather," Jaycee said. "I really like the warm weather."

She was asked about her plan of attack for the 800 prior to her race.

"Just to run and have fun because it's a race I run to stay in shape and I like running the race with Teagan because it is a sister bond thing."

Jaycee said that she enjoyed the 3C Meet because it felt pretty laid back and carefree.

Erickson also placed third in triple jump with a mark left at 31-4 and third in the 800 with a time of 2:37.71.

Abby Yeska had a throw of 27-1.25 in shot put and a throw of 71-4 in discus.

For the Panther boys, Marshall Caves was the lone placer, placing sixth in pole vault with a personal best of 9-6. Caves also set a new best of 14-1 in long jump and a best in the 100 of 14.04.

Dylan Brown set a personal best of 31-9 in shot put, a new best in javelin of 103-02, and had a time of 13.59 in the 100.

DODSON

Freshman Sebastian Best was the lone Coyote to qualify for the divisional meet. He qualified in the 400 with a time of 1:08.64. Best competed in five events, posting a time of 14.23 in the 100, 30.54 in the 200, and setting a mark of 14-0.5 in long and a new best of 31-6.50 in triple jump.

Best scratched on a leap that would've been an 18-foot jump in long jump.

"I get into my head too much," Best said. "I scratched by a couple of inches. It went well. I give credit to the guys jumping 20-footers; Loden Idler (Hinsdale) is really good and to all those guys that made the finals, I give props to them."

Best said that he will keep improving his craft and that he will use this season as motivation for that improvement.

Like all freshmen throughout the state, Best was unable to compete in eighth grade in 2020, so he shared what it was like to compete again.

"It feels great honestly, to be out here running with the guys," Best said. "Everyone is having a good time and it's great."

Lady Coyote Imagin Fox set new bests in the 300 hurdles and triple jump events. She had a time of 1:00.71 in the 300 hurdles and left a mark at 26-4.25.

Emma Cole had a new best in shot put of 20-11.50.