Hawk Track Team Dominates At Districts

The Broadus track team absolutely crushed the competition at the 4C District Meet, held last week in Baker. The meet was originally scheduled for Thursday, but was rescheduled for a day earlier due to impending rain in the forecast.

The change in schedule didn't seem to have a negative effect on the Broadus team, as individuals from Broadus won an astounding 22 of 31 events in which they were scheduled, with the boys winning 12 of 15, and the girls 10 of 16. Broadus athletes placed in the top 6 (up to 2nd place) in the remaining events where a Broadus jersey did not top the podium.

The Broadus girls and boys each won first place as a team, with the girls turning in an impressive 198 points, while the boys had 195. The next closest team was Jordan, with 120 and 155 in respective girls and boys point totals.

Broadus Head Track Coach Jerry Coulter was thrilled with the way his team performed. During a phone interview he commented: "I'm really proud of how they competed, it was a great day!" Coulter noted that in his decades of coaching experience, he couldn't recall a time in recent memory when both boys and girls Broadus teams had won the district championships at the same time; certainly not in Class C.

The Broadus relay teams dominated their events, winning the 4x100 and 4x400 relays in the girls and boys.

Sprinter/hurdler Matt Hansen, along with jump specialist Zeason Schaffer won 35 points each, individually. That point total was enough that Schaffer beat the team total of 3 different schools, while Hansen beat the team total of Rosebud.

Six athletes on the Broadus roster will advance to Divisionals in all five of the events they entered, including Matt Hansen, Eli Heacock, Thomas Oylear, Jaxon Bilbrey, Mia Mader, and Zeason Schaffer.

Though the Broadus athletes did indeed perform wonderfully at the District Meet, a contributing factor for the large number of Broadus athletes on the podium was that Broadus fielded the largest number of athletes of any team in the district. One other contributing factor was the absence of Melstone, which moved to the 5C District this year, meaning Broadus competed against five other schools at the 4C.

While Melstone has only one girl athlete on the roster this season, their 13 boys scored 151 points in the 5C District Meet last week. Harlowton /Ryegate/Judith Gap won the 5C meet with 185 points. The HRJG conglomerate also won the girls. That team has 31 athletes in total.

In the 6C, Park City's large team (with 21 boys) won the 6C with 275 points. Roberts 14 strong girls team won the 6C girls with 205 points. By comparison, Broadus brought 20 total athletes to Baker.

The change in qualification standards for Divisionals this season, which we detailed in last week's article, will lead to a more streamlined Southern BC Divisional Meet this Thursday in Laurel. With fewer individuals qualifying for the tournament, only one flight of athletes from each class will compete, making for a shorter day than in years past.

Athletes from up to 22 potential qualifying teams will compete for a chance at State in Laurel. Coulter is optimistic about his team's chances, commenting that though there is some tough competition at the divisional level, Broadus athletes are in good shape, and he looks forward to what the team is able to accomplish.

Here are the 4C District Meet results from Baker, 5/10/23:

GIRL'S RESULTS (198 points, 1st) – 100 M – Mia Mader, 1st, 13.62, Kiara Kelly, 4th, 14.57, Alivia Landa, 5th, 14.79; 200 M – Mia Mader, 1st, 28.92, Alivia Landa, 2nd, 29.98, Kiara Kelly, 4th, 31.73; 400 M – Maddie Zimmer, 1st 1:07.05, Alivia Landa, 2nd, 1:08.32, Emory Gatlin, 3rd, 1:15.38; 800 M – Maddie Zimmer, 1st, 2:48.04, Shaylee Bilbrey, 2nd, 3:05.95; 1600 M – Gracey Bradley, 1st, 7:03.14, Shaylee Bilbrey, 2nd, 7:08.58; 3200 M – Gracey Bradley, 1st, 16:18.64, Emory Gatlin, 2nd, 16:56.26; 100 M Hurdles – Gracey Bradley, 3rd, 20.85, Rebecca Aye, 4th, 21.50; 300 M Hurdles –Rebecca Aye, 5th, 1:04.05; Discus – Oliveah Schaffer, 5th, 75'10", Rebecca Aye, 59'1"; Javelin – Rebecca Aye, 4th, 71'4", Kiara Kelly, 66'7", Oliveah Schaffer, 66'5"; Shot Put – Oliveah Schaffer, 6th, 23'5", Rebecca Aye, 22'¼", Kiara Kelly, 20'11¾"; High Jump – Mia Mader, 1st, 4'10", Zeason Schaffer, 2nd, 4'10", Shaylee Bilbrey, 5th, 4'2", Emory Gatlin, 6th, 3'10"; Long Jump – Zeason Schaffer, 1st, 16'8½"; Triple Jump – Zeason Schaffer, 2nd, 31'8¾", Shaylee Bilbrey, 4th, 28'7¾"; 400 M Relay – Maddie Zimmer, Mia Mader, Kiara Kelly, Zeason Schaffer, 1st, 54.59; 1600 M Relay – Maddie Zimmer, Mia Mader, Alivia Landa, Zeason Schaffer, 1st, 4:55.51.

BOY'S RESULTS (195 points, 1st) – 100 M – Matt Hanson, 1st, 11.87; 200 M – Matt Hanson, 1st, 24.16; 400 M – Eli Heacock, 1st, 53.48, Jaxon Bilbrey, 2nd, 53.49, Zach Jones, 4th, 59.09; 800 M – Thomas Oylear, 1st, 2:11.44, Eli Heacock, 2nd, 2:11.79, Josh Rasmussen, 3rd, 2:19.76; 1600 M – Thomas Oylear, 1st, 4:44.03, Eli Heacock, 2nd, 4:51.08, Josh Rasmussen, 3rd, 5:13.75; 3200 M – Thomas Oylear, 1st, 10:02.62, Josh Rasmussen, 2nd, 11:41.72; 110 M Hurdles – Matt Hansen, 1st, 16.47, Zach Jones, 4th, 22.88; 300 M Hurdles – Zach Jones, 2nd, 50.65; Discus – Landen Capp, 1st, 122'5", Reuben Kinzer, 3rd, 97'9", Darren VerWolf, 57'3"; Javelin – Reuben Kinzer, 6th, 112'10", Landen Capp, 107', Darren VerWolf, 76'8"; Shot Put – Reuben Kinzer, 4th, 30'2½", Landen Capp, 29'2¾"; Long Jump – Jaxon Bilbrey, 1st, 19'3½"; Triple Jump – Jaxon Bilbrey, 1st, 39'11", Zach Jones, 4th, 34'2¾"; 400 M Relay – Jaxon Bilbrey, Thomas Oylear, Matt Hansen, Eli Heacock, 1st, 47.08; 1600 M Relay – Jaxon Bilbrey, Thomas Oylear, Matt Hansen, Eli Heacock, 1st, 3:47.48