The Three Forks High School Track and Field team opened the postseason in style at last week's 5B District Meet in Belgrade, with the girls' and boys' finishing in third place.
"All of us coaches are so proud of every single athlete who helped get the team as a whole to this point. The support and encouragement from the team really shined through, and every athlete has been so incredibly valuable and integral to this team and the success we are seeing. The athletes have put in so much work, and now that it's paying off, it is just so rewarding. All of us coaches cannot give enough praise to everyone on this team," Head Coach Dillon Gongliewski said.
The Wolves had three individual District Champions: eighth grader Teegan Gifford finished first in the 3200 meters with a PR of 12:13.34, junior Kylie Rowan won the shot put at 34-01.75, and freshman Maya Noble finished first in the pole vault at 8-06.
Gongliewski said the coaching staff was both happy for and proud of the three.
"Teegan dropped a massive PR and won districts as an eighth grader, which is just insane to try and wrap our heads around. Kylie continues to dominate the shot put, and Maya continues to excel in the pole vault. When you take a step back and see we don't have any senior girls on this team, the future is very bright," said Gongliewski.
Freshman Hailey Williams had a banner day for Three Forks, finishing second in the 400 with a PR of 1:02.06, sixth in the 200 meters, sixth in the 300-meter hurdles, and third in the pole vault.
Noble was second in the 100 meters and seventh in the 100-meter hurdles.
Julia Kotter placed ninth in the 200 and fifth in the 400, Devynn Judd placed seventh in the 400, and Karly Holler placed 10th in the 400.
Bella Jones finished third in the 800 and fourth in the 1600 with a PR of 5:43.59, and Gifford finished sixth in the 1600. Jones was fourth in the pole vault, and Madelyn Tesoro finished sixth.
Rowan was second in the discus, and Kylee Reichman was fifth in the shot put and high jump, and ninth in the triple jump.
Gracie Williams finished 10th in the high jump.
The 4x100 team of Kotter, Reichman, Madelyn Tesoro, and Noble and the 4x400 team of Jones, Judd, Kotter, and Hailey Williams finished in second place.
For the boys, Jace Kopp finished his day seventh in both the 100 and 200 meters. Cole Sloan was eighth in the 100 meters, Isaiah Gather was 10th in the 100 and 200 meters, Micah Gather was fourth in the 800 meters with a PR of 2:11.68, and eighth in the 1600.
Cass Violett had an outstanding day for Three Forks, finishing second in the 1600 and 3200. Bryon Fanning finished third in the 1600 with a PR and fourth in the 3200.
Freshman Kanon Reichman placed second in the 110-meter hurdles with a PR of 17.99 and eighth in the 300-meter hurdles with a PR of 49.93. Freshman Marcus Pestel placed third in the 110-meter hurdles and fourth in the 300-meter hurdles with a PR of 45.30.
The 4x100 relay team of Isaiah Gather, Cole Sloan, Shane Williams, and Kopp finished in third place. The 4x400 relay team of Micah Gather, Brady Olson, Reichman, and Shane Williams finished in fourth place. Quentin Recendez finished in 10th in the shot put, and Josh Delger was third in the discus.
The Wolves were strong in the javelin, with Trevor Davis placing third, Sloan finishing sixth, Williams placing seventh, and Reichman finishing ninth.
Olson had a great day and was third in the triple jump, sixth in the long jump with a PR of 18-05, and eighth in the high jump and pole vault.
Williams was fourth in the pole vault, Davis was ninth in the long jump, and eighth in the triple jump.
"As for the boys, we are anchored by a few seniors, but we do have a solid young core as well, and we are just so excited about the trajectory of Three Forks Track and Field.
Three Forks will next compete on May 16 at the Divisional Meet in Laurel.