The CORE Butte track and field team competed on Mar. 6 at their first meet of the season, the Viking Track Classic, held at Aasgard Stadium on the Pleasant Valley High School campus.
The CORE boys’ distance runners delivered one of the team’s strongest performances of the day in the 800 meters. Senior Brian Patton won the varsity race in 2:07.22, narrowly ahead of Pleasant Valley’s Justin Plummer at 2:07.43. Senior Samuel Boian added his third-place finish in 2:12.97, giving CORE Butte two podium spots in the event. Sophomore Luke Schooling placed fourth in the varsity 1600 meters with a time of 4:59.47, while also contributing later in the 4×400 relay.
In the sprints, junior Elijah Hastain finished seventh in the varsity 100 meters in 12.36 seconds and sixth in the 200 meters in 25.50. Junior Carsten Balint placed fifth in the varsity 110-meter hurdles in 19.85 and scored in the horizontal jumps, he finished eighth in the long jump at 15 feet, 2.5 inches, and sixth in the triple jump at 33 feet, 10 inches.
CORE Butte’s relay teams were also competitive. The frosh/soph 4×100 team of Joshua Iler, Jaxson Lea, Gavin McGarr and Benjamin Feather won their race in 52.20 seconds. In the varsity 4×400 relay, Carsten, Sam, Brian, and Luke combined to place second in 3:54.87. The frosh/soph 4×400 squads went one-two, with the B team of Ethan Gulbrandsen, Joshua Iler, Austin Patane, and Ruben Santos Stroup winning in 4:21.17, followed closely by the A team in 4:23.66.
On the girls’ side, senior Brianna Hayes led the way with a distance double. She won the varsity 800 meters in 2:23.87 and later captured the varsity 1600 meters in 5:18.87. Senior Ashlynn Hayes also claimed a victory in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 17.71 and finished second in the 300-meter hurdles in 51.71. Junior Julia Spears placed third in the varsity 100 meters in 13.39 before winning the varsity long jump with a mark of 15 feet, 7.5 inches.
In the field events, senior Karisa Walborn won the varsity triple jump at 30 feet, 5.5 inches, and added a fourth-place finish in the long jump. Senior Apple Bolton finished second in the varsity discus with a new school record throw of 88 feet, 10.5 inches, and tied for second in the high jump at 4 feet, 10 inches. The girls’ varsity 4×400 relay team of Ashlynn Hayes, Katelyn Merrick, Serina Rogers and Brianna Hayes placed second in 4:28.50.
CORE Butte secured multiple wins across both the boys and girls divisions – – a strong performance for their first meet!
See the official results here.
