Records fall despite short elementary track season

SEELEY-SWAN – Despite a shortened track season, Tyler Haines broke one Seeley Lake Elementary school record and Rilyn Richardson and Lillian Boyd set four new records at Swan Valley School. Both Head Coaches Brett Haines with SLE and Judd Binley with Swan Valley were proud of all their athletes and their effort this season.

Seeley Lake Elementary Eagles

There were around 30 fifth – eighth graders that joined the Eagles this year for track and field. The Zelda M. Haines Invitational (ZMHI) in Missoula, May 11 was the final meet of five.

SLE eighth grader Tyler Haines broke Avery Smith's 200 hurdles record set in 2016 by 0.01 second at the ZMHI crossing the line at 29.58. This also earned Haines a gold medal at the meet.

Haines said his goal this season was to break Smith's record. He ran the 400 and 4X400 relay to build his endurance and trained and worked hard in the event.

"It was just cool to leave my print on the school before I left," Haines said. "It felt good to get something."

Haines was also just short of the SLE long jump record adding 15.5 feet for another personal record (PR) and first place. Additionally he was part of the winning 4X400 relay with teammates Zach Best, Aiden Posthumus and Seth Dunster.

"He had a great day," Coach Haines said. "I don't know that we could have broken any other records. Those records are getting tough to break. To come close to one of those records, the kid is doing well. To break one of those records is just phenomenal."

The eighth-grade boys won the ZMHI with 112 points ahead of Potomac in second with 97. Coach Haines said he was impressed with how many of the athletes set PRs at the meet and how many close races there were.

He highlighted the eighth grade 400 meter race where Best beat teammate Posthumus by 0.01 second crossing the line in 1:01.08. They both set new PRs and beat Dunster who finished third in 1:01.85, running with an injury.

"Seth has been winning that event [all season] and those other kids just pushed forward, got a PR and Seth just wasn't able to," said Coach Haines calling Dunster one of SLE's outstanding runners this season.

It was the battle of the Seeley-Swan in the seventh-grade girls 100 meter. Kilty Hanson came out with the gold, 0.01 second ahead of Swan Valley's Lillian Boyd who finished in 14.39. Hot on their heels was Eagle Haidyn Bradshaw finishing third with a PR of 14.59 followed closely by Swan Valley's Darby Gleason for fourth with a time of 14.68.

Hanson won the seventh-grade girls 100m, 200m, long jump and was on the on the winning 4X400 relay with teammates Bailey Bartlett, Haidyn Bradshaw and Alison Kilpatrick.

Other first place finishers at the ZMHI included: eighth grader Sam Ayers in the 1600; eighth grader Alison Kilpatrick in the 100m hurdles and 200m hurdles; seventh grader Quinlan McClure in the 100, 400 and high jump; seventh grader Derrick Brovold in the javelin; seventh grader Haidyn Bradshaw in the 400 and sixth grader Rylee Cahoon in the 800.

Coach Haines said there is a lot of potential in the younger grades. He highlighted that sixth grader Isis Snow is an incredible runner. Had she attended the ZMHI, Coach Haines believes she would have been in the top three for several events.

"We had a good season and enjoyed the kids," Coach Haines said. "We were all happy to be back at track."

Swan Valley Warhawks

Swan Valley participated in six track meets this year with a seven-person team. Eighth graders Aubrey Matthew and Rilyn Richardson and seventh grader Darby Gleason were the only ones who had participated in track before.

This season, Richardson broke the Swan Valley high jump record set by Cascade Parcell in 2007 with a jump of 4 foot 10 inches. She also rewrote the record book for the triple jump with a 31 foot 2.5 inch jump, nearly two and a half feet farther than Rose Mercer's record set in 2017, and the javelin record with a throw of 67 feet 5 inches, 7 feet 2 inches farther than Kyla Conley's 2019 record. Lillian Boyd claimed Trinity Hamilton's seventh grade record set in 1993 in the triple jump with a jump of 29 feet 6.5 inches.

With only three eighth graders, Swan Valley placed second in the ZMHI, May 11 ahead of the Eagles in third. The two seventh grade girls placed fourth behind Seeley. Swan Valley students who took first in their event included: Matthew in the eighth-grade girls 100 and 200; the eighth grade 4X100 relay with Richardson, Boyd, Matthew and Gleason; Boyd in seventh grade girls discus; Richardson in eighth grade girls high jump and triple jump.

"It is shocking to have such few kids and that much success. I'm just blown away," Binley said.

Binley credits their success to the students' desire, buy-in to what they are doing, the adults helping with the program and the coach style that works with the students. Practicing all year on a grass track, Binley said it is a real treat for the kids to get out and compete at really nice facilities and give it their best.

"The practices were more impressive than the meets, especially for a young group of kids," Binley said. "Their focus, their energy and their ability to follow directions."

Binley said the progression was fantastic with all the kids. The things they really worked on techniques and drills, especially running.

"Running is the main focus for most of the kids and that is where they really excelled. It showed with their improvement throughout the year primarily in their tempo of running, their running mechanics and all of that stuff," Binley said. "In my opinion that was the one thing that made the consistency in the season."

Part of the coaching philosophy Binley and assistant coach Danni Parcell really emphasized this year was that everyone is a winner if they prepare properly.

"You are always a winner because that is the attitude you have to take," Binley said. "As a coach you know that not every day will be a good day. You can make a bad day a good day if you explain what you need to work on to get better."

Binley appreciated working with fifth grader Noah Morgan and sixth graders Laciey Auchenbauch and Levi Boyd. While they are all still learning, he said they are coachable and work hard.

Levi's best time in the 1600m was 6:21.60.

"That is outstanding for a sixth grader and he is a young sixth grader," Binley said.

Binley felt Lillian was the team's number one sprinter, continually battling with Gleason. She also is the fourth-place discus thrower in the state with a lot of great potential.

Not only was Gleason a good sprinter, Binley said she threw 28 foot 4.5 inches with the six pound shot. While the students are encouraged to choose their events, he felt this was Gleason's best event.

"When she decides what she wants to do, that will really show the big improvement next year," Binley.

Binley was impressed with Matthew's work ethic and "world-class mind." He said she really thinks about a lot of stuff, how it works together and really analyzes her technique and implements the coaching.

Binley said Richardson was the most improved overall because she competed in many of the events she had in sixth grade.

"I really like the improvement that Rilyn made in her two favorite events which is the high jump and the triple jump," Binley said. "She was very conscious of all the mechanics she had to make in her approach...in the high jump especially. In the triple jump she had better concepts in that plus her strength and speed that made all the difference in the triple jump for her."

Binley said it was a great season, the students performed well on a consistent basis and they all enjoyed working together.

"I think what they improved the most was their understanding of track and field overall," Binley said. "They really got a good sensation of what it is about and gives them something to look forward to down the road if they choose to."

For full result for the ZMHI visit https://www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/meet/428102/results