Mustangs compete in State B in Kalispell

The track season ended for the Malta Mustangs Track Team at the 2019 State AA-B Track and Field Meet in Kalispell from Thursday, May 23, through Saturday, May 25, scoring a total of 12 points and placing twelfth.

"The kids did a great job," Malta Head Coach Jim Benn said. "They set personal bests across the board in their events. We were able to break through and get some kids on the podium and that's always a positive at the end of the season."

Coach Benn went on to mention that between the Mustangs and M-ettes several athletes had taken the seventh spot, one placement out of placing.

"That can be frustrating at times but when you have done your absolute best it is easier to stomach," Coach Benn said.

Huntley Project won the event with a total of 122 points. Manhattan was second with 43, Broadwater was third with 41, Sweet Grass County was fourth with 40, and Glasgow was fifth with 37.

Malta was led by senior Andres Lopez, who took second place in shot put with a throw of 46-08. Glasgow's Brett Glauser won the event with a throw of 46-11.5.

"It's always a little tough to take second because you have that expectation and you are that close but I think Andres handled it well," Coach Benn said. "He has nothing to hang his head about. It's quite an accomplishment and he did a great job this year at the shot."

Lopez was sixteenth in javelin with a throw of 145-06 and seventeenth in discus with a posted throw of 119-03.

The relay team consisting of Michael Pugh, Cormac Benn, Lopez, and Tanner Smith took fourth with a time of 44.66. The team went into the finals with a tie of 44.61, which was good enough for sixth place in the preliminary round.

"They have been pretty solid and competitive this season," Coach Benn said. "They had their best handoffs of the year and I am very pleased that those guys got up on the podium as well. Anytime you are in the 44 second range, you have a pretty good relay team and you are probably going to place at state."

Senior Michael Pugh just missed placing in both the 200 and 400 races taking seventh place in both events. Pugh set personal bests in both events, with a time of 22.86 in the 200 and a time of 51.48 in the 400. Pugh took eighteenth in the 100 with a time of 11.85.

Sophomore Cormac Benn took seventh place in high jump by clearing 6-0, a new personal best. The height is a mark that Benn had been trying to reach for a few years.

"It was nice to see him break through and he also had a nice attempt at 6-2," Coach Benn said. "It was just a little bit outside but he has nothing to hang his head about."

Cor. Benn also took seventh in long jump with a leap of 20-04.75. He took eighth place in the 300 hurdles with a personal best of 42.91 and fourteenth in triple jump with a length of 39-07.75.

Smith took eighth in high jump by clearing 5-10. H was ninth in triple jump with a mark at 40-0 an fifteenth in long jump with a leap of 19-03.

Sophomore Parker Mortenson took eleventh place in the 110 hurdles with a time of 18.10. Freshman teammate Zac Judd finished sixteenth in the event with a time of 19.47, a new personal best.

Sophomore Cordel Salsbery took thirteenth in discus with a personal best of 123-02.

The long relay team consisting of Keigo Kawai, Cor. Benn, Kooper Oxarart, and Pugh took eighteenth place with a time of 3:45.11.