This week Replays kicks off our new series, “It happened when…” which will revisit a variety of athletic accomplishments dating back to different eras in our local (Helena) sporting history.
It happened 1 week ago, when past Helena High teammates Aidan Reed and Derrick Olsen competed in the U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials, in the 10,000 meter run and 110 high hurdles. Reed, who graduated from HHS in 2016 and Utah State University in 2020, placed 16th in the 10,000, with a clocking of 28:59.54.
“Not my best work and not what I was aiming for, but made some mistake early and it cost me,” Reed, who competes for Boulder, Colorado’s Roots Running Project, related after finishing his second Olympic Trials appearance. “Enjoyed the experience and I know there’s a lot to improve.”
A two-time State AA cross country champion, he is the former Bengal 1600 record and current 3200 record-holder. When Reed ran a 9:06.91 in the latter distance and placed runner-up to Flathead’s Jack Perrin in 2016, they were the first prepsters to crack 9:10 for the 3200 on Montana soil.
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Olsen appeared to be in about third or fourth-place at the halfway point during the third heat of the 110 hurdles at Hayward Field, before “smoking No. 8,” and fading to seventh, with a time of 13.97. A professional running for the Phoenix Track Club, he qualified for the Trials earlier this year when he garnered the Last Chance series meet with a PR of 13.60 at Chula Vista (the former Olympic Training Center).
Olsen captured State titles in both hurdles races in 2017 for the Bengals, and owns school records in each – 14.34 in the 110s, 37.73 in the 300s – and went on to set Montana State University’s 110 outdoor hurdles mark of 13.82 in 2022. He’s not the only Capital City trackster to leave a mark with the Blue & Gold, CHS alum Elena Carter, left MSU’s campus with three school records; 100 dash (11.59), 100 hurdles (13.31) and the 400 relay (with sister Leigha).
41 years ago, Helena High’s Kari Shepherd won her third consecutive State high jump title in 1983, soaring 5-feet-9½ and setting an all-class record in the process. This broke future American record-holder and Olympian Pam Spencer’s (GFH) 9-year old mark of 5-9 by one-half inch, although HHS coach Joe Anderson thought she would’ve cleared 5-11 on the jump.
Shepherd’s mark has yet to broken, and has now survived the following 40 State MHSA T&F Meets (there was no meet in Covid 2020). It is the second longest-standing all-class record on the books, after Vicky Sturn’s (Billings West) 1975 220-yard dash record of 24.4 seconds, according to montanatrack.com.
Shepherd also has the oldest all-class standard of our local AA tracksters, whose numbers grew to six last year when Logan Todorovich sailed 19-4½ to win the long jump, breaking the 2019 jump of Delaney Bahn (Boz) at 19-3¾. But Logan decided one all-class wasn’t enough. So she went out an added another one to her resume’ this spring, winning the 100 dash in 12.06 and bettering Jaeden Wolff’s (BW) 2022 time of 12.08.
“I had no dreaming idea the record would last this long,” Shepherd once told Yours Truly, “I thought sure Holly Maloney (Butte) would break it the very next year.”
She said she keeps an eye out every year for the state’s top jumpers, and “when they get to 5-7” she starts watching them a little more closely. Her Vigilante Stadium record (where she set the all-class) stood for 35 years, when Lucy Corbett (Boz) cleared 5-10. But state records need to be set at the MHSA Meet, where the Lady Hawk went 5-7.
When Shepherd and Todorovich met recently, Kari related that her senior year only 25 girls went out for track, and “about 8 or 9” quit. “And I was the team’s only State qualifier,” recalled Shepherd, who similar to Todorovich, also competed in the hurdles, both relays and long jumped.
Joining the two women in an elite fraternity of local tracksters currently owning all-class records, are HHS’ Shannon Agee (pole vault, 1998), Chase Smith (pole vault, 2015), Trey Tintinger (high jump, 2017) and Zander Mozer (400, 2017).
Former 110 hurdles all-class record-holder Matt Larson of Capital (2002) still in possession of the Class AA mark. And Logan joins Richard Crum (HHS, 880y-mile, 1908-09) and Meg Jones (CHS, shot put-discus, 1983) having achieved two all-class standards.
It happened 50 years ago, when the local AA tennis and golf teams closed out their 1974 spring season. On the courts, Helena High and Capital’s netters both placed second at the Southern Divisional Tournament in Bozeman. Helena’s twin sisters Rita and Berta Nason captured their third successive Division championship. The senior netters defeated Joan Herwig/Rhoda Williams (Boz) in the finals, 7-5, 7-6, to remain undefeated on the year.
Lady Bengal teammates Lucy Headapohl and Karen Eggan placed third, beating Francis/Harmon 6-1, 6-1 in the consolation finals. Capital, in its first year of existence, boasted a Divisional champion in the person of Shelley Gray, who defeated Reichel (Boz) in the chipper, 6-1, 6-1.
On the boys’ side, CHS singles junior netter Jim Scribner qualified for his third State Tourney with a fourth-place finish. He beat Dave Beardsley to reach the consolation finals. The Bengal tandem of Van Charlton and (future Capital softball coach) Mike Miller also took fourth, besting crosstown’s Jim Wackerlin/Jeff Wiest in the doubles conso semi’s.
Bengal coach Frank Aldrich’s other match winners were singles players Sue Jones, Colleen Berry, Phyllis Dolan, Chuck Hansen, Bill Hansen and Jock Bovington; and doubles netters Jim Chamberlain/Phil Dolan. Coach Bob Shillingstad’s other CHS victor was Brian Lannan.
The gals from both Capital (despite competing without a senior class) and Helena led the way locally at the State Tournament, with each program tying for third, powered by a pair of runner-up finishes.
Rita and Berta Nason came within 1-win of an undefeated season, suffering the year’s only setback in the chipper. After beating Mary Minder/Mary O’Hare (GFH) in the quarter-finals, and then Colleen Mayer/Sheri Wallace (MH) in the semi’s, the twins took on Sue Culbertson/Carole O’Laughlin (GFH) for all the marbles.
The Lady Bengals smoked their opponents in the first set 6-1 and lost the second set 6-2. Then in the finale, the Capital City sisters fell behind 5-3, fought back to tie it up at 5-5 and 6-6, before dropping the tiebreaker 5-2 and settling for runner-up after a hard-fought 7-6 loss.
CHS’ young Shelley Gray achieved the school’s first runner-up net ribbon. She beat Lauri Bray (MS) in the quarters and defending State champion Jude Page (CMR) in the semifinals, each in straight sets, on the way to the chipper. Shelley then dropped the chipper to Kris Albrecht (GFH) 6-2, 6-2, to finish second.
The combos of Eggan/Headapohl and Charlton/Miller, and singles netter Scribner were all eliminated in Round 1.
On the links, coach Jim Gross’ Bengal guys finished third at Divisionals, powered bythe 1-2 finish of Brian Donovan (77-77—154) and Jeff Melugin (77-78—155). Stablemates Rick Morrison and Mark Hunthausen tied for 16th, while Bill Hughes and Mark Hunthausen completed the team. Making up the third-place Lady Bengals, were four-time State qualifier Kim Clausen, taking fourth; Gretchen Jones, who improved 13 strokes from Day 1; and Martha Hagler.
Capital, under coach Angelo Veroulis, was unable to qualify a team, but Lynn Buckley (third in the girls tourney), and Terry Fox (fourth-place on the boys side) represented the first-year school at State.
At State, Donovan, the defending State runner-up, placed sixth with a 75-80—155 and led HHS to a fifth-place showing. Melugin (159) just missed the top-10, followed by Hughes (164) and Morrison (165).
The rest of our top scores were Lynn Buckley’s 206, a 208 by Kim Clausen, and Terry Fox with a 164.
Curt Synness can be reached at 406-594-2878 or curt52synness@gmail.com.
