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"I'm excited! Yes, definitely looking forward to the season, ?? told me. "We have a lot of experienced players and six incoming freshmen" Morgan Simpson will be the assistant this year and Brittany McKenney is happy to have someone who knows the game and has played volleyball. A total of 16 girls have come out for the sport this year. Currently, they have two practices a day. Coach McKenney will be experimenting with letting every girl play at different positions. She wants to learn their...
With summer and harvest in full swing, it is hard to even realize that school and fall sports will soon be upon us. However, adding a pair of shin guards to your back-to-school list might help you avoid the last-minute drive to the store. The soccer program has been a very successful program over the years boasting well over 60 kids returning each year. The season runs through October ideally ending before the weather becomes unbearable for outside sports. While soccer claims international sovereignty in the sports world, it often times flies...
The Barracudas scored 484 points in Hamilton over the weekend of July 30th & 31st, earning themselves a fifth place finish and putting them in the “B” Class for the State Swim Meet in Lewistown next weekend. Out of 23 swimmers who attended divisionals, 19 qualified for state. Relay Results Girls 8U 100y free: 1st (L. Butler, S. Butler, D. Merrill, D. Sunchild) 100y mixed medley: 2nd (S. Butler, D. Merrill, Jai. Parker, D. Sunchild) Mixed 9-10 100y free and 100y medley: 1st (C. Butler, T. Ketchum, H. Merrill, M. Werk) Girls 11-12 200y free: 4th...
Congratulations to the Big Sandy Little League on an amazing season! This year boasted more than 50 athletes, ranging from 5-13 in age, playing games throughout the month of June. The baseball players closed their season with a near perfect record of 5 wins and 1 loss. The intermediate coach pitch and the enthusiastic T-ball teams also faced off in games against Fort Benton, Rudyard, and Chester. All players improved and it is thanks to the dedication of their coaches. We would like to thank...
The Big Sandy Swim Team found themselves competing in their last regular season meet of the year, just down the road this weekend in Fort Benton. They placed fourth in team points behind powerhouse Lewistown, who crossed over from the eastern division to give our swimmers a taste of the competition they'll face in two weeks at the state meet. Placing second was Columbia Falls and third was the Bitterroot Swim team. Leading the scoring for the Barracudas was MacKenzie Werk, who scored 42 points a...
With only 23 swimmers, the Barracudas scored an impressive 426 combined points, resulting in a fifth place finish out of ten teams over the weekend of July 16&17. Mackenzie Werk swam like she was on fire, leading the way for the Barracudas with 42 points after making a first place sweep in all three of her individual events- the 100m IM, 50m free, and 100m free, earning herself first place high point honors in the Girls 9-10 Division. Senior swimmer Daisy LaBuda dominated the lanes, posting 40...
With only a dozen swimmers competing, the Barracudas were small in numbers but big in heart as they tallied up 299 points for their fifth place finish in Columbia Falls. Henry Merrill led the way for the Barracudas, once again sweeping all 3 of his individual races- the 50m free, 100m free, and the 50m fly, as well as helped secure a third place finish in the 100m free relay-scoring the team 42 points and earning himself first place high point honors in the boys 9-10 division. As well as breaking the [pool record in the Butrerfly. Jai Baumann w...
The Big Sandy Swim Team took third place honors at the Chester Invitational Swim Meet, held on June 25th & 26th. The Barracudas scored 448 points to earn their third place finish. Second place went to Columbia Falls with 497.5 points and Chester took top honors with 518.5 points. Henry Merrill had an admirable weekend in the lanes, taking first place high point honors in the 9-10 boys division with 42 points. He captured first place finishes in all three of his individual races-the 50m free, 100...
The Big Sandy Swim Team placed 3rd at the Cut Bank invitational swim meet. The team finished with 387 points. Second place Conrad scored 468.5 points and Columbia Falls took top honors, scoring 843.5 points. Henry Merrill and Daisy Labuda each scored 42 points for the team and finished at the top of their respective divisions. Both swimmers won the 50 free, 100 free and 50 fly. Jai Baumann added 38 individual points, winning the 100 breast and taking second in the 200 IM and 100 back. Harley Lab...
One of the most incredible things about watching little swimmers make it down the 25-meter race is the huge smile on Coach Travis Bauman. I smiled at him, and he said, "How can you not smile!" Only 14 swimmers of the Big Sandy Baracuda swim team attended the Chinook Swim meet. Twelve swimmers made it to the finals on Sunday. It was a beautiful day. Most everyone swimming improved their times. Henry Merrill and D'Aree Sunchild won high point for their age group. Henry shared first place with two...
The Big Sandy Barracudas are back in the pool this season, swimming their first meet this weekend in Harlem. Under the direction of coaches Travis Baumann and Cam Schwarzbach, 19 Barracudas competed this weekend, with Henry Merrill and D'Aree Sunchild winning high point swimmer awards. Merrill swept his events, winning the 50 yard free, the 100 yard free, and the 50 yard butterfly. Sunchild won the 25 year free, placed 3rd in the 50 yard free and second in the 25 yard backstroke. Daisy LaBuda...
State track is a powerful experience for athletes. The large stands are full and the fans loudly support every attempt. Even the last one in the event is clapped for. Usually ever athlete is pumped up and doing their best. Sometimes the stress just makes their muscle fail them. They'll be back next year. Big Sandy did well. An older gentleman who has been involved in track, told me "if you make it to state you are better than over 100 other athletes in that event. Imagine that we have 16...
It was raining for two days. All surfaces needed to be swept or blown off more than once during the Divisional Track meet. To make it to the state meet is a significant accomplishment. Many also had their best times and distances. Much celebration during the two-day event. Athletes must place in the top six to be allowed to go to state. Alex Worrall ran the 800 meters in 2:39.64 for 6th place and her best time. She also did her best time in the mile run, 6:09.74 for 6th place as well. Angela...
It's been 16 years since the Lady Pioneers have taken first place at the 9C District track meet. It was a goal they had set for themselves, and it took a total team effort to do. It's been a challenging year for the boys and girls pioneer track teams with lousy weather and numerous track meets canceled. They had to practice indoors when the weather wasn't cooperating. They struggled through sadness with the loss of their friend, injuries, frustrations, and sometimes even indifference. But most...
The Cascade Top 8 track meet was held in Great Falls by invitation only for those in B and C schools whose athletes were in the top eight in their fields. Big Sandy Pioneers sent 11 athletes. Alex Worral took 4th in the 800 meters with a time of 2:48.45 and 5th in the 1600 meters with a time of 6:12.15. Angie Sant took 6th in the 800 meters with a time of 2:50.02 and 9th in the 1600 Meters with a time of 6:35.05. Eva Wagoner took 7th in the 200 meters with a time of 28.82, her best this season. She placed 4th in the 100 Hurdles with a time of...
Many track meets were canceled, but they are sure making them up now. Last week they had three track meets, one in Havre, one in Chouteau, and one in Great Falls. I love watching track when the weather is nice, and these three meets had real nice weather. It's difficult to report on track meets because the number of athletes is crazy this year. At the Havre meet, they had 500 athletes, and I thought it was a long day, primarily because they had prelims and finals. However, the Great Falls meet...
On a cold, windy day in Choteau, Montana, 24 schools attended a track meet. It was well attended because a track meet was not canceled. Although the Pioneers didn't have anyone running in the 100 meters, just to let you know how huge the meet was, 89 high school boys ran in the event. Big Sandy was missing a large portion of their team while participating in the Music Festival in Havre. Others traveled to Bozeman to watch Kade Strutz play in the Bobcat gray and gold scrimmage. In the 100, 53...
Track in Montana has always been a mix of snow, rain, wind, or hot sunburn weather. When I went to Fort Benton to watch the Pioneer's first track meet, I went into Lehman's, and it started to snow. They said, "Lorrie, you brought the snow!" And I said, "No, there is a track meet in town today!" Everyone laughed and agreed with me. It did snow a little and was a cold day for track. The Pioneers were down several athletes as many were on an FFA trip. They also had five athletes down with...
The Big Sandy wrestling program has been gaining momentum. Unfortunately, our junior high and High School program has been small for years. However, the future of the program is bright. Kyle Rodewald and his group of assistant coaches have built the little guy wrestling program with a roster that has stayed steady to 25-30 wrestlers for the last five years-building a group of wrestlers that are ready to move up. The little guy wrestling program has helped five wrestlers be prepped and ready to...
The Pioneers' first contest in the tournament was against the 8C champion, the Roy-Winfred Outlaws; it was an early morning game, something the Pioneers are not familiar with this season. The Outlaws would be the team that would start their tournament out on the right foot, jumping out on the Pioneers early and setting the tone early, resulting in putting the Pioneers in an early 22-7 hole. The Pioneers wouldn't let that define them as they started getting to the basket and getting good looks. T...
To open their postseason, the Pioneers would square off against the Thunderbirds of Hays-Lodgepole. The Pioneers were hoping to bounce back from their last game of the regular season, resulting in a loss. In the first quarter of play it would be Junior Kody Strutz who would help the offensive attack putting in 15 points in the first eight minutes of the game by getting good looks inside that would eventually start opening things up for the rest of the Pioneers. After one-quarter of play, Big Sandy would lead 24-7, but the Thunderbirds wouldn’t...
With the high hopes of moving on, the Lady Pioneers fall just short, losing in a close contest against the Lady Sugarbeeters on Thursday afternoon. The first quarter of play was back and forth, exchanging baskets with high-intensity basketball from both teams. Big Sandy won the first quarter 7-6. The second quarter started a little slow for the Lady Pioneers, letting the Beeters come out with a quick 5-0 run and allowing the momentum to shift in favor of the Sugarbeeters, ending the first half of play 21-14. As the story usually goes, the Lady...
The Lady Pioneers battled in a physical game against Hays on Tuesday night. The contest against Hays is always tough as we don’t have the height that they do, but where we lack height, we make up for it in quickness. The Lady T-birds came out shooting, hot-hitting four 3 pointers in the first half, but with the determination of the Lady Pioneers, the Thunderbirds only had a single-digit lead at halftime. In the second half, the Lady Pioneers came out a little flat but fought back within 2 points in the third quarter, led by the sharpshooting o...
The Pioneers would open their final week of the regular season on the road against the Thunderbirds of Hays-Lodgepole. The Pioneers would come out hot offensively and jump out to an early 17-7 lead after one-quarter of basketball. The Pioneers would knock down some threes, and the tough pressure defense would force many turnovers and would extend the halftime lead to 13 with a score of 34-21. In the second half of play, the hot shooting and solid defense continued as the Pioneers continued to help extend their lead after three quarters with a...
On Friday, in a highly anticipated contest against the Box Elder Bears, a team that put one of the few blemishes on the Pioneers season. In the contest, both offenses continued to go right at one another in the first quarter with many points. After one-quarter of play Box Elder would be holding on to a 2-point lead. In the second quarter, the hot shooting for the Pioneers would continue. Still, every time the Pioneers would try to jump out and extend their lead, the Bears would answer back with...
