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BC boys ride second half to 4-0
Butte Central’s boys’ and girls’ basketball teams split non-conference games with Glendive Saturday during the second day of the East vs. West Tipoff Tournament at the Maroon Activities Center.
Central’s boys rode a big second half to a 72-55 win, lifting the Maroons to 4-0 on the season. Central’s girls dropped a 57-42 decision in the last game of the day.
The Maroons will meet Butte High for a doubleheader Tuesday at the Civic Center. The girls will play at 6 p.m., and the boys will play at 7:30.
BOYS
Butte Central 72, Glendive 55
The second half belonged ot the Maroons.Central outscored Glendive 50-31 in the second half, overcoming a 24-22 deficit at the break.
Joshua Sutton scored 29 points to lead the Maroons in the win.. He sank four of his five 3-pionters in the second half, and he accounted for 20 BC points in the second half. That includes 15 points in the fourth quarter.
Jaxon Hiatt and GG Fantini each scored 12 points, while Ryan Peoples tossed 10. Central also got four points from Burkley Lakkala, two from Noah Sutton and Cade Kelly and one from Henly Mansanti.
Ethan Rivas scored 25 points before fouling out to lead Glendive.
GLENDIVE — Jackson Tipton 4 0-0 12, Ethan Rivas 10 2-3 25, Isac Eaton 1 0-0 2, Thyden Hatfield 4 0-0 8, Cy Eaton 3 0-0 6, Logan Stanhope 0 0-2 0, Jace Desaye 0 0-0 0, Max Murphy 0 0-0 0, Noah Williams 0 0-2 0, Nic Reske 0 0-0 0, Easton Schriver 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 4-5 55.
BUTTE CENTRAL (4-0) — Ryan Peoples 3 1-2 10, Cade Kelly 1 0-0 2, Joshua Sutton 10 4-4 29, GG Fantini 6 0-0 12, Jaxon Hiatt 5 0-0 12, Noah Sutton 1 0-0 2, Henly Mansanti 0 1-2 1, Burkley Lakala 0 4-4 4. Totals 26 10-12 72.
Glendive 14 10 15 16 — 55
Central 10 12 22 28 — 72
3-point goals — Glendive 7 (Tipton 4, Rivas 3), BC 10 (J. Sutton 5, Peoples 3, Hiatt 2). Fouls — Glendive 14, BC 14. Fouled out — Rivas. Technicals — none.
GIRLS
Glendive 57, Butte Central 42
Molly Basta, Braylin Dschaak and Ava Amsler combined to score 44 points as Glendive outlasted the Maroons.Basta and Dschaak each scored 15 points, and Amsler tossed in 14 in the win. Siena Gambee added 10 points.
Zayonna Otherbull poured in 16 points to lead the Maroons. Braelynn Schelin scored six points, and eighth graders Luci Fantini and Jordyn Samson each scored six. Arika Stajcar tossed in four points for BC, and Rylee Forbes scored two.
Marly Mansanti, Natalie Osterman and Jaedyn Maldonado also contributed for the Maroons.
GLENDIVE — Maysa Murphy 0 1-2 1, Molly Basta 6 1-1 15, Braylin Dschaak 6 2-4 15, Ava Amsler 4 4-4 14, Siena Gambee 4 1-1 10, Eve Gambee 0 0-0 0, Sofia Eaton 0 0-0 0, Kynlee Houck 0 2-2 2, Bergen Maher 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 11-14 57.
BUTTE CENTRAL (1-3) — Marly Mansanti 0 0-0 0, Zayonna Otherbull 6 4-6 16, Rylee Forbes 1 0-0 2, Braelynn Schelin 2 4-5 8, Arika Stajcar 1 2-4 4, Natalie Osterman 0 0-2 0, Luci Fantini 1 3-6 6, Jordyn Samson 2 0-0 6, Jaedyn Maldonado 0 0-0 0. Totals 13 13-23 42.
Glendive 16 8 15 18 — 57
Central 10 7 13 12 — 42
3-point goals — Glendive 6 (Basta 2, Amszer 2, Gambee, Dschaak), BC 3 (Samson 2, Fantini 1). Fouls — Glendive 19, BC 16. Fouled out — none. Technicals — none. -
BC girls pull out season’s first win, while boys roll in tourney opener
The first day of the East vs. West Tipoff Tournament at the Maroon Activities Center turned out to be a very good one for the Butte Central basketball teams.
Central’s boys rolled to a 68-28 win over Sidney before the BC girls picked up their first win of the season, beating the Eagles 44-41.
The Maroons are back in action Saturday, taking on Glendive. The boys will play at 2 p.m., with the girls following at 3:30. Whitefish is also part of the tournament. The Bulldog boys and girls will take on Sidney Saturday, starting at 11 a.m.
GIRLS
Butte Central 44, Sidney 41
Central’s girls were the final act of the day, and they lived up to the primetime billing.Zayonna Otherbull tossed in 10 points to lead a balanced attack in the exciting victory. Jordyn Samson added eight points, and Arika Stajcar, Braelynn Schelin, and Natalie Osterman each scored six points. Rylee Forbes and Lucy Fantini each scored two points.
Marly Mansanti and Jaeden Maldonado also contributed for the Maroons, who led 16-5 after the first quarter and 22-19 at the half. BC took a 33-24 lead into the final frame and held off an Eagles fight for the win.
Jessica Entz hit four 3-pointers and poured in 27 points to lead Sidney.
SIDNEY — Isabelle Doty 0 0-0 0, Ave Norby 1 1-6 3, Jessica Entz 9 5-7 27, Kinsey Nagle 1 2-8 5, Emma Walter 0 1-2 1, Joael Eggum 0 0-0 0, Olivia Schilling 0 1-2 1, Katelyn Reuter 0 0-0 0, Teagan Seitzinger 0 0-0 0, Katie Koch 0 0-0 0, Avery Sukut 0 0-0 0, Cameron Franck 0 0-0 0, Addison Durham 2 0-0 4. Totals 13 10-25 41.
BUTTE CENTRAL (1-2) — Zayona Otherbull 3 4-5 10, Rylee Forbes 1 2-4 4, Braelynn Schelin 1 3-4 6, Arika Stajcar 2 1-2 6, Marly Mansanti 0 0-0 0, Natalie Osterman 2 0-0 6, Lucy Fantini 1 1-6 4, Jordyn Samson 2 4-5 8, Jaedyn Maldonado 0 0-0 0. Totals 12 15-26 55.
Sidney 5 14 5 17 — 41
Central 16 6 11 11 — 44
3-point goals — Sidney 5 (Entz 4, Natle), BC 5 (Osterman 2, Schelin, Fantini, Stajcar).
Fouls — Sidney 26, BC 21. Fouled out — Norby. Technicals — none.
BOYS
Butte Central 68, Sidney 28The Butte Central boys left little in this one.
Central outscored Sidney 28-8 in the first quarter, and the Maroons never looked back. BC led 39-10 at the half and 59-14 after three quarters as the Maroons rolled their record to 3-0.
Joshua Sutton sank six of BC’s 10 made 3-pointers to lead the BC offense. He finished with a game-high 24 points.
Jaxon Hiatt added 13 points, and Noah Sutton came off the bench to toss in 11. The Maroons got nine points from GG Fantini, six from Ryan Peoples, three from Grady Button and two from Brkley Lakkala. Cade Kelly and Henley Mansanti contributed to BC’s stellar defensive effort.
Gunnar O’Brien, Casen Gillis and Teghan Sparks joined Button in making their first varsity appearance of the season.
SIDNEY — Dyson Romo 3 0-0 7, Jaxson Burger 0 0-0 0, Rhys Larson 3 02 -6, Jaeyce Bower 0 1-2 1, Gradion Sukut 2 0-0 5, Holden Boehler 0 0-0 0, Aiden Anderson 1 0-0 2, Terren Bright 3 0-0 7. Totals 12 1-4 28.
BUTTE CENTRAL (3-0) — Ryan Peoples 2 2-3 6, Cade Kelly 0 0-0 0, Joshua Sutton 9 0-0 24, GG Fantini 4 0-0 9, Jaxon Hiatt 6 1-2 13, Noah Sutton 3 3-3 11, Henly Mansanti 0 0-0 0, Burkley Lakkala 1 0-0 2, Gunnar O’Brien 0 0-0 0, Carsen Gillis 0 0-0 0, Teghan Sparks 0 0-0 0, Grady Button 1 0-0 3. Totals 26 6-8 68.
Sidney 8 2 4 14 — 28
Central 28 11 20 9 — 68
3-pont goals — Sidney 3 (Romo, Sukut, Bright, BC 10 (J. Sutton 6, N. Sutton 2, Fantini, Button). Fouls — Sidney 7, BC 10. Fouled out — none. Technicals — none. -
Bulldog boys outshoot Golden Bears; girls fall in Billings
Butte High’s boys’ basketball team ripped off another victory Friday night, turning back Billings West in a 72-66 shootout at the Richardson Gym.
The Bulldog girls, meanwhile, hit the road and dropped a 66-43 decision to West in Billings.
Butte High will be back in action Tuesday when the Bulldogs take on Butte Central in a doubleheader at the Butte Civic Center. The girls will tip off at 6 p.m., and the boys will play at about 7:30.
BOYS
Butte High 72, Billings West 66
The Bulldogs rolled their record to 3-0 with the win, which was in doubt until the final seconds.Hudson Luedtke scored 26 points to lead the Bulldogs in a game that saw the two teams combine for 20 made 3-pointers. The Dogs sank 11, while West tossed in nine.
Rhett Arntson scored drained three treys and scored 13 points off the bench, while Josh Liston buried four 3-poniters to score 12. Even Bulldog bigman Brady Hanson got in on the 3-poitn act, sinking a long ball on his way to 10 points.
Butte High also two 3-pointers and six points from Mitch Verlanic. Cayde Stajcar added 3 points, and Raeder Grey tossed in two.
The Bulldogs also got contributions from Kendel Noctor, Ryan Hanson and James PPearston.
Cash Rich was money for the Golden Bears. He sank four 3-pointers and scored 25 points in the losing effort. Grayson Baumann added 15 points.
BILLINGS WEST — Cash Rice 9 3-4 25, Jaxon Walter 4 0-3 9, Grayson Baumann 4 506 15, Colton Bush 1 0-0 2, Keegan Grossman 3 1-4 8, Elias Bonner 2 0-1 5, Gabe Wieder 0 0-2 0, Walker Olson 0 0-0 0, Avery Hunter 0 0-0 0, Weston Kelley 0 0-0 0. Totals 24 9-20 66.
BUTTE HIGH (3-0) — Cayde Stajcar 1 1-4 3, Hudson Luedtke 10 5-10 26, Mitch Verlanic 2 0-0 6, Josh Liston 4 0-2 12, Brady Hanson 3 3-4 10, Rhett Arntson 3 4-6 13, Kendel Noctor 0 0-0 0, Raeder Grey 1 0-0 2, Ryan Hanson 0 0-0 0. Totals 24 13-26 72.
West 9 10 21 26 — 66
Butte 12 14 28 18 — 72
3-point goals — West 9 (Rice 4, Baumann 2, Walter, Grossman, Bonner), Butte 11 (Liston 4, Arntson 3, Verlanic 2, Luedtke, B. Hanson). Fouls — West 23, Butte 18. Fouled out — Verlanic. Technicals — Walter.
GIRLS
Billings West 66, Butte High 43
BILLINGS — The Bulldogs fell behind early and could not recover.West jumped out to a 12-4 lead in the first quarter, and then took a 37-21 advantage into halftime. The Golden Bears led 55-30 after three quarters.
Reese Enderson poured in 20 points to lead the West attack. Reagan Soacy added 10 points, and Maisie Heggem-Prinleki added nine.
Allie Becker scored 12 points to lead the Bulldogs, who fell to 1-3. The Dogs also got eight points from Emma Johnson.
Autumn Clary and Saege Grey each scored six points, Cadence Graham tossed in five, Franki Salusso scored four and Ellison Graham netted two. Kendallyn Schad, Avery Barsness, Ellie Yates and Stella Callaghan contributed for the Bulldogs.
BUTTE HIGH (1-2) — Allie Becker 3 4-6 12, Cadence Graham 2 0-0 5, Autumn Clary 2 1-2 6, Franki Salusso 2 0-0 4, Emma Johnson 4 0-0 8, Ellison Graham 1 0-0 2, Kendallyn Schad 0 0-0 0, Stella Callaghan 0 0-0 0, Ellie Yates 0 0-0 0, Avery Barsness 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 7-12 43.
BILLINGS WEST — Reagan Soacy 4 0-0 10, Reese Enderson 8 3-4 20, Macy Criswell 2 6-6 10, Bryn Fitzgerald 1 2-2 4, Maisie Heggem-Prinleki 2 5-6 9, Alise Steinmetz 1 0-0 2, Asa Edwards 2 0-0 6, Taylen Abrams 0 0-0 0, Aiden McKenzie 2 0-0 5. Totals 22 16-18 66.
Butte 4 17 11 13 — 43
West 12 25 18 11 — 66
3-point goals — Butte 4 (Becker 2, C. Graham, Clary), West 6 (Edwards 2, Soacy 2, McKenzie, Enderson).Fouls — Butte 15, West 16. Fouled out — none. Technicals — none. -
Polar Plunge set for Jan. 31
The 2026 Southwestern Polar Plunge for Montana Special Olympics will be held on Saturday, Jan. 31 at 3 p.m. at Stodden Park.
All proceeds go to Special Olympics Montana.
You do not have to take the plunge to be part of raising money for the Special Olympics. You can donate online to support a team like the Butte-Silver Bow Law Enforcement Department’s team.
Team members are Ben Girdler, John Sullivan, Jorey Thatcher and Mario Uggetti. Click here to donate to that team.
People can also register their own team and raise funds. Click here to register a team.
Registration the day of the Plunge will also be available. Registration begins at 1:30 p.m.
The event will be open to the public to get out and watch the Polar Plunge. Even if you don’t get wet, you can still support the athletes of the Special Olympics and the law enforcement officers who give up so much time for those athletes.
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Records and milestones as we get ready for Bulldog-Maroon showdown
Hazlett, Stepan lead Bulldog wrestlers
Once again, the record keepers are not going to get any breaks when it comes to Mining City high school basketball.
Last season, we saw a handful of game and career records fall by the wayside. This year, we saw a record fall in Butte High’s first game.
Hudson Luedtke snapped Butte High’s single-game record with 43 points in the Bulldogs’ 59-34 win over the Hawks Saturday in Bozeman. That eclipsed a mark by Todd Hildreth that lasted almost exactly 21 years.
On Dec. 23, 2004, Hildreth scored 40 points as Butte High beat Anaconda in an 86-76 overtime thriller in Anaconda. On that night in the Snake Pit, Hildreth broke the school record of 37 points set by Mike Carle in a 1979 game against Libby.
Hildreth, who grabbed a game-high eight rebounds that night, did most of his scoring inside and from the free throw line. He shot 10 for 12 from the stripe.
Luedke, who set Butte High’s career scoring record last January, sank eight 3-pointers — one shy of the school record of nine set by Torre Tempel last season — in his record-breaking performance. He only scored three points from the free throw line.
On the girls’ side, junior Cadence Graham, who carved her name in the record book last season, also started the season on fire, tossing in 38 points in the Bulldogs’ 51-39 win at Bozeman.
Graham, who has been contributing to the Butte High varsity team since she was in the eighth grade, added 27 points in Tuesday’s 60-57 home loss to Dillon, leaving her just 30 points shy of becoming Butte High’s second girl with 1,000 career points.
Lexie Nelson own’s the Bulldogs’ school scoring record — for a girl or boy — with 1,696 points, is the only other Butte High girl to eclipse that mark.
Only two boys have joined the 1,000-point club for the Bulldogs. John Dawson closed his career with 1,022 points, while Luedtke sits at 1,229 points and climbing after scoring 17 points in Butte’s 47-38 win over Dillon Saturday.
Graham will likely join the club before Christmas. The Butte High girls will travel to Billings West on Friday before battling Butte Central Tuesday night at the Butte Civic Center.
Butte High’s boys will host the Golden Bears Friday at the Richardson Gym before taking on the Maroons.
In the Bulldog-Maroon showdown, the girls will play at 6 p.m., and the boys will play at 7:30.
Butte High holds a 101-80-1 all-time lead over the Maroons. Butte High won the last two meetings, including last January’s 62-51 decision.
Butte High’s girls will be looking for their eighth straight win over the Maroons. The Dogs won 58-16 last year.
Maroons host tipoff tourney
Before they take on the Bulldogs on the new Civic Center floor, Butte Central will host the East vs. West Tipoff Tournament Friday and Saturday at the Maroon Activities Center.
The tournament will feature Glendive, Whitefish, Sidney and Butte Central.
BC’s boys and girls will take on Sidney on Friday before battling Glendive on Saturday.
The girls will play at 7 p.m. on Friday and 3:30 p.m. on Saturday. The boys play at 5:30 and 2.
BC’s boys went 2-0 at a tipoff tournament last weekend in Frenchtown, beating Browning and Columbia Falls.
Central’s girls went 0-2 but showed promise as they look to close the pre-Christmas portion of their schedule on a winning note.
Bulldogs pin Helena teams
Three days after placing third at the Mining City Duals Jim Street Classic, Butte High’s boys’ wrestling team went to Helena to dominate Helena High and Helena Capital.
The Bulldogs beat Capital 61-15, and they rolled Helena High 68-18.
Renzy LeProwse (103 pounds), Keegan Hunt (118), Bradey Doyle (144), Ryder McEwen (150), Bode Hazlett (157), Cameron Fleege (165), Bridger Garrison (175) and Caden Phillips (215) all got in on the pin parade in the win over the Bruins.
Darryn Rossiter (138) won by decision, and Waylond Hicks (285) won by major decision. The Bulldogs got a forfeit win by Crew O’Connor (110).
Hunt, Joey Ward (132), Rossiter, Hazlett, Fleeege, and Phillips won by way of the pin against the Bengals. McEwen won in a major decision, and Jeff Nichols (110), Doyle and Hicks won by forfeit.
Hazlett earned a spot on the All-Tournament team at the Duals after the Bulldogs beat Gonzaga Prep of Spokane in a 42-40 win in the consolation match. Billings West ended Kalispell Flatehead’s run of Duals titles with a 50-22 decision in the title dual.
Hicks, Hunt, Reveles McEwen (126), Hazlett, Garrison, Fleege and Bridger Brancamp (190) won by pin in that the third-place dual.
For more on the Mining City Duals, check out Bruce Sayler’s story on ButteSports.com.
The Bulldogs will travel to Great Falls for the CMR Holliday Classic this Friday and Saturday.
BOYS
Butte High 61, Helena Capital 15
103 — Renzy LeProwse, Butte High, pinned Bentley Harris 1:20
110 — Crew O’Connor, Butte High, won by forfeit
118 — Keegan Hunt, Butte High, pinned Pate Engstrom :35
126 — Wyatt Shull, Capital, dec. Kuley Queer 10-3
132 — Isaac Lagunas, Capital, pinned Reveles McEwen 2:50
138 — Darryn Rossiter, Butte High, dec. Herbert Lay 7-3
144 — Bradey Doyle, Butte High, pinned Mason Eblen 4:05
150 — Ryder McEwen, Butte High, pinned Justin Derby 1:03
157 — Bode Hazlett, Butte High, pinned Kai Richardson 3:13
165 — Cameron Fleege, Butte High, pinned Noah Happ 5:57
175 — Bridger Garrison, Butte High, pinned Zachary Wyant :57
190 — Cash Kipp, Capital, pinned Kasen O’Keefe 1:09
215 — Caden Phillips, Butte High, pinned Kelley Dean 1:14
285 — Waylond Hicks, Butte High, major dec. Wolf Gibson 10-2Butte High 64, Helena High 18
103 — Renzy LeProwse, Butte High, won by forfeit
110 — Jeff Nichols, Butte High, won by forfeit
118 — Keegan Hunt, Butte High, pinned Titus Rivers 4:23
126 — Hayden Fawcett, Capital, pinned Kuley Queer 5:33
132 — Joey Ward, Butte High, pinned Tavin Noem :31
138 — Darryn Rossiter, Butte High, pinned Donovan Blackson :33
144 — Bradey Doyle, Butte High, won by forfeit
150 — Ryder McEwen, Butte High, major dec. Will Collins 15-3
157 — Bode Hazlett, Butte High, pinned Tyzer Murgel :49
165 — Connor Lamping, Helena High, pinned Bridger Garrison 4:09
175 — Cameron Fleege, Butte High, pinned Brayden Spurzem 3:31
190 — Avery Severson, Helena High, pinned Kasen O’Keefe 2:51
215 — Caden Phillips, Butte High, pinned Atticus Pateterry 1:00
285 — Waylond Hicks, Butte High, won by forfeitButte girls top Bengals, fall to Bruins
On the girls’ side, the Bulldogs went 1-1 on their trip to the Capitals City Tuesday.
The Bulldogs downed Helena High 36-6, and they fell 36-18 to Capital. Every match was decided by a pin.
Peyton Liva won two matches, needing less than 3 minutes of total mat time. Lilyi Malone, Rebekah Henke, Paisley Condon and Mattie Stepan also stuck their Bengle opponents.
Liva and Stepan also pinned their Capital opponents. Sage Queer also grabbed a victory for Butte in that dual.
The performance came three days after Stepan won the 155-pound title at the Flathead Invitational. That highlighted a performance that saw the Bulldogs place fifth overall.
Billings Senior won the team title with 281 ½ points. Flathead took second at 271 ½, Billings West took third at185 ½, and Ronan placed fourth at 184 ½. Butte High finished fifth with 170.
In all, 29 teams competed in the event.
Chyanne Robinson took fourth at 285 for the Bulldogs, while Loretta Matteson placed fourth at 140, Allie Ballensky took fourth at 285 and Queer took sixth at 145.
The Butte High girls will join the boys at the CMR Holiday Classic.
Helena Capital 36, Butte High 18
Peyton Liva, Butte, pinned Lilyanna Zimmerman, 1:56
Sydney Drake, Capital, pinned Lilyi Malone, :49
Marisha Harris, Capital, pinned Deearia Naugle, 1:40
Taylor Ray, Capital, pinned Adalie Hazlett, 3:21
Leila McKay, Capital, pinned Rebekah Henke, :44
Kynleigh Call, Capital, pinned Paisley Condon, #8
Sage Queer, Butte, pinned Marissa McKay, 154
Mattie Stepan, Butte, pinned Samantha Williams, 1:58
Ashtyn Dziekowski, Capital, pinned Rylee Radcliffe, 151Butte High 36, Helena High 6
Peyton Liva, Butte, pinned Annika Borneman, 1:11
Peyton Liva, Butte, pinned Michele Towers, 1:46
Lilyi Malone, Butte, pinned Blayke Dudly, :45
Rebekah Henke, Butte, pinned Lillian Anaya, :24
Paisley Condon, Butte, pinned Mattie Cullen, 3:38
Mattie Stepan, Butte, pinned Ellie Brennan, :47
Rylee Murgel, Helena, pinned Cayenne Robinson, 1:05
Maroons head to CMR
Butte Central will send wrestlers to the tournament in Great Falls, too. A few BC wrestlers competed at the Whitehall Duals over the weekend.
The names of eighth graders Jace Rauch, Jampel Hanley and Braydon Armstrong could all be found on the results on trackwrestling.com.
Hanley 4-1, winning by forfeit, pin, major decision and technical fall at 110 pounds. Rache went 4-0 with a pin and three forfeits at 103, and Armstrong went 1-1 with a forfeit win at 118.
The Maroons were scheduled to compete in a mixer Tuesday in Deer Lodge. Results from those matches were not submitted for publication.
Bulldog girls second at Splash
Butte High’s girls placed second in the season-opening December Splash swim meet Friday at the Butte Family YMCA.
The meet featured eight teams, and Gallatin ran away with the title with 167 points. Butte scored 74 to edge third-place Helena Capital by two, Bozeman was third at 71, followed by Belgrade at 39, Helena High at 31, Butte Central at 25 and East Helena at 13.
Senior Olivia Thurmond placed third int eh 100-uard freestyle and fourth in the 200 free to lead the Bulldog girls. Freshman Adalie Grochowski placed third in the 50 freestyle and fifth in the 100 butterfly.
Freshman Bryher Fitzpatrick finished eighth in the 100 breaststroke, and she dropped 11 seconds off her best time to take sixth in the 100 butterfly.
Junior Tatum Trefts took second in the 100 breaststroke and fifth in the 200 individual medley. Sophomore Bella Corrales finished seventh in the 50 free and 10th in the 100 free.
Adalie Grochowski, Trefts, Alaina Grochowski and Thurmond placed second int eh 200 medley relay. The Grochowskis, Fitzpatrick and Thurmond placed fourth in the 400 freestyle relay.
Also, Fitzpatrick Trefts, Elaine Fuller and Bella Corrales placed eighth in the 200 free relay.
Bozeman took home the boys team title with 185 points. Capital was second at 100, followed by Gallatin at 88, Bute High at 56, Belgrade at 22, East Helena at 15, Helena High at 10 and BC at 7.
Senior Nathan Stone placed fifth in the 200 freestyle and 100 butterfly. Freshman Alex Sonneman finished fifth in the 500 free and seventh in the 100 backstroke.
Sophomore Elgin Hoar placed fifth in the 200 individual medley and sixth in the 100 breaststroke. Sophomore Grayson Lynch finished sixth in the 200 individual medley and ninth in the 100 backstroke.
Sophomore Tucker Kissell took seventh in the 200 free, and junior Gage Plum placed sixth in the 500 free.
Butte High and Butte Central’s swimming teams will compete in the Missoula City Meet Saturday.
2025 Butte High School December Splash
Butte YMCA 25Y Pool
Girls 200 Yard Medley Relay
1, Gallatin High School ‘A’ 1:59.72. 2, Butte High School ‘A’ (Adalie Grochowski 14, Tatum Trefts , Alaina Grochowski 16, Olivia Thurmond 17) 2:02.03. 3, Bozeman High School ‘A’ 2:08.53. 4, Helena Capital High School ‘A (Knoelle Ferguson , June Lay , Elizabeth Urban 17, Tabitha Lynch ), 2:08.83 5, Gallatin High School ‘B’ x2:14.06. 6, Belgrade High School ‘A’ (A Lilyquist 17, Alivia Harris 14, Nora Willems 15, Maya Lilyquist 15), 2:15.52. 7, Butte Central Catholic HS ‘A’ (Morgan Hardy 16, Tia Thompson , Tessa Ganzenmueller , Arwen Regester ), 2:20.00. 8, Gallatin High School ‘C’ x2:22.45. 9, Helena High School ‘A’ (Allie Mincemoyer 17, Morgan May 17, Marley Crawford , Bryn Hinckley 17), 2:27.80.Boys 200 Yard Medley Relay
1, Bozeman High School ‘A’ 1:41.46. 2, Gallatin High School ‘A’ 1:46.93. 3 Helena Capital High School ‘A’ (Luke Wendt 17, Shane Sampson , Grey Simpson , Callahan Jarvis ), 1:51.77. 4, Butte High School ‘A’ (Gage Plum , Elgin Hoar 16, Nathan Stone , Alex Sonnemann ), 2:00.19. 5, East Helena High School ‘A’ (Easton Goetsch , Cain Longshore , Laiken Grosskopf , Jackson Darling 14) 2:06.25. 6, Belgrade High School ‘A’ (Lyle Zimdars , Carl Schuneman , Prior Russell 15, Dylan Morgan 14), 2:08.41. 7, Bozeman High School ‘B’ x2:16.72. 8, Helena High School ‘A’ (Santiago Arguelles , Edwin Jerstad , Keghan Brancamp ,Taylor Hinckley ), 2:47.73. –, Belgrade High School ‘B’ (Amos Heavrin , Kade Schuneman , Kasey Clemens , Ryan Hirschi ), DQ. –, Butte High School ‘B'(Grayson Lynch , Ayvahn Mann , Jorden Sonnemann , Tucker Kissell ), DQ. — Gallatin High School ‘B’ DQ.Girls 200 Yard Freestyle
1, Elizabeth Urban, Capital, 1:59.82. 2, AJ Lilyquist, BLG, 2:07.68. 3, JuneKusak, Gallatin, 2:11.58. 4, Olivia Thurmond, Butte Bulldogs, 2:13.33. 5, Lizzy Williamson, Bozeman, 2:15.47. 6, Alayna Aldrich, Capital, 2:15.94. 7, Madi McBride, Gallatin, 2:16.10. 8, Ashlyn Lobb, Gallatin, 2:23.18. 9, EmmaRinger, Gallatin, 2:29.24. 10, Morgan Hardy, BCC, 2:29.33. 11, Bryn Hinckley,HHS, 2:40.48. 12, Evie Faulhaber, Bozeman, 2:43.07. 13, Arwen Regester, BCC,3:11.88.Boys 200 Yard Freestyle
1, Emery Belasco, Bozeman, 1:53.96. 2, Quinn McColley, Bozeman, 1:54.06. 3, Bowan Aldrich, Capital, 2:03.20. 4, Greyson Chivilicek, Gallatin, 2:06.11. 5, Shin-Yoo Knapper, Bozeman, 2:19.37. 6, Nathan Stone, Butte Bulldogs, 2:21.87. 7, Tucker Kissell, Butte Bulldogs, 2:26.26. 8, Lyle Zimdars, BLG, 2:27.47. 9, Carl Schuneman, BLG, 2:30.51. 10, Owen Western, Gallatin, 2:53.34. 11, AlexCranny, Butte Bulldogs, 2:59.16. 12, Keghan Brancamp, HHS, 3:40.18.Girls 200 Yard IM
1, Alexis Hubbard, Bozeman, 2:23.36. 2, Elina Maganito, Gallatin, 2:25.00. 3,Allie Mincemoyer, HHS, 2:35.55. 4, Aspen Lura, Gallatin, 2:39.30. 5, Tatum Trefts, Butte Bulldogs, 2:49.40.Boys 200 Yard IM
1, Maximiliano Aguirre, Bozeman, 1:56.66. 2, Trigve Chvilicek, Gallatin, 2:14.67. 3, Luke Wendt, Capital, 2:26.72. 4, Calvin Faulhaber, Bozeman, 2:38.34. 5, Elgin Hoar, Butte Bulldogs, 2:44.17. 6, Grayson Lynch, Butte Bulldogs, 2:46.84.Girls 50 Yard Freestyle
1, Elizabeth Urban, Capital, 26.08. 2, AJ Lilyquist, BLG, 26.92. 3, Adalie Grochowski, Butte Bulldogs, 27.11. 4, Shelby Russell, Gallatin, 27.16. 5, Lola Pizzato-Smith, Gallatin, 27.25. 6, Nora Willems, BLG, 27.98. 7, Bella Corrales, Butte Bulldogs, 28.49. 8, Victoria Bender, Gallatin, 28.52. 9, Knoelle Ferguson, Capital, 28.92. 10, Ashlyn Lobb, Gallatin, 29.31. 11, Ayumi Strong, EHH, 29.55. 12, Elsa Nave, Gallatin, x29.84. 13, Kayla Lobb, Gallatin, x29.95. 14, Margaret Faulhaber, Bozeman, 30.13. 15, Macy Shatwell, Gallatin, x30.20. 16, Joelle Staller, Gallatin, x30.42. 17, Sophia Fladager, EHH, 30.54. 18, Ele Cruse, Capital, 30.56. 19, Muriel Gotz, Bozeman, 30.72. 20, Payton Lindley, Gallatin, x30.98. 21, Lila Miller, Capital, 32.15. 22, Letty Richardson, HHS, 32.47. 23, Alexis Cogley, Gallatin, x32.78. 24, Elly Rumler, Butte Bulldogs, 32.83. 25, Arwen Regester, BCC, 34.26. 26, Masha Buck, HHS, 35.99. 27, Alivia Harris, BLG, 37.52. 28, Ava Simienski, Capital, x37.79. 29, Marley Crawford, HHS, 37.85. 30, Elliot Longtin, Butte Bulldogs, 42.12.Boys 50 Yard Freestyle
1, Cal McColley, Bozeman, 23.13. 2, Everson Connors, Capital, 23.39. 3, Bryce Thorn, Bozeman, 23.48. 4, Callahan Jarvis, Capital, 24.08. 5, Lucas Mayer, Gallatin, 24.74. 6, Bowan Aldrich, Capital, 25.39. 7, Grey Simpson, Capital, 26.20. 8, Shamus Peck, BCC, 26.53. 9, Connor Hardy, BCC, 26.65. 10, TJ Drake, Bozeman, 26.69. 11, Gunnar Benson, Butte Bulldogs, 27.20. 12, Prior Russell, BLG, 27.50. 13, Wesley Hill, Gallatin, 27.61. 14, Xavier Buisker, Bozeman, 27.63. 15, Gage Plum, Butte Bulldogs, 28.05. 16, Cain Longshore, EHH, 28.39. 17, Caden Jimmerson, Gallatin, 28.77. 18, Easton Goetsch, EHH, 29.53. 19, Santiago Arguelles, HHS, 30.58. 20, Taylor Hinckley, HHS, 30.71. 21, Jorden Sonnemann, Butte Bulldogs, 30.76. 22, Ben Fay, Gallatin, 32.19. 23, Mason Pullman, Butte Bulldogs, 32.44. 24, Sam Cunneen, Butte Bulldogs, x33.11. 25, Ian Ferguson, Bozeman, x33.43. 26, Conan Holmes, BCC, 33.65. 27, Nathan Knopp, Butte Bulldogs, x33.80. 28, Cruz Kissell, Butte Bulldogs, x34.37. 29, Ryan Hirschi, BLG, 34.72. 30, Edwin Jerstad, HHS, 35.39. 31, Ronald Nguyen, Gallatin, x37.56. 32, Gabe Cranny, Butte Bulldogs, x41.67. 33, Aaron Christensen, Butte Bulldogs, x42.58. 34, Rody Johnson, Butte Bulldogs, x49.71. 35, Amos Heavrin, BLG, 53.11. –, Brian Nguyen, Gallatin, DQ.Girls 100 Yard Butterfly
1, Elina Maganito, Gallatin, 1:02.67. 2, Moira Ross, Gallatin, 1:09.20. 3, Lola Pizzato-Smith, Gallatin, 1:09.77. 4, Hazel Irvine, Bozeman, 1:12.48. 5, Adalie Grochowski, Butte Bulldogs, 1:12.67. 6, Bryher Fitzpatrick, Butte Bulldogs, 1:14.16. 7, Nora Willems, BLG, 1:15.52. 8, Grace Hubbard, Bozeman, 1:19.42. 9, Aspen Lura, Gallatin, 1:25.39.Boys 100 Yard Butterfly
1, Ollie Belasco, Bozeman, 56.44. 2, Bryce Thorn, Bozeman, 57.24. 3, Ben Langen, Bozeman, 59.92. 4, Wesley Hill, Gallatin, 1:04.39. 5, Nathan Stone, Butte Bulldogs, 1:04.97. 6, Shamus Peck, BCC, 1:09.06. 7, Calvin Faulhaber, Bozeman, 1:10.16. –, Nathan Knopp, Butte Bulldogs, DQ.Girls 100 Yard Freestyle
1, Maia Maganito, Gallatin, 57.48. 2, Sway Longshore, EHH, 58.34. 3, Olivia Thurmond, Butte Bulldogs, 1:00.41. 4, Madi McBride, Gallatin, 1:03.41. 5, Victoria Bender, Gallatin, 1:04.81. 6, Tessa Ganzenmueller, BCC, 1:06.99. 7, Elsa Nave, Gallatin, 1:07.30. 8, Ele Cruse, Capital, 1:07.38. 9, June Lay, Capital, 1:08.44. 10, Bella Corrales, Butte Bulldogs, 1:09.27. 11, Muriel Gotz, Bozeman, 1:09.31. 12, Macy Shatwell, Gallatin, x1:09.79. 13, Joelle Staller, Gallatin, x1:10.68. 14, Letty Richardson, HHS, 1:12.10. 15, Bryn Hinckley, HHS, 1:12.76. 16, Lila Miller, Capital, 1:14.63. 17, Tia Thompson, BCC, 1:15.07. 18, Alexis Cogley, Gallatin, x1:15.62. 19, Evie Faulhaber, Bozeman, 1:15.70. 20, Zylie Sargent, Gallatin, x1:15.89. 21, Masha Buck, HHS, 1:22.34. 22, Elaine Fuller, Butte Bulldogs, 1:23.43. 23, Marley Crawford, HHS, 1:26.41. 24, Ava Simienski, Capital, 1:27.56. 25, Eva Marcial, BLG, 1:28.78.Boys 100 Yard Freestyle
1, Cal McColley, Bozeman, 50.06. 2, Everson Connors, Capital, 50.25. 3, Laiken Grosskopf, EHH, 54.08. 4, Lucas Mayer, Gallatin, 54.64. 5, Callahan Jarvis, Capital, 56.94. 6, Shane Sampson, Capital, 58.58. 7, TJ Drake, Bozeman, 58.85. 8, Shin-Yoo Knapper, Bozeman, 59.94. 9, Dylan Morgan, BLG, 1:00.12. 10, Xavier Buisker, Bozeman, 1:02.57. 11, Ayvahn Mann, Butte Bulldogs, 1:02.63. 12, Gunnar Benson, Butte Bulldogs, 1:05.60. 13, Tucker Kissell, Butte Bulldogs, 1:05.99. 14, Caden Jimmerson, Gallatin, 1:09.90. 15, Kasey Clemens, BLG, 1:11.65. 16, Taylor Hinckley, HHS, 1:11.78. 17, Santiago Arguelles, HHS, 1:12.43. 18, Alex Cranny, Butte Bulldogs, 1:13.14. 19, Ben Fay, Gallatin, 1:15.30. 20, Sam Cunneen, Butte Bulldogs, x1:17.85. 21, Ryan Hirschi, BLG, 1:21.95. 22, Conan Holmes, BCC, 1:23.24. 23, Kaden Schuneman, BLG, 1:24.25. 24, Keghan Brancamp, HHS, 1:28.33. 25, Jackson Darling, EHH, 1:31.30. 26, Ronald Nguyen, Gallatin, 1:41.49. 27, Aaron Christensen, Butte Bulldogs, x1:46.77.Girls 500 Yard Freestyle
1, Alexis Hubbard, Bozeman, 5:49.27. 2, Alayna Aldrich, Capital, 5:58.93. 3, Hazel Irvine, Bozeman, 6:10.64. 4, Tabitha Lynch, Capital, 6:15.84. 5, Alaina Grochowski, Butte Bulldogs, 6:27.38. 6, Emma Ringer, Gallatin, 6:40.59. 7, Payton Lindley, Gallatin, 6:56.62. 8, Zylie Sargent, Gallatin, 7:55.99. 9, Sophia Fladager, EHH, 7:57.64.Boys 500 Yard Freestyle
1, Quinn McColley, Bozeman, 5:22.94. 2, Grey Simpson, Capital, 5:35.54. 3, Sam Budt, Gallatin, 5:43.15. 4, Gavin Brokaw, Bozeman, 5:57.51. 5, Alex Sonnemann, Butte Bulldogs, 6:10.87. 6, Gage Plum, Butte Bulldogs, 6:14.13.Girls 200 Yard Freestyle Relay
1, Gallatin High School ‘A’ 1:50.84. 2, Helena Capital High School ‘A’ (Elizabeth Urban 17, Alayna Aldrich , Knoelle Ferguson , June Lay ), 1:53.61. 3, Gallatin High School ‘B’ x1:57.01. 4, Belgrade High School ‘A’ (Maya Lilyquist 15, Nora Willems 15, Eva Marcial , AJ Lilyquist 17), 2:02.89. 5, Bozeman High School ‘A’ 2:04.61. 6, Gallatin High School ‘C’ x2:05.84. 7, Butte Central Catholic HS ‘A’ (Arwen Regester , Tia Thompson , Morgan Hardy 16, Tessa Ganzenmueller ), 2:05.96. 8, Butte High School ‘A’ (Bryher Fitzpatrick 14, Tatum Trefts , Elaine Fuller , Bella Corrales ), 2:08.75. –, Helena High School ‘A’ (Letty Richardson 15, Masha Buck , Bryn Hinckley 17, Marley Crawford ), DQ.Boys 200 Yard Freestyle Relay
1, Bozeman High School ‘A’ 1:35.67. 2, Helena Capital High School ‘A’ (Grey Simpson , Shane Sampson , Bowan Aldrich , Everson Connors 17), 1:42.08. 3, Bozeman High School ‘B’ x1:47.44. 4, Belgrade High School ‘A’ (Carl Schuneman, Dylan Morgan 14, Lyle Zimdars , Prior Russell 15), 1:49.81. 5, Gallatin High School ‘A’ 1:52.37. 6, Butte High School ‘A’ (Grayson Lynch , Ayvahn Mann , Jorden Sonnemann , Tucker Kissell ), 1:54.54. 7, Butte High School ‘B’ (Alex Cranny , Aaron Christensen , Sam Cunneen , Gunnar Benson ), x2:11.80. 8, Helena High School ‘A’ 2:16.15. 9, Belgrade High School ‘B’ (Kasey Clemens , Kaden Schuneman , Amos Heavrin , Ryan Hirschi ), x2:37.59. –, Butte High School ‘C’ (Nathan Knopp , Mason Pullman , Rody Johnson , Cruz Kissell ), DQ.Girls 100 Yard Backstroke
1, June Kusak, Gallatin, 1:05.68. 2, Moira Ross, Gallatin, 1:07.42. 3, Sway Longshore, EHH, 1:09.49. 4, Allie Mincemoyer, HHS, 1:10.88. 5, Morgan May, HHS, 1:14.28. 6, Morgan Hardy, BCC, 1:15.66. 7, Knoelle Ferguson, Capital, 1:16.52. 8, Grace Hubbard, Bozeman, 1:17.38. 9, Kayla Lobb, Gallatin, 1:18.06. 10, Claire Murphy, Gallatin, 1:24.25. 11, Eva Marcial, BLG, 1:34.17. 12, Elliot Longtin, Butte Bulldogs, 1:50.46.Boys 100 Yard Backstroke
1, Trigve Chvilicek, Gallatin, 57.25. 2, Ollie Belasco, Bozeman, 57.85. 3, Luke Wendt, Capital, 57.92. 4, Ben Langen, Bozeman, 1:01.56. 5, Gavin Brokaw, Bozeman, 1:04.82. 6, Connor Hardy, BCC, 1:07.13. 7, Alex Sonnemann, Butte Bulldogs, 1:09.90. 8, Dylan Morgan, BLG, 1:11.55. 9, Grayson Lynch, Butte Bulldogs, 1:12.87. 10, Laiken Grosskopf, EHH, 1:13.62. 11, Lyle Zimdars, BLG, 1:24.34. 12, Owen Western, Gallatin, 1:26.45. 13, Mason Pullman, Butte Bulldogs, 1:53.94. 14, Gabe Cranny, Butte Bulldogs, 2:25.32. –, Kaden Schuneman, BLG, DQ. –, Edwin Jerstad, HHS, DQ.Girls 100 Yard Breaststroke
1, Maia Maganito, Gallatin, 1:11.70. 2, Tatum Trefts, Butte Bulldogs, 1:16.93. 3, Shelby Russell, Gallatin, 1:17.76. 4, Tessa Ganzenmueller, BCC, 1:20.24. 5, Morgan May, HHS, 1:20.57. 6, Claire Murphy, Gallatin, 1:22.25. 7, June Lay, Capital, 1:24.13. 8, Bryher Fitzpatrick, Butte Bulldogs, 1:24.50. 9, Maya Lilyquist, BLG, 1:26.11. 10, Margaret Faulhaber, Bozeman, 1:26.40. 11, Ayumi Strong, EHH, 1:27.79. 12, Tabitha Lynch, Capital, 1:28.31. 13, Elly Rumler, Butte Bulldogs, 1:30.53. 14, Tia Thompson, BCC, 1:31.09. 15, Alivia Harris, BLG, 1:41.24. –, Alaina Grochowski, Butte Bulldogs, DQ.Boys 100 Yard Breaststroke
1, Maximiliano Aguirre, Bozeman, 56.42. 2, Emery Belasco, Bozeman, 1:05.82. 3, Greyson Chivilicek, Gallatin, 1:07.84. 4, Sam Budt, Gallatin, 1:09.88. 5, Shane Sampson, Capital, 1:13.68. 6, Elgin Hoar, Butte Bulldogs, 1:20.86. 7, Carl Schuneman, BLG, 1:23.52. 8, Easton Goetsch, EHH, 1:25.67. 9, Ian Ferguson, Bozeman, 1:37.07. 10, Kasey Clemens, BLG, 1:37.44. 11, Jorden Sonnemann, Butte Bulldogs, 1:42.12. 12, Jackson Darling, EHH, 1:42.84. –, Prior Russell, BLG, DQ. –, Brian Nguyen, Gallatin, DQ. –, Ayvahn Mann, Butte Bulldogs, DQ. –, Cain Longshore, EHH, DQ.Girls 400 Yard Freestyle Relay
1, Gallatin High School ‘A’ 3:58.60. 2, Bozeman High School ‘A’ 4:06.92. 3, Gallatin High School ‘B’ x4:15.07. 4, Butte High School ‘A’ 4:16.29. 5, Helena Capital High School ‘A’ (Tabitha Lynch , Lila Miller , Ele Cruse , Alayna Aldrich ), 4:38.52. 6, Helena High School ‘A’ (Morgan May 17, Masha Buck , Letty Richardson 15, Allie Mincemoyer 17), 4:46.38.Boys 400 Yard Freestyle Relay
1, Bozeman High School ‘A’ 3:33.23. 2, Helena Capital High School ‘A’ (Callahan Jarvis , Everson Connors 17, Bowan Aldrich , Luke Wendt 17), 3:35.53. 3, Gallatin High School ‘A’ 3:37.86. 4, Bozeman High School ‘B’ x3:54.19. 5, Butte High School ‘A’ (Alex Sonnemann , Gage Plum , Elgin Hoar 16, Nathan Stone ), 4:06.10. 6, Butte High School ‘B’ (Alex Cranny , Sam Cunneen , Aaron Christensen , Gunnar Benson ), x5:37.32Combined Team Scores – Through Event 22
1, Bozeman High School, 256. 2, Gallatin High School, 255. 3, Helena Capital High School, 172. 4, Butte High School, 130. 5, Belgrade High School, 61. 6, Helena High School, 41. 7, Butte Central Catholic HS, 32. 8, East Helena High School, 28.Women – Team Rankings – Through Event 22
1, Gallatin High School, 167. 2, Butte High School, 74. 3, Helena Capital High School, 72. 4, Bozeman High School, 71. 5, Belgrade High School, 39. 6, Helena High School, 31. 7, Butte Central Catholic HS, 25. 8, East Helena High School, 13.Men – Team Rankings – Through Event 22
1, Bozeman High School, 185. 2, Helena Capital High School, 100. 3, Gallatin High School, 88. 4, Butte High School, 56. 5, Belgrade High School, 22. 6, East Helena High School, 15. 7, Helena High School, 10. 8, Butte Central Catholic HS, 7. -
Podcast No. 311: Gary Kane
Gary Kane is known as being one of the best — if not the best — basketball players the Mining City has ever produced.
The 1989 Butte High graduate is known for his clutch shots and big victories for the Bulldogs. He is known for his great freshman season at the University of Montana, helping lead the Grizzlies to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 15 years in 1991. He is known for that tournament game against the great UNLV team.
The Butte Sports Hall of Famer is also known as a member of the 1989 Butte High team that lost the Class AA State championship game to Kalispell after starting the season at 21-0.
More than anything, Gary is known for his workouts. From a young age, he worked out in gyms with his grandpa, Harry “Rube” Pierce, at East Junior High School. He took the legendary Steve Alford workout and customized it, more than doubling it in time.
That hard work led to Gary to some incredible honors on the hardwood. He was named the Gatorade Circle of Champions Montana High School Basketball Player of the Year in 1989. He was also named the Montana Player of the Year by USA Today.
Today, though, Gary is not much for living in the past. He does not let a loss define him or his teammates, and he does not revel in the glory days. Instead, he is focused on living the good life with his wife, Javanka, a professor at Montana State University, and his two dogs.
Yesterday, I met Gary at the Knights of Columbus Hall for a really good conversation. Listen in as Gary describes all that hard work. Listen as he talks about the State title game and playing against that legendary UNLV team.
Listen in as Gary talks about some of his great teammates and classmates. Listen in to hear that even though Gary lives in the Bozeman area, he is still very much a Butte Boy.
Don’t be mistake. He is also still a Grizzly.
Today’s episode is brought to you by the Jewelry Design Center. Let Brian Toone and Co. be your jewelers for life.
Watch this episode on YouTube:
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Bulldogs, Beavers split at Civic Center
Butte High and Dillon split a non-conference hoops doubleheader Tuesday night at the Butte Civic Center.
Butte High’s boys beat Dillon 48-37 before the Dillon girls won an intense 60-57 brawl in the nightcap.
The Bulldogs are back in action Friday against Billings West. The girls will hit the road to play the Golden Bears, while the boys will play at Butte High’s Richardson Gym.
Butte High plays Butte Central next Tuesday at the Civic Center.
GIRLS
Dillon 60, Butte High 57
The Beavers outlasted the Bulldogs in what seemed like a heavyweight fight in the doubleheader finale.The teams exchanged punches and traded leads before Dillon emerged with a 3-0 record.
Landri Hartman scored 21 points to lead Dillon, which led 15-11 after the first quarter and trailed 33-28 at halftime. Butte led 47-45 heading into the final frame.
Ellison Graham got off a half-court shot at the buzzer, but the ball bounced off the back of the rim.
Tess Tash scored 14 in the win, while Cassie Keller netted 12 and Kaitlyn Konen scored nine.
Cadence Graham tossed in 27 points to lead the Bulldogs, giving her 65 points in Butte High’s first two games. She was a perfect 11 for 11 from the free throw line.
Saege Grey came off the bench to toss in 11 points for the Dogs. Allie Becker scored eight, Ellison Graham tossed in six, Autumn Clary and Franki Salusso each scored two, and Kendallyn Schad tossed in one. Emma Johnson contributed for the Bulldogs on defense and on the boards.
DILLON (3-0) — Cassie Keller 3 4-8 12, Shannon Martin 2 0-1 4, Landri Hartman 9 1-2 21, Tess Tash 6 2-3 14, Kaitlyn Konen 4 1-5 9, Kena Sampson 0 0-0 0, Brynna Gibson 0 0-0 0. Totals 24 8-19 60.
BUTTE HIGH (1-1) — Allie Becker 3 0-2 8, Cadence Graham 7 11-11 27, Autumn Clary 0 2-2 2, Franki Salusso 1 0-0 2, Emma Johnson 0 0-0 0, Ellison Graham 2 0-0 6, Kendallyn Schad 0 1-2 1, Saege Grey 3 3-5 11. Totals 16 17-22 57.
Dillon 15 13 17 15 — 60
Butte 11 22 14 10 — 57
3-point goals — Dillon 4 (Keller 2, Hartman 2), Butte 8 (Becker 2, C. Graham 2, E. Graham 2, Grey 2). Fouls — Dillon 18, Butte 18. Fouled out — Tash. Technicals — none.BOYS
Butte High 47, Dillon 38
The Bulldogs pitched a shutout in the first quarter, taking an 8-0 lead in the opener. Butte never trailed after that.Senior Hudson Luedtke tossed in 17 points, and sophomore Brady Hanson threw down 14 with a couple crowd-pleasing dunks to lead the Bulldogs.
Mitch Verlanic scored seven points, and Rhett Arntson drained a pair of 3-pointers and scored six points in the win. Butte High also got two points from Kendal Noctor and one from Josh Liston.
Cayde Stajcar started and contributed. He threw a perfect alley-oop for a Hanson dunk. James Pearston, Raeder Grey and Ryan Hanson also contributed in the Butte win.
Cohen Hartman scored 13 points to lead Dillon, which slowed the Bulldog offense with a tough zone defense. Will Hansen scored nine, Aaron Munday tossed in eight, Cain Christianson and Paxton Puyer each scored three, and Gage Curno netted two.
DILLON (1-2) — Canin Christianson 1 0-0 3, Noah Feenstra 0 0-0 0, Cohen Hartman 5 2-2 13, Will Hansen 3 3-3 9, Aaron Munday 4 0-0 8, Gage Curnow 1 0-0 2, Paxton Puyear 1 0-0 3, Garrett Tackett 0 0-0 0, Titus Thomas 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 5-5 38.
BUTTE HIGH (2-0) — Cayde Stajcar 0 0-0 0, Hudson Luedtke 8 0-0 17, Mitch Verlanic 2 1-3 7, Josh Liston 0 1-2 1, Brady Hanson 7 0-0 14, Rhett Arntson 2 0-0 6, James Pearston 0 0-0 0, Kendal Noctor 0 2-2 2, Ryan Hanson 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 4-7 47.
Dillon 0 10 16 12 — 38
Butte 8 10 16 13 — 47
3-point goals — Dillon 3 (Christianson, Hartman, Puyear), Butte 7 (Verlanic 2, Arntson 2, Luedtke). Fouls — Dillon 15, Butte 15. Fouled out — none. Technicals — none. -
If only they could all be like Hasquet
Color me a bit biased because I have refereed a bunch of basketball games with him, but I think Ron Hasquet is as good as it gets as a color commentator for a football game.
Hasquet is Paul Panisko’s sidekick on “Digger Vision,” the YouTube broadcasts of the Montana Tech football games. As a former player and a coach, Hasquet gives his audience an inside look at what is going on in each play.
Panisko is a real pro as a play-by-play announcer. He can make it so the fans of both sides enjoy the broadcast. Even though he is rooting for the Orediggers inside, he is almost always right down the middle.
That is an art.
As the colorman, Hasquet is a bit of an artist, too. He teaches us about football as he gives us a behind-the-curtain look at what goes into the play calls. He also gives us insight about the players executing those plays from a perspective that is only possible because of his experience on the field and on the sideline.
The best thing Hasquet does, though, is he never makes it about himself. Hasquet does not trip over himself to make incredibly dumb comments like most of the professionals that we see on our television.
Sure, we all say dumb things from time to time. I definitely say and write my share of silly comments.
Football color commentators, though, set the bar for such inane talk. Thanks to guys like Chris Collinsworth and Tony Romo, every football fan in the world is intimately familiar the mute button on their remote control.
It started with John Madden, the first of the modern color commentators. The former Oakland Raiders coach is the best colorman of all time. He could explain the game and make us laugh at the same time, offering an array of funny analogies and sound effects.
He made the game interesting even for people who do not know much about football.
Over time, though, Madden became a bit of a caricature of himself, and the next generations of announcers tried to follow suit. They seem to figure that the game needs a character as its colorman.
Instead of copying Madden of 1984, they copy the version from 2001.
While Collinsworth can — and usually does — completely ruin a game, Romo gets the edge in the annoyance factor. He is so exasperating that he makes Tom Brady seem like a pretty good color commentator.
That is mainly because of Romo’s “if you’re” comments. “This is a big play if you’re a Broncos fan, Jim.” “If you’re a Raiders fan, Jim, you’ve got to be nervous.”
He says something along those lines every 30 or 40 seconds of the 3-hour broadcast. For some reason, just about every other announce in the world has tried to copy that.
Now we hear things like, “This is a big decision if you’re Andy Reid.” Or, “If you’re Caleb Williams, you’ve got to make a better decision than that.”
Well, we are not Andy Reid or Caleb Williams, so why do they have to talk like that? It would be so much easier to say, “This is a big decision for Andy Reid,” or “Caleb Williams has to make better decisions.”
When you add words to sound smarter than you are, you only prove the opposite.
Romo, though, is a likable guy, even if he annoys the heck out of us. You cannot say the same about Collinsworth, who slobbers over the top players in a way that would makes us forget about Madden’s man crush on Brett Favre.
Collinsworth has the likability of an eczema rash. The only thing more aggravating than everything he says is the fake-sounding voice in which he says it.
During the University of Montana’s playoff game against South Dakota State on Dec. 6, though, I heard a comment that just might top them all on the absurd scale. Jeff Woody, the ESPN+ colorman on the game, was blown away by the noise of Washington-Grizzly Stadium.
The stadium was insanely noisy that game, even though about 7,000 Griz fans showed up disguised as empty seats, as Chris Berman would say.
It is, after all, a stadium that Romo said was the loudest he ever experienced when he was a player. It leads to a handful of false starts by the opposing offense each game. Woody, who was otherwise pretty good, explained to the audience that the stadium is so loud because of the surrounding mountains.
The sound of the crowd, Woody said, hits the granite and bounces back into the offensive lineman’s ears, making it impossible to hear the quarterback.
Clearly, Woody is not a scientist.
But you do not have to be Neil deGrasse Tyson to know that Woody’s comment was wacko. I’m sure he was getting an eye roll from his play-by-play partner Richard Cross as he uttered those words. The camera man who then panned to the mountains was probably laughing in disbelief, too.
Yes, the stadium is beautifully nestled at the base of Hellgate Canyon and just a hop, skip and jump from the foot of Mount Sentinel. It is almost as beautiful as Montana Tech’s Alumni Coliseum, which sits at the bottom of Big Butte.
I’m not a scientist, either, but I suspect that there might be some sound that hits the mountain and bounces back toward the field.
That mountainous location, though, is not why Washington-Grizzly Stadium rivals Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City and Lumen Field in Seattle in decibel levels. Those venues, by the way, are not near a mountain.
Washington-Grizzly Stadium is loud for several factors, and Mount Sentinel is not one of them. Neither is neighboring Mount Jumbo.
Washington-Grizzly Stadium features a sunken field surrounded by tons of concrete built up to form a giant bowl. During a game, it usually has about 25,000 fans screaming at the top of their lungs, and those screams are coming from all directions.
That combination of acoustics and all those feverish fans makes up the perfect cocktail of disruption and intimidation of Grizzly opponents. The mountains are not a part of that recipe.
More than a week later, and I am still trying to come to terms with how someone could even think the mountains were the main reason the stadium is so loud. It is hard to even fathom.
Other than that comment, Woody did a very good job calling the game. While he lacks smarts when it comes to physics, he is very knowledgeable about the game of football. He also clearly did his homework on the matchup. He was not as good as Hasquet, but he was also light years better than Collinsworth and Romo.
In the mountains or in the prairies, I would take Woody over just about every NFL or major college football color commentator any day of the week. But I would take Hasquet over them all.
I could sit and listen to him tell us the intricate details of a football game every day. When the game is over, I always feel like I’ve learned something more about the sport I have been passionate about my entire life.
Of course, I will take that all back if Hasquet ever blames a false start on the crowd noise bouncing back from Big Butte.
— Bill Foley, was lucky to get a C in science class, can be reached at foles74@gmail.com. Follow him at twitter.com/Foles74 or Bluesky at @foles74.bsky.social. Listen to him on the ButteCast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you find your favorite podcasts.
Andy Reid, Arrowhead Stadium, Caleb Williams, Chris Collinsworth, College football, ESPN+, Jeff Woody, John Madden, Lumen Field, Montana Grizzlies, Montana Tech, Neil deGrass Tyson, NFL, Paul Panisko, Richard Cross, Ron Hasquet, South Dakota State Jackrabbits, Tom Brady, Tony Romo, Washington-Grizzly Stadium -
Podcast No. 310: Dan McLaughlin
Dan McLaughlin is a long-time football coach who spent 15 years as the head coach at Wayne State College in Wayne, Nebraska.
The Sheridan, Montana native retired from the NCAA Division II school as the program’s leader in wins. That career came after a long run as a high school coach and several stops as a college assistant. That includes a short stop as an assistant at the University of Nebraska, where he says winning was a “relief” instead of a joy.
Before serving in the Air Force in the mid 1970s and playing basketball at an NAIA school in Nebraska, Coach was a three-sport athlete for the Sheridan Panthers. He was on the 1972 Panther team that fell to Westby in the Class C State championship game.
About 15 years ago, I wrote a column in The Montana Standard trying to prod the activities directors of the Montana Class AA schools into adding divisional basketball tournaments. In that column, I listed the phone numbers of all the ADs in the Class AA, asking people to call them and tell them they wanted divisionals.
At the end of the column, as a goof, I included my number. That is when the head football coach at Wayne State called me out of the blue to tell me a couple of things. One, he said he called because I was silly enough to give my number. Also, he said he read my columns.
Coach and I have been friends ever since. We text each other every Sunday to either complain about the Chicago Bears’ latest loss or to revel in their victory
Coach is in town for a few days to visit his father, who is staying in an assisted living facility in Butte. So, earlier today, I met Coach inside the Metals Sports Bar and Grill for a fun conversation.
Listen in as Coach talks about growing up in Sheridan and playing against the rival Twin Bridges Falcons. Listen as he talks about his decision to join the Air Force and how he got into coaching.
Listen in to hear that he is still coaching today, serving as a high school offensive line coach for a team led by his son. Listen in to hear why Coach became a Bears fan and I why I like him so much. I think you will, too.
Today’s episode is brought to you by Casagranda’s Steakhouse. Eat where the locals eat.
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Leskovar Honda Athletes of the Week: Olivia Thurmond and Nathan Stone
Butte High swimmers Olivia Thurmond and Nathan Stone are this week’s Leskovar Honda Athletes of the Week.
The honors come after the Bulldogs impressed at the season-opening December Splash Friday at the Butte Family YMCA. Both swimmers are entering their senior seasons. The two are looking to get back to the State meet, where they impressed last February.
Thurmond takes home the girls’ honor. She placed third in the 100-yard freestyle in the first meet of the season. She also placed fourth in the 200 freestyle. Thurmond competed in the 50 and 500 freestyle last year at State.
Stone takes home the boys’ honor. Don’t let the last name fool you, the boy can swim. He placed fifth in both the 200 freestyle and the 100 butterfly for the Bulldogs. At State, he competed in the 100 butterfly and 100 backstroke.
Thurmond, Stone and the Bulldogs will compete at the Missoula City Meet on Saturday.
For the third year, Leskovar Honda, home of the non-commission sales staff that always has your back, is teaming up with the ButteCast to honor the finest student-athletes from the Mining City to encourage more children to get up, get out and try all kinds of sports and activities.
