MISSOULA – Salvatore Bergeron just missed the state track and field podium last year on a tiebreaker.
As a senior, the Great Falls High pole vaulter not only went out as an All-State athlete, but did so alongside his teammate and good friend.
Luke Allen earned second in the pole vault for the Bison at the Class AA meet on Friday, May 29, at MCPS Stadium, flanked by Bergeron in third.
Allen, who finished fourth as a junior, was runner-up to repeat champ Brayden Brisko of Helena Capital (15 feet) with a vault of 14 feet, 6 inches. Bergeron tied Billings West’s Beau Dringman at 14 feet for bronze.
“I didn’t perform the best, but I’m very grateful for how things are,” Bergeron said. “I’ve been vaulting with my best friend (Allen), like ride or die, for four years now and I finally caught up to him (in the regular season).”
Allen and Bergeron both surpassed 15 feet this season, which tied the Great Falls High pair for second in all classes across all meets this season to Brisko (16-06), and tied them for fourth in program history.
Likewise with Bergeron, Allen said he’d hoped to hit over his personal record, but was content with how it all ended.
“I’m feeling pretty good,” Allen said. “I think I couldn’t have had a better team. We’ve got so many people. It’s so fun. I think at the end of the day that’s what everyone is reaching for. Two (podium finishes)? I like it!”
Next year, Allen is planning to compete for Carroll College in Helena and Bergeron said he’s considering an offer from Div. II Black Hills State in South Dakota.
Among other Great Falls competitors Friday, C.M. Russell High’s Emerson Hamma finished fifth for the second year in a row in the 3200 meters with a time of 9:38.69.
This article originally appeared on Great Falls Tribune: Allen, Bergeron earn top 3 in pole vault for Great Falls High at state track