BUTTE — Last year's 2020 high school spring sports seasons may have been halted, but it didn't slow down Butte High's Tanner Huff.
"I made sure that I was doing all my workouts and staying up to date and putting in more work," Huff, now a senior, said on Tuesday at Charlie Merrifield track where the Bulldogs were gearing up for the State AA meet. "It's definitely paid off but I still have one more meet."
Despite the uncertainty, Huff stayed the course and his senior season has seen him chart a path that has him heading for Missoula this weekend as the Western AA champion in both the 100- and 200-meter dashes.
Huff clocked a time of 11.22 seconds in the 100 and 22.58 in the 200 while also helping the Bulldogs' 1,600-meter relay team capture a win in that event.
"I felt great. I felt best on Friday," Huff said of the divisional meet that was held in Kalispell instead of Butte last week due to poor weather. "Saturday we had a tough headwind but I came out on top and it was just from my teammates pushing me."
Butte track and field coach Arie Grey has seen Huff progress over the past year through summer workouts, football -- where Huff plays defensive back -- and into this spring.
"You could just see the speed that he had all last summer and then throughout football season and then early in the year," Grey said. "Kind of knew that he was a pretty special sprinter as well."
Huff's goals in his final meet are straightforward and ambitious.
"I'm expecting some hardware," Huff said. "I'm just going to have as much fun as I can and make some good memories and hopefully come out on top."
