LAUREL — Sprinting success comes naturally for Whitefish's Brooke Zetooney, but she's never been faster than she was Friday at the Class A state track and field meet.
Zetooney sped to victory in her heat in the 100-meter trails with a time of 12.24 at the Laurel Sports Complex, which tied a Class A mark that has stood for 25 years. It was also personal record for Zetooney — and a bit of a surprise.
"I was just kind of not really thinking," said Zetooney after matching the 100 record set by Sidney's Stacey Rehbein in 1998. "I was really happy about it. I was hoping it was going to be a PR but I wasn't quite sure and I wasn't really expecting anything. So that's definitely a good moment."
Zetooney had a solid day all around, establishing PRs in the 200-meter trails (25.17) and also in the 400 finals (57.06), though she was second in the latter event behind Corvallis' Olivia Lewis, who won in 56.3.
It was part of what has been a Western showcase that has seen Lewis win the 400, Frenchtown's Sadie Smith capture the shot put, Butte Central's Ella Moodry (re)claim the javelin, Stevensville's Claire Hutchison win the high jump and Hamilton's Chesnee Lawrence take the pole vault.
In the girls standings after Friday, Hamilton leads with 24 points while Whitefish is right behind with 21. Dillon is in third place with 20 points.
Corvallis is in front of the boys standings with 21 points and Dillon and Lockwood are tied for second with 14. Billings Central, Hamilton and Glendive round out the top three, all with 12 points.
Hamilton thrower Andrew Burrows won the boys shot put crown one year after taking the discus title. Burrows' winning throw was 55-0.
"I didn't do really well my freshman and sophomore year in shot put," said Burrows, who will go for a repeat in the discus on Saturday. "So it feels really good to redeem myself. My priority is definitely to win shot and disc this year."
One of the day's best turnaround stories came from Butte Central's Moodry, who won the javelin title as a freshman, that ceded it to Laurel's Deja Fike last season before edging Fike to reclaim the championship on Friday.
Moodry's winning toss was 133-08. Fike came in at 131-01.
"I put a lot of pressure and stress on myself last year," Moodry said. "This year I was kind of the underdog. I was calm. I was relaxed. I wasn't really overthinking anything. I didn't put pressure on myself and just had fun with it."
Of note on Friday, Weston Means of Lockwood won the high jump by clearing the bar at 6-4. By doing so, he became the first state track and field champion for Lockwood, which opened its doors in 2019.
Other boys state champions on Friday included Glendive's Kohbe Smith in the 400 (49.34), Billings Central's Greyson Piseno in the 1,600 (4:26.29), and Frenchtown's Carter White in the long jump (22-5½).
