MISSOULA — One of the most intriguing parts of the high school track and field schedule started last week.
Over a two-week stretch, every corner of Montana has hosted or will host meets featuring the top athletes in the area, regardless of class. The Russ Pilcher Top 10 meet in Missoula was the first out of the blocks, and more — including the Norm Girard Top 10 meet in Glasgow and the Midland Roundtable Top 10 meet in Laurel — take the baton this week.
But boy, did the Russ Pilcher Top 10 set a high bar with impressive performances. Athletes set seven meet records, including in both 100-meter dashes. Hudson Lembke of Missoula Sentinel won a fast boys race with a personal-best time of 10.72 seconds, and Brooke Zetooney of Whitefish won the girls race in 12.37 seconds.
That was just the beginning of a big week for Zetooney, already the Class A record holder and three-time state champion in the 100-meter dash as well as a two-time champion in the 200. Four days after the Top 10 meet, the future Montana Grizzly ran her season-best times in both the 100 (12.32 seconds) and 200 (25.23) at the Whitefish A.R.M. Invitational.
Those marks are still off her personal-best times she set last season, but she currently has Montana’s fastest time in the 200 and sits second in the 100 behind Laurel’s Kaitlyn Dantic (12.31)
Additionally, Zetooney runs the anchor leg on the Bulldogs’ 400-meter relay team, which also set the Russ Pilcher Top 10 record and state’s fastest clocking this spring with a time of 48.89 seconds. The Corvallis girls, who edged Whitefish by one point for the 2023 state team championship, broke the meet record in the 1,600-meter relay with a state-best time of 4:00.47.
Kalispell Glacier’s Ethan Anderson (boys 110 hurdles, 14.27 seconds), Missoula Sentinel’s Quinn Newman (boys 1,600, 4:15.43) and Helena’s Logan Todorovich (girls long jump, 18-10½) also set meet records.
More from the Russ Pilcher Top 10:
- Sophia Miller of Missoula Hellgate ran Montana’s fastest 800 (2:13.47) of the spring and teammate Kaitlyn Skinner ran the state’s fastest 1,600 (5:06.11).
- This season’s state-best times were also set in the girls hurdles: Aliva Rinehart of Kalispell Flathead in the 100-meter hurdles (14.68) and Olivia Lewis of Corvallis in the 300 hurdles (43.10).
- Landrie Anderson of Hellgate and Aayden Simmons of Helena tied the state-leading heights in the girls pole vault (12-00) and boys high jump (6-06), respectively.
- Tyson Bauder of Hamilton threw 199-04 in the javelin, the state’s best throw this spring and the 10th-best throw in the nation. Hunter Loesch of Corvallis also hit his personal-best throw (189-04) at the Top 10.
On the opposite side of the state, athletes showed out at the Glendive Shriners Invitational.
Kohbe Smith paced the Glendive boys to the team title, winning the 200, 400 and long jump. His 22.01 in the 200, 49.27 in the 400 and 22-07½ in the long jump are the best marks in Class A this spring.
Jaden Shila also placed first in the 800 (2:00.08) and 1,600 (4:25.33) for the Red Devils, and Teagan Wahl, who recently signed to throw at Montana Tech, won the javelin (167-05).
Seniors Chace Waters of Sidney and Ty Leischner of Scobey joined Smith and Shila as multiple-event winners. Waters took first place in the shot put (53-02) and discus (141-09), and Leischner won the high jump (6-04) and pole vault (14-06).
Leischner leads Class C in the pole vault and ranks second overall in Montana, behind only Billings Senior’s Evan O’Toole, who has cleared 15-01.
On the girls side, Hardin ran away with the team championship behind wins from Mariah Aragon (800, 2:22.17), Karis Brightwings-Pease (1,600, 5:19.62), Dayvany Whiteman Runs Him (3,200, 12:57.13), MakaLutaWin Three Irons (discus, 114-01) and Kadie Bends (high jump, 5-02).
But the story of the meet might have been the Savage duo of Cambry Conradsen and Brooke Reuter. They went 1-2 in the 100-meter dash, with Conradsen (12.38) running Class C’s fastest time to edge Reuter (12.39). Conradsen also added a win in the triple jump, marking a personal-best 34-10¾.
Reuter won three events: the 200 in 25.92 seconds, the 400 with a PR of 57.7 seconds and the long jump with a PR of 17-11¼. Her long jump leads Class C, and she ranks second in the class in the 200 (behind Conradsen, who ran a 25.53 at the R&L Invitational two days earlier) and 400 (behind Roberts’ Taylee Chirrick at 57.31).
Speaking of Chirrick, the Roberts senior and future Montana State basketball player had another stellar week, especially at the Harlo/Park City Meet. Not only did she win the 800, 100 hurdles and triple jump, she set Class C’s best marks in all three events: 2:16.00 in the 800, a personal-best 15.62 in the hurdles and a personal-best 37-02½ in the triple jump.
Chirrick, who owns the state’s fastest 400 (57.31) this spring, also set Class C’s top time in the 300 hurdles (44.03) last week at the Red Lodge Invitational.
The Harlo/Park City meet also saw the Harlowton-Ryegate-Judith Gap boys run Class C’s fastest time in the 1,600-meter relay (3:35.69), Cori Coombe of Joliet run Class B’s fastest time in the girls 100 (12.66) and Chase Cook of Red Lodge run Class B’s fastest time in the boys 200 (22.98).
Cook isn’t alone atop the Class B leaderboard in the 200, however. Teammate Jaiden Robinson also clocked a 22.98 at the Red Lodge Invitational, where the Rams coasted to the team title.
In addition to Robinson’s win in the 200, Red Lodge got individual wins from Calvin Garmann (100, 11.87), Gabe Schons (400, 52.25), Mason Swanson (high jump, 6-02), Nolan Evenson (pole vault, 12-06), Stran Lytton (long jump, 19-10) and both relay teams (400, 43.40; 1,600, 3:34.73).
In Class B, Red Lodge boasts the two fastest times in the 100 and three of the top four; the three fastest times in the 200; three of the top 10 in the 400; two of the top five in the 300 hurdles; and the two fastest relay teams.
Elsewhere …
- Bozeman runner Nathan Neil continues to accomplish rare feats. The headline was running the nation’s second-fastest time in both the 1,500 (3:45.51) and mile (4:01.31) at the Nike/Jesuit Twilight Relays last Friday in Portland, Ore. But he also ran with his high school teammates twice during the week. On Tuesday at the Bozeman Crosstown meet, Neil ran Montana’s fastest 800 (1:53.20) of the spring and on Saturday he was in Helena to run a leg on Bozeman’s 1,600-meter relay team at the Skor Dekam.
- Also at the Skor Dekam in Helena, Bozeman Gallatin’s Nash Coley blazed to a 37.3-second time in the 300-meter hurdles. That’s the fastest time in Montana this spring by 1.21 seconds. Coley ran a leg on Gallatin’s state-leading 1,600 relay team, as well. The Raptors crossed the line in 3:22.65.
- Belt’s boys had quite a day at the East Helena Track Invite on Saturday. The Huskies won the team title, getting first-place finishes from Ethan Triplett (100, 10.90), Clayton Jassen (3,200, 10:29.30), JD Shepard (300 hurdles, 41.00), Lane Waldner (shot put, 49-03½), Johnny Tingey (discus, 151-10½), Tucker LaPlaunt (long jump, 19-03¾) and Cash Smith (triple jump, 40-07). Triplett, Shepard and Waldner each set Class C’s top marks, as did the Huskies’ 400-meter relay team, which clocked a 44.10 to place second to Class A Havre (43.70) at the East Helena Invite.
- The Choteau Twilight meet also saw two new Class C bests: Cascade’s Caiden Sekuterski went 22-07 in the boys long jump, and Sunburst’s Nikki Nau went 5:34.94 in the girls 1,600.
(Note: Results compiled from athletic.net.)
