CHICAGO — Sidney’s Garrison Hughes added another accolade to his outstanding track and field career. Hughes was named the Gatorade Montana boys track and field athlete of the year on Thursday. Hughes is the first athlete from Sidney to garner the honors.
Hughes won his third consecutive Class A state pole vault title in May, and was part of the second-place 400-meter relay team and the fifth-place 1,600-meter relay team, helping Sidney take third as a team. At the Eastern A/Central A divisional meet, Hughes vaulted 17 feet, the highest mark in state history. That vault ranked No. 10 in the nation. Hughes also competed in this month’s USATF Junior Outdoor Championships, where he placed ninth with a height of 15-11.
“Garrison’s definitely worthy of this award,” said Glendive coach Tim Temple. “He’s the second kid in the state to jump 16 feet, the first to go 17 feet, and the eighth to do so in the nation. You go to a track meet, and you can tell the kids that are a cut above the rest. Garrison is one of them.”
Hughes has signed a national letter of intent to compete on scholarship in track and field at the University of Nebraska in the fall.
