Two years ago, Winnett Grass Range sprinter Zoe Delaney burst onto the track and field scene as a freshman, winning a State C title in the 200-meter dash and adding second-place finishes in the 100- and 400-meter dashes.
As a sophomore, she finished second in the 200 and claimed titles in the 100 and 400.
Now a junior and firmly established as the top runner in Class C, Delaney is pushing herself even harder. She has opted out of the 100 and added the 800-meter run to her repertoire. She has four wins in four races and owns the top Class C mark in the state at 2 minutes, 23.07 seconds.
“My main goal is to be better than I was last year,” she said. “I feel like I have the strength to run the 800. I’ve been running the 100 since sixth grade and I wanted to try something new.”
Delaney also holds Class C-best marks in the 200 (26.40 seconds) and 400 (58.35) and qualified for state in the 100 early in April. She has the rare opportunity to claim four individual state championships at the State C meet in Laurel later this month.
She firmly believes she can pull it off.
“Of course I do,” she said. “I believe in myself completely.”
Delaney is already re-writing the Grass Range history books and hopes to put her stamp on the Montana records, as well.
“I love it because I’m from a small school,” she said. “It’s kind of neat because no one really expects a small-town girl to win and be pretty good, so I’m excited.”
Delaney has plans to run track in college in the future and lists Army (West Point) and Montana State as her dream destinations.
