BILLINGS — Welcome to Beyond the Box, a weekly look at the people, personalities and stories that make Montana high school sports special — beyond the scoreboard.
This week we bring you one story. It belongs to Billings Senior track and field athlete Savannah Feldman, a senior who has carried more than most, and who wants you to know you’re not alone.
Let's get into it.
LEAD STORY
Billings Senior's Savannah Feldman: Literally, Who I Am
By the time Savannah Feldman nestles the shot put to her jaw, her world narrows to a circle and her mind races with a set of cues.
That’s what she likes about throwing. The mental checklist gives her a routine, keeps her mind from wandering to other things that could overwhelm.
It’s a contrast from the frenetic pace of volleyball. Going out for track for the first time as a sophomore felt like a risk. Now, as a senior, it’s also become a release.
WATCH Savannah's story:
Billings Senior throws coach Brandon Quesenberry — “Coach Q” — is responsible for nudging Feldman into the unknown. Quesenberry noticed Feldman’s athleticism on the volleyball court, saw her focus and drive in the weight room and brought up the prospect of her throwing for the Broncs.
“Savannah, you’ve got to come out and try it,” he said.
Feldman tried it, expecting a laid-back, more social kind of sport. She found that to be the case, but she also found the repetition of the sport to her liking.
“It’s very technical,” she said. “All about form. There are so many cues you can mess up or forget.”
Her goal this spring is simple. Last season she came up just a couple feet shy of prequalification for the Class AA state meet in the shot and about 10 feet short in the discus.
So, this must be the year, though it’s been a grind. Some days are good, some not so good.
“She’s very process driven,” Quesenberry said. “You can just see it. She understands that things don't come right away.”
The classroom tells its own story, with its own unexpected twist. Her freshman and sophomore years, Feldman loaded up with AP and honors classes, building a 4.10 GPA. Then, something different came along.
Feldman hung out with her older sister, Brynn, and her friends, some of whom were into welding. Their discussions piqued her interest, and when she found out the Career Center had a welding program, that was all it took. She’s in her second year of the program and has a special interest in fabrication. She wants to build things that last, likes the artistic element to it and she said a job is waiting for her this fall at a local shop.
But Feldman’s path through high school has asked more of her than most. And though she doesn’t want her story to already be defined, she wants other young people to know they’re not alone.
Feldman lost her father, Daniel, in May of 2022. Then, in late November of 2024, her mother Lana passed away, as well, due to a lengthy illness. As Lana’s health deteriorated that junior season, Feldman and her Senior volleyball teammates were chasing a title, and it took a toll.
But coaches gave her space and teammates helped lift her, she said. Feldman’s senior night for her final volleyball season was quite sad for her.
“It’s all very hard, to be completely honest, it’s very hard,” Feldman said. “And grief is very irrational, you know, it comes and goes. Especially at my age, sometimes I’m like, ‘I don’t know how to do this.’”
She knows, though, that she can help others. Feldman has thought about how her circumstance can help others her age, wondering how to cope. She wants to be an example, wants to let others know there is a light. You just have to allow yourself to see it.
“If you’re feeling sad, go through the sadness,” she said. “There’s no point in pushing it away.”
Talking it out is just as important. It was to her. Whether it be friends, family or a professional, find anyone who will listen, she said, because someone will.
Sports and staying active have been blessings for Feldman. The goal to qualify for state in the shot put or discus, preferably both, is simply her latest purpose.
“I know I wasn’t raised to sulk every day,” she said. “My biggest goal now is to make my parents proud. That’s my drive for absolutely everything I do.”
Feldman has learned not to take anything for granted, and she’s learned to soften judgment of others, especially herself. She’s also learned that high school is supposed to be fun and joyous, but also there’s more to life than what others think.
And there’s more to Feldman than the worst parts of her story.
“I don’t want my story to define me,” she said. “I don’t want everybody knowing that I’m a girl whose parents passed away and, like, I have nothing. I don’t want that. I want people knowing who I am … literally, who I am.”
And who is that? Coach Q has a good idea. He called Feldman a “positive magnet,” and as proof, one couldn’t help but notice her steady smile even when she’s detailing the darkest parts of her story.
“I don’t know if anybody can be mad around Savannah, because she’s just (always) in a good mood,” Quesenberry said.
If you ask her where her strength comes from, she points to other people. Her sister Brynn. Her aunt and uncle, Lisa and Kevin Feldman, who opened their home to her. Coaches and teammates who listened and gave her grace — and maybe a break from practice — when she needed it.
And the parents who raised her, their words still having an effect.
“I have leaned on their support, even though they’re not currently here with me,” Feldman said. “I couldn’t have done it without them.”
So, Feldman will continue to chase those prequalifying marks. Hearing her tell her story, one can only say she’s already won, just by being out there every day, working to get better, throw by throw. Showing resilience. Choosing her future path.
“The things she’s gained, and we’ve gained from having Savannah, outweigh anything that I can teach her,” Quesenberry said.
That's Beyond the Box for this week. Savannah Feldman's story is one we'll carry with us long after the season ends, and we suspect you will too.
One more volume of Beyond the Box remains this spring. We'll see you then.
