BOZEMAN — The Gallatin girls track and field team has been chasing a first-place finish since the school opened its doors five years ago. And over the weekend, it accomplished the goal of the first state title in program history.
"It’s really great," Gallatin coach Chantel Jaeger-Smith said. "It’s been a goal of ours, I mean, since the school was founded. It’s always great to chase titles, and it’s really rewarding for all of the kids, and it helps them grow on and off the track."
"It was just really exciting," Gallatin's Isabel Ross said. "Everyone came and tried their best, and it’s just really emotional, and I’m just so proud of everyone, and everyone really locked in and performed when it mattered."
The Gallatin girls also took home their first state title in cross country this past fall, with many of those team members getting to make history again this spring.
"It just feels like a team achievement because all these girls are so well-rounded," Jaeger-Smith explained. "They’re not just specializing in track and field. We’ve got the the state girls cross country team here, and we’ve got girls that are all-state soccer players, state champ basketball players, the list goes on."
Senior distance runner Claire Rutherford led the cross country team to the state title last fall and now gets to finish her Raptors career with another team title in track and field.
"All four years, yeah," Rutherford said how long she's worked to win a team title in track and field. "We’ve watched the guys team do it, and we’ve been on the podium for, I don’t know, the last two years maybe, and yeah, to have it end in a state championship, it’s a really special thing. Especially after our girls distance team ... we’re all on the cross country team, we came away with a state championship there as well."
The team has built a culture that’s grown over the past few years and culminated in the ultimate goal.
"The hard work and discipline, it’s the same community of distance runners, and then you carry that over to track and you get the whole girls team together, it’s the same kind of people that all just want to be here, work hard and improve upon their best selves," Rutherford said.
