LAUREL — Perhaps it was fitting on a day in which heavy rain saturated the Class A state track and field meet.
For the Laurel boys and the Havre girls, the long drought is finally over.
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On the strength of its hurdling corps and a record-breaking relay team, Laurel won its first solo team championship since 1991 while Havre's girls, behind the exploits of star sprinter Macy Brandon, reached the top of the podium for the first time since 1991.
The Locomotives got a standout performance from Decker Purkett, who won both the 110- and 300-meter hurdles Saturday — but he was pushed to the limit by teammate Gabriel Glassing, who was runner-up in both events.
Another teammate, Isaiah Burt, took sixth in the 110s and fourth in the 300s to add to a huge point total in two events.
"I love our track team as a hurdle group," Purkett said. "We do everything together. We go to team dinners, we rehab together ... we're all such great friends. During practice, it's just fun."
He added: "I'm super proud of us ... that's all I've got to say."
The Locomotives broke the Class A record in the 400-meter relay with a time of 42.18 (eclipsing the mark set by a previous Laurel quartet in 2022) and finished with 96 total team points, cruising to the state title over Bigfork (50 points) and third-place Corvallis (49 points).
For Havre, Brandon's day included wins in the 100 and 200 meters. She shattered the Class A record in the 100 with a time of 11.99 to become the first girl in the classification to go sub-12 at a state meet.
Photos: Day 2 of the Class A and C state track and field meet in Laurel
Brandon also anchored the Blue Ponies' 400-meter relay team that (twice) broke the Class A mark — first with a 47.77 time in Friday's prelims. They won the event Saturday in 47.79.
Havre finished the meet with 62 points, edging second-place Corvallis (58 points), third-place Stevensville (53) and fourth-place Hamilton (52).
Of her sub-12 clocking in the 100, Brandon was stunned after the race when she looked at the scoreboard and saw it plainly: "11.99" — though she wasn't certain of any help from the wind. (There wasn't, by the way.)
"I was shocked," said the Montana State-bound sprinter. "My goal has been this whole season to break 12, so finally breaking it felt really good.
The meet was delayed more than 2½ hours by lightning and hard rain midway through Saturday's proceedings. But it didn't wash out all that was or would be accomplished.
Four other records also tumbled on the final day of the season. Billings Central's Addison Kegel added to her banner freshman year by setting a new Class A mark in the 1,600 meters, finishing in 4:49.3 — nearly eight seconds faster than what Belgrade's Pipi Eitel ran to set the standard in 2017.
Kegel also set classification records in the 800 and 3,200 before becoming a triple gold medalist.
In boys triple jump, Bigfork's Tamret Savik leaped 48 feet, 4¾ inches to easily surpass the previous Class A record set by Miles City's Mike Lamphear in 1978. Lamphear was on hand at the LHS Sports Complex to personally award Savik his medal, which was a gesture Savik said he appreciated.
"My progression throughout the years, it was a lot," said Savik, who also won the high jump on Friday. "I wasn't always (at my) best until this year, so I worked hard for it, was striving for that, and it felt great."
Stevensville's Reagan Johnstone was a two-time gold medalist on Saturday, prevailing in the 100- and 300-meter hurdles. Her time of 14.42 in the 100s edged past the previous Class A mark of 14.47 set in 2011 by former Corvallis star Paige Squire.
Johnstone credited her hurdling success to focus and commitment — and a rivalry and friendship with Whitefish's Ginger Bergland, a fellow sophomore.
"My wonderful competitor, Ginger Bergland, is somebody who pushes me so hard and I admire her so much," Johnstone said. "And so getting to race with her and her pushing me to my maximum is so exciting."
Another Class A record fell in the boys 1,600 meters, as Livingston's Finn Schretenthaler edged Hardin's Ben Bird by a step. Both times would have broken the previous mark, but Schretenthaler won in 4:15.12 to beat his own record he set last season.
Also on Saturday, Sidney's Morgan Kindopp took the podium to accept her gold medal in the pole vault event she won Friday in record-breaking fashion — Kindopp vaulted 13-0¼ to take down the all-class record of 13-0 set in 1998 by Shannon Agee of Helena High.
Kindopp, who will join the University of Montana track program beginning in the fall, made history as part of a long tradition of champion Sidney pole vaulters.
"It's been such a pleasure to be a part of," Kindopp said. " I feel so privileged and grateful. I worked so super, super hard to just come out and put it all together. Believing in myself and having that confidence, knowing that I could make that jump meant even more than all the physical work I put in. But it's really just a culmination of all of those years put together."
For results from the 2026 Class A/C track and field meet, click here.
2026 Class A gold medalists
Boys 100: Ayden Spencer, Corvallis, 11.01
Girls 100: Macy Brandon, Havre, 11.99*
Boys 200: Ayden Spencer, Corvallis, 21.98
Girls 200: Macy Brandon, Havre, 24.9
Boys 400: Robert Merchant, Bigfork, 47.89*
Girls 400: Macy Brandon, Havre, 56.86
Boys 800: Finn Schretenthaler, Livingston, 1:53.45
Girls 800: Addison Kegel, Billings Central, 2:09.88*
Boys 1,600: Finn Schretenthaler, Livingston, 4:15.12*
Girls 1,600: Addison Kegel, Billings Central, 4:49.3.*
Boys 3,200: Grey Piseno, Billings Central, 9:24.12
Girls 3,200: Addison Kegel, Billings Central, 10:31.86*
Boys 110 hurdles: Decker Purkett, Laurel, 14.57
Girls 100 hurdles: Reagan Johnstone, Stevensville, 14.42*
Boys 300 hurdles: Decker Purkett, Laurel, 39.83
Girls 300 hurdles: Reagan Johnstone, Stevensville, 43.36
Boys 400 relay: Laurel, 42.18*
Girls 400 relay: Havre, 47.79 (47.77 prelims*)
Boys 1,600 relay: Billings Central, 3:22.77
Girls 1,600 relay: Miles City, 4:00.4
Boys long jump: Bridger Burrows, Laurel, 23-2¾*
Girls long jump: Ella Varner, Corvallis, 18-10¾
Boys triple jump: Tamret Savik, Bigfork, 48-4¾*
Girls triple jump: Sophia Hutchison, Stevensville, 36-5
Boys high jump: Tamret Savik, Bigfork, 6-6
Girls high jump: Bailey Leuthard, East Helena, 5-2
Boys pole vault: Teegan Solomon, Havre, 13-6
Girls pole vault: Morgan Kindopp, Sidney, 13-0¼**
Boys discus: Henry Griffin, Frenchtown, 176-8
Girls discus: Lauren Krebs, Hardin, 128-3
Boys javelin: Darrell Lefthand, Hardin, 192-0
Girls javelin: Macey Kay Smith, Frenchtown, 126-9
Boys shot put: Henry Griffin, Frenchtown, 59-1
Girls shot put: Gracie Werst, Hamilton, 42-6¾
* Indicates Class A record
** Indicates all-class record
