MISSOULA — Plains sophomore Owen Jermyn knew he was going to have to be uncomfortable if he wanted to win the boys 1,600-meter run Friday at the Class B state track and field meet at MCPS Stadium.
Fortunately for Jermyn, his strategy was to be comfortable being uncomfortable, and he had a plan from the outset that he executed flawlessly en route to a narrow victory over Harlem's Ethan Walker.
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"The first 200 was really fast, that was kind of the goal. We had some 800 runners in that. If it was down to the last 400, they would've been able to out-kick me," said Jermyn, who crossed the finish line in a personal-best time of 4 minutes, 24.21 seconds, just ahead of Walker, who finished in 4:24.44.
"It all came down to knowing when to put yourself out there — like, really push that pace in a way where it makes everyone else as tired as you are. Really, that's what that first 200, 400 really was," Jermyn continued.
"Second lap, I kind of held it back a little bit, because I pushed it so hard, had to recover myself. All that was, was holding on to positioning and not letting anyone out front.
"Third (lap), I went back out to pace. Same thing, put myself in a spot where it was uncomfortable, but it also makes everyone just as uncomfortable.
"The last 400, it was really a 'you have to go now' moment. I pushed that first 100 and there was a kid, really good 800 runner, he came in and he passed me (with 300 meters remaining in the race). In that moment, I realized if I was going to pull this off, I was going to have to put myself in a spot I don't want to be. I'm going to have to be uncomfortable with it.
"The last 200, I came in, and it was a sprint. It was, 'I don't care how tired you are. You're going to go, and you're going to pass this kid. Once you pass that kid, you're not going to slow down. You're going to keep pushing, because you know there's just as many people trying to do the same thing.'
"The entire race was more of a planned, consistent strategy. It's a strategy I know I can pull off. I didn't want to do anything stupid, but I also didn't want to leave myself out there to where I could get beat in a way I won't find accomplished."
Photos: Day 1 at the 2026 Class AA/B state track and field meets in Missoula
Plains also got a fourth-place finish from Cord Greer in the 1,600, giving the Horsemen 14 points in the event. They sit in second place in the boys team race after four events. Missoula Loyola has the Day 1 lead with 18 points. Jefferson is third with 13, and Plentywood and Choteau are tied for fourth with 10 points each.
Townsend leads the girls teams with 14 points after Day 1. Malta, Three Forks, Wolf Point, Big Timber and Jefferson are all tied for second with 10 points each.
Denvyr Tuss gets 'redemption'
Entering her final state track and field meet, Malta's Denvyr Tuss had two goals: 1) She wanted to improve upon last year's fourth-place finish in the discus; and 2) She wanted to throw 40 feet in the shot put.
She checked off the first one Friday.
"It feels amazing," Tuss said after receiving her gold medal for winning the girls discus with a personal-best throw of 132 feet, 8 inches. "I didn't have the best performance last year at state, so it means a lot to finally come back and get redemption for last year."
The day got off to an inauspicious start for the senior, who chucked her first throw well out of bounds. She threw 125-11 and 129-4 on her next two throws. Both marks would have been good enough to win the event, but Tuss uncorked the 132-8 on her final throw of the finals.
"I was able to go with my coaches and kind of like chill out. They told me I know what to do, I have all the skills, just go have some fun," Tuss said.
She'll be back Saturday in an attempt to defend her state title in the shot put and at least two inches to her personal-best mark of 39-10, which set two weeks ago at the District 2B meet.
More long jump noise from Kaitlyn Noyes
Townsend senior Kaitlyn Noyes put her long jump record a little farther out there for future jumpers.
Noyes, who set the Class B record with a jump of 18 feet, ½ inches as a sophomore, broke her own mark Friday, popping off an 18-9¾ jump. She won the event by exactly one foot, as Jefferson sophomore Mckinleigh Doherty marked a 17-9¾ for second place.
Plentywood's Henry Kukowski had an impressive day in the boys long jump, as well, marking a 22-7½ to take home the gold medal.
Other event winners Friday included Big Timber's Elle Anderson in the girls 1,600 (5:12.09), Choteau's Kesston Thomas in the boys javelin (199-10) and Jefferson's Cooper Mikesell and Wolf Point's AnnaLeigh Matejovsky in the boys and girls pole vault. Mikesell cleared 14-0 for the boys title, while Matejovsky cleared 10-9 to win the girls championship.
For full results from Day 1 of the Class B state track and field meet, click here. The meet will conclude Saturday.
