MISSOULA — The high school track and field season is in the midst of one of the most exciting stretches of the regular season.
The 26th annual Russ Pilcher Top 10 meet was last Tuesday in Missoula, and the Shriners Invitational took place last Friday in Glendive. This week, there's the Midland Roundtable Top 10 in Laurel, the 44th annual Norm Girard Top 10 in Sidney and the Cascade Top 8 in Great Falls — not to mention the Al Walker Memorial Stillwater, Archie Roe and KLH Memorial meets this weekend.
All that is to say, we're getting the state's top athletes facing off in head-to-head competition, and they're delivering impressive performances. At least 12 athletes (excluding relays) recorded state-best marks last week, including five at the prestigious Russ Pilcher Top 10 and three at the Shriners Invitational.
Freshman Addison Kegel, Class C jumpers shine at Shriners Invitational
Let's start with the Shriners Invitational, which featured Class A, B and C teams as well as programs from North Dakota. Billings Central runner Addison Kegel continued her phenomenal freshman campaign and won the 1,600-meter run in 4 minutes, 50.55 seconds. She won the race by nearly 20 seconds and holds the fastest time on Montana soil this season by more than 12 seconds. (Kalispell Glacier's Ada Thiel, another freshman, ran a personal-best time of 4:53.63 at the Arcadia Invitational in California. Her best time in the state is 5:02.79.)
Kegel, who set the Class A record at last fall's state cross country meet, has quickly put her name beside the likes of Christina Aragon, Bryn Morley and Annie Hill in Montana's track and field annals. Kegel's 4:50.55 is the fastest by a Treasure State girl since Morley ran a 4:49.41 in 2018.
A pair of long jumpers also had a good day at the Shriners Invitational, with Class C athletes Jolee Klempel and Johnslee Pierre each marking state-leading jumps. Richey-Lambert's Klempel, who co-owns the Class C long jump record at 17-9½, popped a personal-best jump of 18 feet, 10¼ inches. It was part of a massive day for Klempel, who also won the 100-meter hurdles (15.44 seconds), shot put (36-10) and triple jump (36-4¼) to help the Fusion win the team trophy over Class A teams Miles City, Billings Central, Lewistown and Sidney.
Pierre, the multi-sport standout from Lustre Christian, vaulted to the top of the boys long jump leaderboard with a 23-9 mark. Pierre hasn't competed in many meets this season, but when he has, he's shown he's one of the best athletes in Class C. At the Shriners Invitational, he also won the 110-meter hurdles in a personal-best time of 15.31 seconds.
Meet records, state-best marks fall at Russ Pilcher Top 10
On the opposite side of the state, athletes took aim at a number of records at the Russ Pilcher Top 10. In addition to the five state-best marks set, athletes broke seven meet records. Read more on those records here.
Missoula Hellgate's Elly Reed and Superior's Landon Richards shined in the high jump, with Reed setting the meet record and taking over the top spot on the girls leaderboard with a jump of 5-7¼ and Richards being the first boy this season to clear 6-8.
On the track, Annalise Lewis of Hamilton clocked a 2:12.57 in the girls 800-meter run, and Ginger Bergland of Whitefish went 44.66 in the girls 300-meter hurdles. Bergland has Class A's top times in both hurdles. Her 15.09 at the Top 10 placed third in the race but leads Class A this season.
And Bigfork's Robert Merchant blazed a 21.71 in the boys 200-meter dash. Merchant, who also clocked a 10.99 to place second in the 100, owns Class A's fastest times in both sprints and added the classification's fastest 400 (49.75) at the Bigfork Invitational.
Belgrade's Wilson Schmidt, Gallatin's Kate Breeding impress at Gallatin County Championship
The Gallatin County Championship at Belgrade saw two athletes set new state standards. In his first time running the 800 this season, Belgrade's Wilson Schmidt clocked a time of 1:52.75. That's about 2.5 seconds off his personal-best time of 1:50.21, which he ran at last year's state meet to win the individual championship. He's also the reigning Class AA champion in the 1,600.
Kate Breeding of Gallatin was a multiple-event winner at the Gallatin County Championship, recording the best javelin and shot put marks. She threw the jav 139-0, setting a new personal best by more than six feet and taking over the top spot on the state leaderboard. She also won the shot put with a throw of 43-0, which was just one inch shy of her personal-best and state-leading put of 43-1. Breeding this season has won the shot with marks between 42-0 and 43-1 at every meet in which she's competed.
Elsewhere ...
- Shelby sprinter Regan Torgerson ran the fastest girls 200-meter dash in the state at the HHS Lions Meet. The junior crossed the finish line in 24.81 seconds, becoming the first girl this season to break the 25-second barrier. Torgerson, who placed second in the 100, 200 and 400 at last year's State B meet, also ran Class B's fastest 100 in 12.29 seconds at the HHS Lions Meet.
- At the Skor Dekam, Billings West senior Aliyah Vogel edged Billings Senior's Emery Peel in a close 400-meter dash. Vogel finished in 57.41 seconds, just ahead of Peel's 57.56. Those are the two fastest times in the state this season.
- Great Falls' Addison Smith kept moving the bar in the pole vault at the Skor Dekam. She went up and over a Class AA-leading 12-2 in Helena.
- Dylan Garcia of Billings West also had a strong day at the Skor Dekam. The senior went 46-5 in the triple jump, the best mark in Class AA this season and second-best in the state regardless of class. He also cleared 6-6 in the high jump, which is tied with Billings Senior's Josiah Coehlo for the top height in Class AA.
- At the Harlo/Park City Invitational, Columbus sophomore Garret Prather clocked a time of 21.74 seconds in the boys 200-meter dash. That's the best in Class B this season (adding to Prather's class-leading 10.95 in the 100) and second-best regardless of class.
- Plains boasts three of the top boys distance runners in Class B. John Jermyn (9:40.63), Cord Greer (9:44.61) and Simeon Costner (9:49.01) rank first, second and fourth in the 3,200 in the classification. Jermyn and Greer, both sophomores, are also first and second in Class B in the 1,600 with times of 4:25.44 and 4:25.47.
- The reigning Class C state champion in the boys shot put and discus is well-positioned to repeat. Chester-Joplin-Inverness junior Dane Grammar improved his class-leading marks at the Celtic Classic. He's the only Class C thrower over 50 feet in the shot put with a personal-best throw of 51-6 and the only one over 150 feet in the discus with a personal-best of 166-3.
