MISSOULA — The Arcadia Invitational annually allows Montana track and field athletes to showcase their skills against top competition, and the 2026 edition of the California race was no exception.
Running at less than 500 feat above sea level, distance runners, especially, can mark impressive times. This year, Kalispell Glacier senior Owen Thiel took full advantage of the favorable conditions. He placed third in the 3,200-meter finals, running a personal-best time of 8 minutes, 50.57 seconds. The winner, Mikah Peters of Brandon Valley, S.D., won in 8:48.66.
Thiel's 8:50.57 is the fastest time by a Treasure State runner this season by nearly 30 seconds. It was the first time he broke the 9-minute barrier and improved upon his 2025 Arcadia time of 9:08.32 by almost 18 seconds.
Thiel is the reigning Class AA state champion in the 3,200 and was the runner-up in the 1,600 last year. In addition to the state's top time in the 3,200 this season, Thiel leads the 1,600 with a 4:25.95, which he ran on Montana soil at the Kalispell Mini Invite on April 7. He's also second in the 800-meter run with a 1:57.21, trailing only Reid Bartholomew of Gallatin, who clocked a 1:53.55 at the Arcadia Invitational.
On the girls side, Polson's Morgan Delaney ran to a fifth-place finish in the 3,200. The junior crossed the finish line in 10:29.80, a new personal-best time for her. She won the Class A state title in the event with a time of 11:28.82 last year.
More top marks from the Arcadia Invitational, which took place April 11:
- Boys 3,200 — Miles Joseph Miller, Missoula Hellgate, 9:19.46; Emmerson Hamma, Great Falls CMR, 9:19.88; Milo Kauffman, Helena, 9:33.75.
- Boys 800 — Christian Landers, Bozeman, 1:58.44.
- Girls 3,200 — Kyla Meissner, Townsend, 10:44.18; Phoebe Maixner, Bozeman, 10:56.82; Kylee Neil, Bozeman, 11:16.50.
- Girls 800 — Hazel Cooper, Gallatin, 2:16.34.
The largest meet — the one with the most teams competing — so far this young season has been the Joliet/Park City Invitational, which took place April 10 in Laurel. The Columbus boys and Huntley Project girls won the team titles.
For Columbus, Garret Prather impressed in the sprints. The sophomore won the 100- and 200-meter dashes in personal-best times of 10.95 and 21.88 seconds. The 10.95 100 is the fastest in Class B this season, and the 21.88 200 is the fastest in the state regardless of class. Prather also ran legs on the Cougars' 400- and 1,600-meter relay teams, both of which earned first-place finishes.
For Huntley Project's girls, Avery Gerdes swept the 100 and 200, clocking a personal-best 12.31 in the 100 and a 25.24 in the 200. The Montana State University commit has the state's best time in the 200 and Class B's fastest time in the 100.
Kalispell Flathead's William Hollensteiner is already committed to compete at Purdue University, but he still has this spring to leave his mark on Montana's track and field scene. At the Kalispell Mini Invite on April 7, Hollensteiner clocked a 21.92-second time in the 200-meter dash to join Columbus' Prather as the only boys to break the 22-second barrier so far this spring; ran the state's fastest 400 in 47.72 seconds; and marked the top long jump in the state with a mark of 23 feet, 8 inches.
Sidney senior pole vaulter Morgan Kindopp is going to frequently be mentioned among the athletes to watch this track and field season. After breaking the school record in her first meet, Kindopp re-set the record in her second meet, clearing 12-6 at the Northeast A Quadrangular on April 7. According to athletic.net, that's the highest a Montana girl has gone since 2017, when Billings West's Katrina Terry also cleared 12-6.
Kindopp is set to compete at the University of Montana next year.
Elsewhere ...
- Ten girls have run sub-16 seconds in the 100-meter hurdles, led by Bristol Lenz of Kalispell Flathead at 15.07 seconds. Stevensville's Reagan Johnstone has Class A's best time at 15.62 seconds, and Florence's Madigan Hurlbert leads Class B at 15.76 seconds.
- Two girls have already triple-jumped 36 feet, as Richey-Lambert's Brynne Hill went 36-5¼ last week and Bozeman's Calla Sprecher marked 36-1¾.
- Gallatin's Kate Breeding, looking to improve upon last year's runner-up finish in the shot put, hit a personal-best 43-1 last week. That mark leads the state.
- Breeding's teammate, Riley McGrath on the boys side, has the state's top marks in both the shot put and discus. He went 61-3½ in the shot and 187-6 in the disc. Both are personal-best marks.
