MISSOULA — Montana's best high school athletes often shine brightest at the state track and field meets.
Numerous records fall every May as the elite competition brings out high-level performances, and — weather permitting — this year's meets have the potential for more memorable achievements. State records can only be set at state meets, but at least 20 class or all-class records have either been tied or surpassed this season.
The Class AA and B meets are Thursday, Friday and Saturday in Missoula, while the Class A and C meets are the same days in Laurel. At both sites, the fan-favorite sprints could take center stage, but they'll be especially fast in the Garden City.
The boys all-class 100-meter dash record is 10.5 seconds, set by Great Falls CMR's Damien Nelson. Only Cooper Nelson of Helena Capital has run a time faster than that this season (10.49) and he's reportedly out for state, but the Class AA boys 100 still has the chance to be an absurdly fast race — if not the fastest in Montana history.
Including Nelson, an incredible 12 Class AA sprinters have clocked season-best times faster than 11 seconds. Another has posted an 11.01 and two more have gone 11.02. Could we see an all-sub-11 final? In the past 10 State AA meets, there have never been more than three boys run sub-11 in the 100 final.
For the girls, Billings Senior's Emery Peel has already clocked a 100-meter dash time this season of 12.03 seconds, which is faster than the record of 12.06 seconds set by Helena's Logan Todorovich in 2024. Peel will face stiff competition from Quinlyn Simmons of Helena High and a trio of Billings West runners (Carleigh Mann, Demry Boyd and Nora Allen), among others.
In Class B, Columbus star Buck Prather has his sights set on the class records (and potentially the all-class times) in both the boys 100- and 200-meter dashes. The sophomore clocked a 10.75-second 100 and 21.61-second 200 earlier this season. Both times are faster than the current Class B records (10.87 in the 100 set by Big Timber's Casey Gunlikson in 2019 and 22.0 in the 200 set by Superior's Trizten Avila last year).
Regan Torgerson of Shelby has also tied the girls Class B record in the 200 this season when she ran it in 24.81 seconds. That time matches the 24.81 run by the legendary Loni Perkins of Conrad in 2003.
Let's stick with the Class B girls, who have two more records well within reach: the pole vault and long jump. In the pole vault, Conrad senior Ava Krings has gone up and over 12 feet, 3 inches this season, which tied the class-record height established by Huntley Project's Brynn Wandle in 2024.
In the long jump, current Class B record-holder Kaitlyn Noyes of Townsend is still around. She marked a class-best 18-0½ and won the gold medal in 2024 and defended her title last year. Now a senior, Noyes has marked a season-best jump of 18-4¼.
Noyes has gotten the better of the most-recent head-to-head matchups with Jefferson sophomore Mckinleigh Doherty, but Doherty marked a personal record of 18-9¾ in her season-opening meet in early April.
Flipping back to Class AA, a handful of classification records are in danger, but health could be the biggest storyline at MCPS Stadium. In addition to Nelson's injury for Capital, top contenders William Hollensteiner of Kalispell Flathead, Kellan Krueger of Missoula Big Sky and Riley McGrath of Gallatin have missed significant time this season or are battling ailments.
Hollensteiner, who set the all-class record in the 400-meter run (47.22 seconds) last season, competed last weekend at the Western AA divisional meet for the first time since the MCPS Invite on April 17. Krueger clocked an astonishing 13.66-second time in the 110-meter hurdles in March but hasn't run in the event since; and McGrath, the state leader in both the shot put and discus, is nursing a sore throwing shoulder.
On the bright side, Belgrade's Wilson Schmidt is back to defend his title in the 800-meter run after setting the all-class record of 1:50.21 last year. He has a season-best time of 1:51.91 this spring.
And, like Big Sky's Krueger, Oliver Mow of Helena Capital has also run a sub-14 in the 110 hurdles. Mow clocked a time of 13.79 seconds just a couple weeks ago. The all-class state record is 14.14 seconds set by Bradley Graves of Huntley Project in 2019.
The Bruins are also expecting a big meet from Brayden Brisko. The reigning state pole vault champion has cleared 16 feet, 6 inches this season, which is higher than the all-class record set by Helena High's Chase Smith in 2015. Brisko also owns a 10.68-second 100 this season.
If Hollensteiner is able to go for Flathead, he'll also take aim at the Class AA long jump record. He marked a 23-8 earlier this season, which is better than the current Class AA record of 23-2 set by Missoula Hellgate's Mike Ramos way back in 1980.
The jumps should also draw lots of attention at the Laurel Sports Complex, where Jolee Klempel of Richey-Lambert, Johnslee Pierre of Lustre Christian, Ella Varner of Corvallis, Tamret Savik of Bigfork, among others, boast marks that put them in record contention. Klempel already shares the Class C girls long jump record at 17-9½, but she'll look to take solo ownership this weekend. She has a PR of 18-10¼ in the event, and Richey-Lambert teammate Brynne Hill has gone 18-5 this season.
Pierre has a shot at multiple records (including the 300-meter hurdles and triple jump), but the long jump is the one to watch. He popped off a 23-9 in early May. The all-class record is 23-8, set by Kelly Friede of Huntley Project in 1989.
Savik (48-3) and Varner (38-5) have triple jump marks better than the current Class A records. The boys record is 47-0½, set by Miles City's Mike Lamphear in 1978, and the girls record is 37-11½, set by Glendive's Karsen Murphy in 2019. Savik is also within reach of the all-class triple jump record of 48-9½ set by Flathead's Mathew Tokarz in 2013.
Livingston senior Finn Schretenthaler will look to improve upon his Class A record of 4:16.31 in the 1,600-meter run. His season-best time of 4:21.04 ranks third in Class A behind Billings Central's Grey Piseno and Polson's David DiGiallonardo, who ran 4:15.37 and 4:16.79, respectively, at out-of-state meets.
Henry Griffin of Frenchtown will take aim at the Class A records in the throws, too, and has a good chance in the discus. He threw 186-2 earlier this season, which is farther than the class record of 182-7 set by Colstrip's Jason Small in 1996.
The Class A girls have four additional classification records on watch, as well. Miles City's Peyton Frame is gunning for her own record in the 800-meter run. She clocked a 2:12.35 to win gold last year. She ran a 2:12.32 a couple weeks ago and will be going up against a competitive field that includes Hamilton's Annalise Lewis and Billings Central's Addison Kegel. Kegel outpaced Frame at last weekend's Eastern A divisional meet, winning in 2:12.38 compared to Frame's 2:14.37.
Kegel owns Class A's fastest time in the 1,600 meters (4:50.55) and the classification's fastest time on Montana soil in the 3,200 (10:30.49). Both marks are well ahead of the class records of 4:57.07 (set by Belgrade's Pipi Eitel in 2017) in the 1,600 and 10:47.33 (set by Polson's Bea Frissell in 2019) in the 3,200. Polson's Morgan Delaney is another one to watch with Kegel.
And finally, there's Sidney pole vaulter Morgan Kindopp, who has cleared 12-9 this season. Former Eagle Leila Ben-Youssef set the current Class A record of 12-4 in 2000. The all-class record is 13-0, which Shannon Agee of Helena set in 1998.
