The 2020 track and field season was scheduled to get under way as early as this past Saturday with the Blue Devil Invitational in Corvallis, but the spring sports season has been put on hold until April 13 due to COVID-19 concerns. The Montana High School Association will revisit the decision at that time.
Should the track and field season resume, fans will recognize several names as 2019 state champions. Athletes such as Jaden Foster and Zoe Delaney return to defend multiple titles, while state record holders Lauren Heggen and Karsen Murphy look for more hardware.
Foster, who has garnered collegiate interest from Montana, Montana State and Washington among others, is still getting his training in without school going on and is focused on defending his titles.
"Most of us on the team have been getting together and doing workouts to make sure we don't get out of shape, so if the season does end up coming back we'll still be ready," Foster said. "All of my training is focused on the bigger picture, because I'm trying to be the best I can possibly be. ... I'm very confident in what I can do as long as I can stay healthy. The work I've been putting in is all at 100 percent. ... I've just stayed hungry by focusing on my goals and not getting distracted by anything. Been putting all my energy into track."
New champions will tentatively be crowned at the end of May across several boys events. There are no returning champions in the 1,600-meter run, the triple jump, shot put or javelin, as outgoing seniors claimed 2019 titles across all classifications.
The State AA and C meets are scheduled for May 22-23 in Missoula, while the State A and B meets are scheduled for the same days in Laurel. To view the state qualifying standards for each class, please click here.
Missoula Sentinel, Huntley Project and Scobey are defending boys team champions, while Laurel and Dillon tied for the Class A title last year.
Bozeman, Whitefish and Seeley-Swan won girls championships in 2019, while Baker and Huntley Project tied for the Class B title last spring.
Returning 2019 state champions are listed below. If you notice an error or omission, please email sports@ktvh.com.
Boys
Team
AA -- Missoula Sentinel
A -- Laurel, Dillon (tie)
B -- Huntley Project
C -- Scobey
100
AA -- Chance Sheldon-Allen, Kalispell Flathead, 10.88
200
AA -- Jaden Foster, Missoula Sentinel, 21.68
A -- Jack Waddell, Laurel, 22.46
400
AA -- Jaden Foster, Missoula Sentinel, 48.98
800
B -- Wyatt Barney, Manhattan, 1:57.91
1,600
None
3,200
C -- Riley Schott, Manhattan Christian, 9:58.42
110 hurdles
AA -- Caden Olsen, Billings Skyview, 14.82
300 hurdles
AA -- Drew Deck, Kalispell Glacier, 38.98
C -- Jacob Jessen, Winnett-Grass Range, 39.48
400 relay
AA -- Billings West, 42.15
A -- Columbia Falls, 43.01
B -- Huntley Project, 43.17
C -- Scobey, 44.35
1,600 relay
AA -- Billings West, 3:22.91
A -- Dillon, 3:25.04
B -- Huntley Project, 3:23.84
C -- Seeley-Swan, 3:27.96
Long jump
B -- Avery Stiles, Jefferson, 22-03
Triple jump
None
High jump
AA -- Julius Mims, Billings Skyview, 6-09
B -- Noah Bouchard, Huntley Project, 6-08
Pole vault
B -- Chris Kistler, Huntley Project, 13-09
C -- Josh Herron, Fairview, 12-09
Shot put
None
Discus
B -- Journey Grimsrud, Huntley Project, 151-02
C -- Paul Hardy, Fairview, 143-06
Javelin
None
Girls
Team
AA -- Bozeman
A -- Whitefish
B -- Baker, Huntley Project (tie)
C -- Seeley-Swan
100
A -- Tylia DeJohn, Dillon, 12.45
C -- Carlee Fryberger, Charlo, 12.70
200
A -- Kellan Wahl, Billings Central, 25.88
C -- Zoe Delaney, Winnett-Grass Range, 25.92
400
AA -- Odessa Zentz, Helena, 57.75
A -- Mikenna Ells, Whitefish, 57.47
C -- Zoe Delaney, Winnett-Grass Range, 58.15
800
AA -- Odessa Zentz, Helena, 2:14.25
A -- Brynnli Poulsen, Hamilton, 2:17.86
C -- Zoe Delaney, Winnett-Grass Range, 2:21.15
1,600
AA -- Terra Trom, Bozeman, 4:55.92
C -- Sariah Maughan, Seeley-Swan, 5:23.15
3,200
B -- L'Tia Lawrence, Harlem, 11:18.84
C -- Averi Parker, West Yellowstone, 11:51.19
110 hurdles
A -- Ainsley Shipman, Dillon, 15.98
C -- Carlee Fryberger, Charlo, 15.81
300 hurdles
A -- Ainsley Shipman, Dillon, 46.92
400 relay
AA -- Billings West, 47.80
A -- Whitefish, 49.72
B -- Baker, 50.57
C -- Fort Benton, 50.51
1,600 relay
AA -- Bozeman, 3:58.49
A -- Whitefish, 4:03.93
B -- Baker, 4:07.73
C -- Seeley-Swan, 4:08.42
Long jump
B -- Keaton Lynn, Three Forks, 17-00 ¼
Triple jump
AA -- Lauren Heggen, Missoula Sentinel, 39-09 ¼
A -- Karsen Murphy, Glendive, 37-11 ½
B -- Kendall Lynn, Three Forks, 36-04 ½
High jump
A -- Karsen Murphy, Glendive, 5-06
B -- Mya Fourstar, Wolf Point, 5-03
Pole vault
C -- Terra Bertsch, Seeley-Swan, 10-00
Shot put
AA -- LaKeema Williams, Billings West, 42-03
B -- Ashton McAnally, Bigfork, 38-05 ¾
Discus
AA -- LaKeema Williams, Billings West, 136-04
B -- Emily Poole, Huntley Project, 125-08
C -- Klaire Kovatch, Seeley-Swan, 144-02
Javelin
AA -- Piper Pfister, Missoula Hellgate, 130-01
A -- Angellica Street, Columbia Falls, 156-11
B -- Emily Poole, Huntley Project, 140-11
