Guide to the 2024 Class A state track and field meet (2024)

BILLINGS — The best of the best of Class A in the Montana high school track and field scene will descend upon the Laurel Sports Complex very soon.

Festivities for the 2024 Class A state track and field meet begin early with the boys pole vault at 4 p.m. Thursday before everything else gets going starting at 9 a.m. Friday, with the final event of the meet scheduled to start at 3:55 p.m. Saturday. A full schedule of the events for the weekend can be found on the MHSA website.

It's the final weekend of the Montana high school sports calendar for 2023-24, and numerous teams and talented athletes will be looking to end their spring sports seasons on a high note.

Returning individual champions:Brooke Zetooney, Whitefish (girls 100, 200); Olivia Lewis, Corvallis (girls 100 hurdles, 300 hurdles, 400); Maeve Ingelfinger, Whitefish (girls 800); Karis Brightwings-Pease, Hardin (girls 1,600, 3,200); Sadie Smith, Frenchtown (girls shot put); Alanna Auch, Corvallis (girls discus); Ella Moodry, Butte Central (girls javelin); Kohbe Smith, Glendive (boys 400); Caleb Tomac, Havre (boys 800); Grey Piseno, Billings Central (boys 1,600, 3,200); Andrew Burrows, Hamilton (boys shot put), Lane Voermans, Columbia Falls (boys discus); Tyson Bauder, Hamilton (boys javelin).

Overview:In one of the most chaotic endings to a track meet that you'll ever see, both of Corvallis' track teams at last season's Class A state meet — on the same Laurel track the Blue Devils will be on this weekend — performed in the clutch to pull off an epic double, capturing both team titles by just a single point each way.

Last year, thunderstorms hit Laurel right before the start of the meet's final event, the 4x400-meter relay, resulting in a three-hour weather delay; successfully shaking off any and all nerves from the extended wait, Corvallis' boys and girls teams in the event did just enough to fend off rivals in captivating ways.

A year later, can the Blue Devils do it again? It's certainly possible, but other contenders should be in hot pursuit once again.

Corvallis' boys comfortably won the Western A divisional meet last weekend by a 35-point margin over runner-up Whitefish, whereas the girls finished third just eight points back of champion Hamilton and four off second-place Whitefish.

But as long as the Blue Devil girls have Olivia Lewis competing for them, they're always going to have a chance to do something special.

Lewis, a senior and Montana State track and field commit, swept the hurdles titles and won the 400-meter run a year ago while also running a legendary final leg of the 4x400 to get Corvallis the title. Already the Class A record holder in the 300 hurdles, Lewis could smash the all-time record in the event (currently 42.87 seconds, set by Missoula Sentinel's Liz Harper in 2013) as her best time this season in the event is a blistering 42.36, set at a meet in Polson on May 11.

Meanwhile, Whitefish's girls (the 2022 state champion) will be bringing the heat and trying the regain the state title they lost in crushing fashion last season.

Bulldogs speedster Brooke Zetooney (a Montana track and field commit) holds Class A's fastest times this season in the 100, 200 and 400, and her top time of the year in the 100 of 12.04 would surpass the 12.08 time set by Billings West's Jaeden Wolff in 2022 as an all-time best had it occurred at the state meet. Expect her to take part in Whitefish's searing relay teams, too, with the Bulldogs having the top-ranked time in the 4x100 (48.81) and the second-ranked time (behind Corvallis' 4:00.47) in the 4x400.

And then there's Western A champion Hamilton, which has an impressive freshman in Annalise Lewis topping the charts in the 800 and 1,600 and an excellent senior discus thrower in Mya Winkler, who has the best mark in the class by almost six feet (131 feet, two inches). Havre could make the most noise out of the Eastern A as the Blue Ponies steamrolled to the divisional crown with 128 points, with the 4x100 team (48.97 season-best) being in touching distance of Whitefish's best mark and Kyanna Jarvis being the favorite in high jump (5-5).

On the boys' side, last year's pole vault champion (then-Hamilton junior Taylor Searle) transferred out of state, meaning a new titlist will be crowned Thursday afternoon in the weekend's opening event. Livingston's Asa Duncan and Sidney's Daniel Stevens currently share the top mark for the year in Class A at 14-0.

Corvallis' boys can go back-to-back, mimicking what it did with state titles 2009 and 2010, and University of Providence track and field commit Wyatt Miles could break a Class A record for the Blue Devils with it in the shot put, as his 59-7 season-best toss eclipses the state meet-best set by Livingston's Chris Emter (58-5.5) in 2014. He's just one part of Corvallis' strong depth as the Blue Devils have 17 top-10 marks teamwide in Class A this season, signaling that they'll be nabbing points all over the place in Laurel.

But if a one-man show is what you seek in Laurel this weekend, you potentially don't need to look any further beyond Glendive's Smith.

The defending boys 400 state champion, Smith has been on fire for the Red Devils this season, posting the class' top marks entering state in the 200 (22.01), 400 (49.27) and triple jump (45-11), along with a second-ranked leap in the long jump (22-7.5).

However, a Glendive coach told The Billings Gazette and 406 MT Sports during last weekend's Eastern A divisional meet in Laurel that Smith had been dealing with a slight injury, which forced him to scratch in all of his events besides the long jump.

His status for state is unclear, but if the Dickinson State (North Dakota) track and field commit is back in business, Glendive should get a solid haul of points in the team leaderboard. Eastern A champ Laurel could do the same by way a strong group of sprinters, featuring its class-leading 4x100 team (42.97) with senior Cameron McAllister (10.9, second ranked in the 100) leading the charge.

Also, if you want some possible appointment viewing, keep your eyes peeled on the wide-open high jump starting at 1:30 p.m. Friday as six boys are tied for the Class A lead at 6-2 — Libby's Tristan Andersen, Corvallis' Derek Criddle and Ledge Conner, Whitefish's Carson Krack, Columbia Falls' Banyan Johnston and Lockwood's Tharin Sikveland.