State track previews: Key distances races in AA; B loaded with champions
Some of the top athletes in the state are in Kalispell for the Class AA and B state track and field meets today and Saturday, with six local athletes looking to defend their titles and a whole lot more are looking to claim at least one this weekend.
The girls distance races bring the heartiest storylines to the table this weekend.
In Class AA, defending 400-, 800- and 1,600-meter state champion Christina Aragon of Billings Senior runs head-to-head with the state leader in the 800 and 1,600 — Glacier freshman Annie Hill. Hill, who claimed the Class AA cross country championship this fall, has run near state record numbers in the 1,600 and 3,200 and has fared well when pushed by the state’s other elite distance runners this season.
Aragon, defending high jump champion Taylor Mims and Senior are looking to defend their state title from last year, with Glacier, Missoula Big Sky and Bozeman a few of the teams with the depth to overtake them this season.
Wolfpack senior Keyawana Larson, who broke the divisional meet record in the javelin last week, is seeking her third-straight championship.
On the boys side, Flathead’s Jess Beaman is looking to defend his state title in the triple jump. The Braves senior also leads the class in the long jump and helped the Braves to a third place finish at divisionals. Braves distance runners Jake Perrin and Sylas Schutt are among the favorites in the 1,600 and 3,200.
Glacier finished second last week, in a close three-team race between the Kalispell schools and Helena High. The Bozeman boys are also among the favorites to unseat Missoula Big Sky as the team champions.
Class B
The Class B girls meet will see one of the deepest fields of returning champions the state has ever witnessed, with all but three individual event winners returning to defend their crown.
That number is bolstered by a pair of standout athletes competing in their final prep meet of their careers.
Bigfork’s Makena Morley is a two-time champion in each the 800, 1,600 and 3,200 and has added to her remarkable prep career with the Valkyries with an almost never-ending list of accolades outside of the Valley.
Plains’ Hailey Phillips is the three-time defending 300 hurdles and two-time defending 200 and 400 champion, finishing a narrow second in the 100 hurdles last season.
Phillips is favored each of her events this weekend. Morley has competition from a familiar source, her younger sister.
Bryn Morley has had the fastest times in the class all season, before Makena bested her mark in the 3,200 last week. The two, who finished hand-in-hand to close the Class B cross country meet 1-2, will pace the field in each of the longer races this weekend beginning with the 1,600 this afternoon.
Bigfork is one of three schools that enters the meet as a divisional champion, joining Glasgow and Manhattan in sweeping the boys and girls titles last week. Each will vie for the state titles won by the Manhattan boys and Plains girls last season.
The Bigfork boys will be helped by another Morley, defending boys 1,600 champ Logan Morley. He also holds the fastest 800 and 3,200 times in the class entering this weekend.
All-around athlete Josh Sandry, who placed in three events last week, will be looking to defend his state high jump title from last season.
One person looking to take that crown from him will be another multi-faceted athlete in Troy’s Sean Opland. The Trojans junior helped his team to a runner-up finish last season and enters this weekend as the class leader in the 400, which he won the state title in last season, 200 and high jump.