STATE TRACK: Glacier's Hill, Senior's Aragon to set pace in Class AA
Record-setting runners on opposite ends of the state, the last time Glacier’s Annie Hill and Billings Senior’s Christina Aragon met they ran the fastest race in the country.
The two will face off four more times at this weekend’s Class AA state track and field championships in Missoula, each hoping to lead her side to a state championship.
Hill and Aragon will compete against each other in the 400-, 800- and 3,200-meter runs on Friday and the 1,600 on Saturday. Aragon holds the advantage in the shorter races, where she has won the 400 each of the past two seasons. Hill, a two-time cross country state champion, excels in the longer distances, winning the 3,200 state title over Aragon by nearly 22 seconds last spring and currently holds the country’s fourth fastest time in the event.
The other two races will be ones to watch. Aragon has won both the 800 and 1,600 each of her three seasons at state and chased down Hill on the final lap in both last year. Hill has the faster 800 time this season, running in 2 minutes, 9.28 seconds at last week’s Western AA divisional, besting Aragon’s 2:09.65 from earlier this month.
The best race, however, should be the 1,600, which produced the second- and third-fastest times in the country when the two met in April.
Aragon won that race, and holds the fastest 1,500 and second-fastest 1,600 time in the nation this season. Hill’s time is now the sixth-best in the country, but she is well within striking distance in what will likely be one of the best races of the weekend.
In the field, Glacier junior Nikki Krueger and senior Melanie Gassaway are among the favorites in the discus and shot put. Flathead has a stable of distance runners and javelin throwers that could also compete for points.
The Billings West girls are favored as a team, with two of the fastest sprinters and hurdlers in the state bolstering not only the individual races, but the relays.
The Flathead boys will be looking to repeat as state champions, but with a loss of some top scorers from last year. The Braves could put multiple distance runners on the podium, led by senior Jake Perrin, who has the top times in the state in both the 1,600 and 3,200.
Glacier’s sprinters, and hurdler Aaron Robinson, will likely help the Wolfpack point, but it’s Billings Senior and Helena High that enter as the team favorites for the boys.
The Class A and B athletes will compete in Bozeman this weekend, where the Bigfork girls could bring home the team’s first state championship since 1992.
Even missing talented sophomore Bryn Morley, the Valkyries have a deep stable of talent, including sophomore sprinter Haile Norred and senior hurdler Mattison McAnally.
Seniors Logan Morley, a distance runner, and Ross Coleman, a thrower, lead the Vikings’ attempts at a state trophy. Morley has Class B’s top times in the 800, 1,600 and 3,200 this season.
Troy’s Sean Opland closes out his illustrious career this weekend as a favorite in four events: 100, 200, 400 and high jump. He finished first or second in all four events last season and again enters with some of the top marks in the state.
The Columbia Falls boys are among the favorites in Class A, with senior sprinter Tanner Dana and junior distance runner Sage Wanner among the fastest in the state.
Polson’s Jacob Clairmont, one of the best hurdlers and pole vaulters, should also be in the hunt for medals.
The Columbia Falls and Whitefish girls are in the race for the team title with Wildkats senior thrower Allyson Gimble and Bulldogs senior athlete Allie Schulz leading the way.
Polson has shined in the field events this season, led by pole vaulter Lydia Bowman and javelin thrower Mariah Corrigan. The Pirates could also challenge for a trophy with some top finishes by their top athletes.
Competition in both meets begins at 9 a.m. on Friday in the field and 10:30 a.m. on the track.