Glacier's Taylor Brisendine is saving her best marks for last

Taylor Brisendine is all of 5-foot-6 and appears to have mastered the art of the small sample size.

Take the 100-meter hurdles: Brisendine, a senior at Glacier High, has run them five times this spring.

The long jump? Three times. The triple and high jumps? Twice each.

She’s met the State AA qualifying marks in all four, and her triple jump mark of 36 feet, 9 inches sits third in AA.

There are reasons for this paucity of competition. The main one dates back to the fall of 2019 and a girls’ soccer match with Butte.

“I was just running with the ball up to the goal, and looking to shoot,” Brisendine recalled. “The keeper came out and knocked me over. I’d planted my foot in the exact opposite way it should go, and I tore my MCL and fractured my tibia. It was pretty rough.”

It wasn’t clear right away what had happened; she was hurt, but wasn’t sure how bad.

“We knew it was a pretty severe collision,” said her dad, Rob. “It took both athletes out of the game. But we didn’t know the extent of it at the time.”

Surgery wasn’t necessary, but she was out for the season. Her team was in the midst of a 6-0-1 start and still advanced to the State AA semifinals. Brisendine was left to cheer on the Wolfpack and go all in on physical rehab.

Which she did, to the point where she felt ready to compete last spring in track and field. Then there was no track and field.

“I was on crutches for a couple months, and then I was able to ski a little bit that winter, but I had to wear a brace,” she said. “I think with track, I might have been OK — if COVID hadn’t come around the corner.”

Fast forward to now and Brisendine has the quickness and explosiveness to garner the attention of college track and field coaches from Montana State, Montana, Sacramento State and, recently, Northern Arizona. She’s leaning MSU, which like most schools is mostly interested in her jumps.

And since jumping is among the physically demanding of the events, and she’s still recovering from a pretty major leg injury, she has to choose her spots. Or rather, Jerry Boschee chooses for her.

“It’s been a little bit of a challenge this season,” said Boschee, who has coached at Glacier since the school opened its doors in 2007 and for 27 years overall. “She’s had a couple leg injuries kind of associated with her previous stuff.”

A sore hamstring has hampered her some, and may limit her today when Glacier faces state power Missoula Sentinel for a track and field dual. The right knee gets a little angry (her word) at times.

She still would rather go full-bore; Boschee would rather she was healthy for the state meet Memorial Day weekend in Missoula.

“I’m a little bull-headed,” Brisendine allowed, laughing. “I like my way. He doesn’t listen to me very well.”

Her biggest strength can also be a hindrance.

“She’s competitive,” Boschee said. “But she listens pretty well to the coaches… and eventually comes to reason. It takes a little bit of convincing.

“She gets a little stubborn and wants to go big, every meet. It’s like, ‘OK, where’s the prize? The prize is at the end of the year, right? Come on, kid.’”

It’s already been an amazing year. Brisendine returned to the soccer pitch last fall and knocked in Glacier’s first goal of the season. Then — alert Central Casting — she one-timed a pass from Kenzie Wiliams for the Pack’s final goal of the year, in its 1-0 State AA championship game win over Helena.

In the gallery were Rob and Tricia Brisendine, watching their two oldest daughters — Reagan had 10 goals as a freshman, four in the postseason — compete.

“They’re definitely strong kids,” Rob said. “Not really tall yet, still growing. Their speed helps — they’re both very quick. They get that from their mom.

“As a parent, to be able to watch your girls on the same team and bring home a state championship together — it’s just a dream for us.”

The dream continues. It was on May 7 that Taylor Brisendine uncorked her 36-9.

“I was pretty proud of myself when I got that jump,” she said. “Then that Sentinel girl passed it up the same day.”

That would be Audrey McEmurry, who marked 38-3.5. Emily McElmurry, a freshman, hit 37-10 before that.

There might be something in the Sentinel water: Two years ago at state Sentinel’s Ashley McElmurry and Lauren Heggen both went over 39 feet and Audrey McElmurry went 37-1.5 to place sixth.

In seventh was Brisendine. She’s aiming higher, and hoping fresh legs will carry her there. Either way, it’s been an amazing run.

“Fingers crossed,” she said. “It’s been so awesome. The team has been great and we’ve all bonded really well.

“And it’s so awesome to be back in the real world, after everything that’s happened.”