Another track and field season returns to the Hi-Line

While most high school sports on the Hi-Line are done by the spring, that does not mean there is nothing for local athletes to compete in and for local fans to watch.

Some of the best athletes on the Hi-Line will compete in track and field this spring. Over the next couple months, athletes from Fort Benton, Chinook, Big Sandy, Box Elder, North Star, Chester-Joplin-Inverness, Turner, Rocky Boy and Harlem will compete against one another to determine who is the best on the Hi-Line. With so many great athletes, the competition should be exciting.

"We are excited to get outside and get going," North Star head coach Brian Campbell said. "It is nice to be able to take advantage of spring weather and compete against the other District 9C teams."

Many schools will have high-end talent competing this spring.

Chinook has many athletes that should be competitive this season. On the boys side, Braxton Inman will compete in the sprints and the hurdles, Landen Beck will compete in distance runs and Levi Jensen will compete in the hurdles and jumps. On the girls side, the Sugarbeeters have Hallie Neibauer in the sprints and distance runs, Anna Terry in the distance runs and Alexus Seymour in distance running.

The Big Sandy Pioneers have some good athletes this spring. On the boys side, the Pioneers will have Kody Strutz in jumping, Wylee Snapp in weights and Cooper Taylor in weights. On the girls side, Big Sandy has Eva Wagoner in hurdles, Eva Yeadon in jumping, Jay Baumann in jumping and Malaysia Baumann in jumping.

Campbell's North Star squad has some strong athletes this spring. On the boys side, Carter Campbell will compete in distance running and Gavin Clawson will compete in weights. On the girls side, both Kaytlyn Domire and Rainee Watson will compete in weights.

"We are blessed to have a lot of top end points," Campbell said about the Knights this season. "However, we are lacking a little in depth which will make it difficult at the post season meets."

Fort Benton will have the likes of Landis Arganbright competing in the sprints, Ang Reiner competing in the jumps and Kylynn Nack competing in the vaults. CJI will have Ryder Cole in vaults and Turner will have Ryan Doyle in distance running. Box Elder will have Meiyah Sutherland compete in jumping this spring.

These athletes will compete against each other in many exciting meets this spring. The biggest meet will be the Cal Wearly Invite April 15 right here in Havre. About 30 schools from across the Hi-Line and the rest of the state will compete.

But the most important meets of the season come at the end, starting with the District 9C Meet May 10 at Havre Middle School. The best athletes from that meet will then advance to the Northern C Divisional Meet in Great Falls starting May 18. The top finishers from that meet will then head to the Class A-C State Track Meet in Laurel May 25-27 to end the year.

In the weeks leading up the season, most teams will be looking to get themselves ready. However, frigid weather and snow has gotten in the way of the teams' preparation and has already canceled this weekend's Glasgow Invitational.

"The weather has made it difficult so far this season. Not only does it make it hard to practice outdoors, but it has been hard to even find the track," Brian said.

But once the season gets rolling, there should be some exciting competition on the track this spring. With all these top athletes, it will be anybody's game in the District 9C this spring.

"It is tough to say who the favorites will be because so much is based on turnout and numbers," Brian said. "That being said, schools that have good numbers usually are tough to contend with."