Leading up to her final championship race in high school, Makena Morley ditched her regular warm-up routine. Instead she wore a soaking-wet, cold sweatshirt while her father poured ice down her back, trying to drop her core temperature and solve the plasma and iron issues that had plagued her all spring.

The grimace on her face as she raced around the track was unfamiliar for a runner who had breezed to multiple state titles over the past four years.

“I was hurting. I thought I might have to stop and hop off the track, but I told myself, ‘No Makena, you can’t. You have to finish,’” she said.

She certainly didn’t need another championship to cement her legacy as one of the greatest distance runners in Montana history.

But she won one anyways.

The star distance runner blazed through the finish line of the 3,200-meter run at Saturday’s state championship track meet in near-record fashion, 10:37.76, only two seconds off the Class B state record set by Chiara Warner in 2013.

It would have marked a storybook ending to an amazing prep career, except Makena followed up with yet another astonishing performance in the final race of the meet. The Bigfork girls long relay team — Makena and Bryn Morley, Mattison McAnally and Haile Norred — broke the Class B state record with a winning time of 4:01.71, a whopping two seconds better than Plentywood’s 1999 time.

The relay victory helped the Bigfork girls earn second place as a team just behind Plains, which won its third consecutive Class B team championship with 115 points behind three-time winner Hailey Phillips. Bigfork, with three individual champs, scored 110 and claimed second place for the second year in a row.

“All those girls, I’m so proud of them,” Makena said. “The season has been tough and to have them believe in me has meant so much.”

»»» Click here for more photos from the championship track and field meet.

The state championship track meet in Kalispell was defined by gutsy, awe-inspiring performances like Morley’s.

The Flathead Braves achieved hometown glory and tied for the Class AA state championship with Helena. The two teams scored 83 points apiece. Glacier earned a third-place trophy with 49.

The Braves won a share of their first state track championship since 2003 and eighth overall. But no doubt this was a special one as Flathead won on its home track for the first time in history.

“I honestly didn’t think we could pull it off,” longtime head coach Dan Hodge said. “I told the kids Thursday, if we scored 60 points we would get a trophy. We scored 83. We had some kids who really performed well today. Yesterday we had some downers but they turned it around. That’s what it’s about — performing when you need the points. They did a great job.”

Senior Jess Beaman bounced back after placing fifth in the long jump on Friday to win the triple jump, leaping 43-10.5.

“It was a bummer in the long jump but it fueled me more to push it today,” Beaman said.

Beaman placed fifth in the long jump on Friday and also placed third in the discus. Teammate Keaton Krantz earned third in the long jump and Josh McCracken earned fourth in the discus.

Junior Jake Perrin, in his first full year of track, listened to the strategy of his older brother Zach — a former state champion distance runner at Flathead — and claimed his own gold medal in the 1,600-meter run. Perrin outkicked Isaac Petsch of Billings West in the final stretch to win in 4:21.17. Flathead senior Sylas Schutt earned third, 4:24.62.

“It was painful but I knew it would have been a lot more painful to try less hard on the last lap and get second or third,” Perrin said.

Perrin finished second in the 3,200 and Schutt was third.

Bram Booth contributed solid points for Flathead in the javelin, placing second with a throw of 181-3. Chade Gonter earned fifth in the 110 hurdles a day after winning the high jump with a leap of 6-3.

The Glacier boys earned a third-place team trophy in front of the hometown crowd due to several standout performances.

The short relay team — Scout Willcut, Riley Connell, Cain Boschee, Aaron Robinson — started Saturday with a bang, winning the state title in 42.57, a personal best for the second day in a row after a solid preliminary race.

“Helena beat us at divisionals but we knew we could throw down against them,” Willcut said.

Boschee placed in both sprint events, earning fourth in the 200 and sixth in the 100. Robinson added a third-place medal in the 110 hurdles. On Friday, Austin Cook took gold in the long jump, hitting 22-1.75 and Brock Sandry contributed with a fifth-place finish in the 3,200.

The Glacier girls earned second place, the team’s best finish since the school opened in 2007.

“It’s bittersweet but the best finish in Glacier history — I’ll take second place,” girls head coach Jerry Boschee said. “We have a lot of kids back and something to build on.”

It came down to the final race for the Glacier girls. The Wolfpack trailed Billings Senior by 0.5 points entering the long relay, but Christina Aragon and the Broncs could not be outdone.

Aragon led the relay team to victory in 3:58.20. It was fitting for the junior runner to cross the finish for Billings and seal the championship; she finished the weekend with three individual state championships, including an all-class state record in the 1,600 (4:46.34) and Class AA record in the 400 (55.87).

Billings finished with 78.5 points to win its sixth consecutive championship. Glacier had 74.

Annie Hill performed years ahead of her age all weekend. The Glacier freshman won the 3,200 with a gutsy strategy, leading Aragon from start to finish and building a gap with three laps to go. Hill crossed in 10:31.54, only five seconds off Zoe Nelson’s all-class state record.

It was a fitting trophy for young Hill, who placed second in the 1,600 on Friday with one of the fastest times in Montana history, 4:48.11. Hill also earned second in the 800 (2:12.54), third in the 400 (57.73) and ran on the third-place long relay team along with Brielle Bumgarner, Bailey Smith, and Ahna Kreitinger.

Bumgarner jumped a personal-best in the triple jump and earned second place, 35-7.25. On Friday, she placed sixth in the long jump.

“As a senior, going out with a second was a good feeling. It was very rewarding,” Bumgarner said.

Nikki Krueger placed fourth in the discus a day after earning third in the shot put. Courtney Mitchell earned sixth in the discus. Tessa Krueger earned fifth in the shot put and Kreitinger placed fourth in the 300 hurdles.

On Friday, Keyawna Larson set a new Class AA record in the javelin, throwing 144-7, one foot better than Aly Wardell of Billings West’s top throw from 2009.

“When I threw it I felt it come right over my back and it was fairly aligned and the javelin was shaking, so I knew it was a powerful throw,” Larson said.

Flathead’s Kaitlin Wride placed fourth in the 3,200. Monica White earned fifth in the 200 and Janae Moon was fifth in the triple jump. The Bravettes finished 10th with 22 points.

The Morley family had a banner weekend.

Bryn won the 800 on Saturday in 2:14.22, and Makena placed second, 2:16.70. Makena, who was plagued by iron deficiency and injuries all spring, ended her unforgettable prep career with one final championship and state record. Next fall she will begin a new chapter competing at the University of Montana next fall.

Logan Morley defended his Class B championship in the 1,600, running away with it by six seconds.

“I didn’t really know where I was at coming around the last lap but I went for it,” he said.

He won in 4:24.29. On Friday, he captured the 3,200 title in 10:04.38 and placed third in the 800.

Teammate Tyler Iverson earned third in the shot put a day after placing second in the discus. Bigfork finished in fifth with 40 points.

Manhattan won the Class B boys championship with 109 points, propelled by Caleb Neth, who won three individual events — the 400, long jump and 300 hurdles — and ran on both winning relay teams.

Troy’s Sean Oplan won the 200, placed second in the 100 and tied for second in the high jump.

One of the standout athletes of the weekend, Phillips competed in five events on Friday and six on Saturday, including the prelims and relays. She won both hurdle races and the 400, placed second in the 200, third in the 100 and was part of the runner-up long relay team. She was robbed of a Class B state record in the 100 hurdles — by the wind. Phillips won in 14.75, which is better than the state record of 14.78, but it was determined that the wind had aided in the time, so it was marked with an asterisk.

“I didn’t feel any wind during my race. But at least I know I can do that,” she said.

Plains was chalk full of standouts all weekend who guided the team to its third consecutive champioship. Kayla Holmes won the shot put with a throw of 43-9. Holmes took third in the discus on Friday and Leah Thompson won with a throw of 134-5. Thompson also took third in the shot put. Carleau Vonheeder won the javelin in 142-5. Kimberly Earhart placed second in the javelin, fourth in the 3,200 and fifth in the 800.

Click here for a story and results from day one of the state track meet.

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MHSA State Track & Field Championship

Legends Stadium, Kalispell

Saturday

Class AA

BOYS

Team Scores — Flathead 83, Helena 83, Glacier 49, Helena Capital 47, Billings Skyview 42, Billings Senior 41, Billings West 40, Bozeman 38, Butte 32, Missoula Hellgate 31, Great Falls CMR 15, Missoula Sentinel 14, Missoula Big Sky 10, Great Falls 2.

100 — 1, Dalton Daum, Butte, 10.81. 2, Anthony Taylor, Capital, 11.06. 3, Jacob Kleinhans, Bozeman, 11.13. 4, Nick VanHorssen, Helena, 11.17. 5, Sam Kirkedie, Big Sky, 11.24. 6, Cain Boschee, Glacier, 11.27.

200 — 1, Dalton Daum, Butte, 21.67. 2, Jacob Kleinhans, Bozeman, 22.49. 3, Anthony Taylor, Capital, 22.49. 4, Cain Boschee, Glacier, 22.57. 5, Nick VanHorssen, Helena, 22.75. 6, Sam Kirkedie, Big Sky, 22.94.

1600 — 1, Jake Perrin, Flathead, 4:21.17. 2, Isaac Petsch, B. West, 4:21.92. 3, Sylas Schutt, Flathead, 4:24.62. 4, Iain Anderson, Helena, 4:27.00. 5, Riley Collins, Bozeman, 4:27.37. 6, Dawson Larance, B. Senior, 4:27.39.

110 hurdles — 1, Taylor Trollope, B. Skyview, 14.45. 2, Josh Barrows, Helena, 14.81. 3, Aaron Robinson, Glacier, 14.84. 4, Gabe Sulser, B. Senior, 15.03. 5, Chade Gonter, Flathead, 15.10. 6, Riley Barta, Billings Sky, 15.16

300 hurdles — 1, Taylor Trollope, B. Skyview, 38.72. 2, Nolan Davis, Helena, 39.28. 3, Riley Barta, B, Skyview, 40.34. 4, Clay Dean, Butte, 40.50. 5, Jamison Hermanson,
Great Falls, 40.79. 6, Will Hunthausen, Capital, 40.87.

400 relay — 1, Glacier (Scout Willcut, Riley Connell, Cain Boschee, Aaron Robinson), 42.57. 2, Capital, 42.80. 3, Helena, 42.87. 4, Billings Senior, 43.25. 5, Billings West, 43.66. 6, Billings Skyview, 43.67.

1600 relay — 1, Helena, (Zander Mozer, Ryan McNamara, Connor Matthews, Josh Barrows), 3:21.11. 2, Billings West, 3:23.94. 3, Helena Capital, 3:24.38. 4, Glacier, 3:24.61. 5, Billings Senior, 3:26.61. 6, Bozeman, 3:28.29.

Triple Jump — 1, Jess Beaman, Flathead, 43-10.5. 2, Trevon Strong, B.Skyview, 43-5.75. 3, Marcus Lindquist, Big Sky, 42-9. 4, Devin Cochran, Glacier, 42-5.25. 5, Hunter Nicholson, Glacier, 42-4.25. 6, Kendall Johnson, Helena, 42-1.

Discus — 1, Zayne Babbitt, Hellgate, 173-7. 2, Cade Wessel, Bozeman, 164-11. 3, Jess Beaman, Flathead, 155-10. 4, Josh McCracken, Flathead, 147-11. 5, Chance Wessel, Bozeman, 147-1. 6, Tanner Liddell, B. Skyview, 145-10.

Javelin — 1, Trevor Pepin, CMR, 196-2. 2, Bram Booth, Flathead, 181-3. 3, Brady Coffman, Bozeman, 177-3. 4, Lane Jensen, CMR, 168-4. 5, Josh Deshner, Sentinel, 167-0. 6, Noah Danielson, CMR, 163-7.

GIRLS

Team scores — Billings Senior 78.5, Glacier 74, Billings Skyview 59, Bozeman 55, Missoula Sentinel 47, Missoula Big Sky 46, Billings West 42, Helena 31.5, Great Falls 26, Flathead 22, Great Falls CMR 20, Missoula Hellgate 10.5, Helena Capital 10, Butte 5.5

100 — 1, Maddie Brockel, B. West, 12.35. 2, Morgan Evans, Great Falls, 12.41. 3, Hannah Porch, Big Sky, 12.44. 4, Cali Modglin, CMR, 12.48. 5, Caylin Cathey, B. Skyview, 12.61. 6, Monica White, Flathead, 12.62.

200 — 1, Maddie Brockel, B. West, 25.23. 2, Hannah Porch, Big Sky, 25.40. 3, Cali Modglin, CMR, 25.60. 4, Anna Beck, B. Skyview, 25.64. 5, Monica White, Flathead, 25.74. 6, Carly Smiedala, Helena, 26.08.

800 — 1, Christina Aragon, B. Senior, 2:11.01. 2, Annie Hill, Glacier, 2:12.54. 3, Carly Smiedala, Helena, 2:13.21. 4, Keegan Day, B.Skyview, 2:15.43. 5, Ellen Brooks, Sentinel, 2:16.73. 6, Elizabeth Thompson, Flathead, 2:20.43.

3200 — 1, Annie Hill, Glacier, 10:31.54. 2, Christina Aragon, B. Senior, 10:53.17. 3, Piper Meuwissen, Bozeman, 11:04.07. 4, Kaitlin Wride, Flathead, 11:24.98. 5, Bridget Creel, Bozeman, 11:26.19. 6, Ellee Becker, Hellgate, 11:39.76.

100 hurdles — 1, Hailey Copinga, B. Skyview, 15.07. 2, Morgan Evans, Great Falls, 15.24. 3, Josie D’Agostino, Bozeman, 15.35. 4, Maysee Whitney, B. Senior, 15.50. 5, Ashling Slevin, Bozeman, 15.78. 6, Lauren Bingham, Sentinel, 15.90.

300 hurdles — 1, Hailey Copinga, B. Skyview, 44.39. 2, Morgan Evans, Great Falls, 44.87. 3, Hannah Coburn, Big Sky, 45.26. 4, Ahna Kreitinger, Glacier, 45.71. 5, Alyssa Jonasen, Great Falls, 45.91. 6, Maysee Whitney, B. Senior, 46.63.

400 relay — 1, Billings West (Brooke Endy, Janae Bjorgum, Shae Helterbran, Maddie Brockel), 48.43. 2, Billings Skyview, 48.95. 3, Bozeman, 49.33. 4, Big Sky, 49.57. 5, Billings Senior, 49.78. 6, Sentinel, 50.39.

1600 relay — 1, Billings Senior (Jordan Gilcrist, Sydney Blain, Maysee Whitney, Christina Aragon), 3:58.20. 2, Helena, 4:00.58. 3, Glacier, 4:00.62. 4, Bozeman, 4:05.76. 5, Billings West, 4:06.03. 6, Sentinel, 4:06.40.

Triple Jump — 1, Hannah Porch, Big Sky, 36-4.75. 2, Brielle Bumgarner, Glacier, 35-7.25. 3, Alexa Linebarger, Bozeman, 35-4.75. 4, Abby Dodge, Butte, 34-11. 5, Janae Moon, Flathead, 34-8. 6, Tyler Olson, Bozeman, 34-5.50.

Discus — 1, Tana Garden, Sentinel, 133-5. 2, Hannah Nessan, B. Senior, 133-3. 3, Madison Cicierski, B. Senior, 128-4. 4, Nikki Krueger, Glacier, 121-3. 5, Savanna Walker, B. West, 120-9. 6, Courtney Mitchell, Glacier, 119-0.

Class B

GIRLS

Team scores – 1, Plains 115; 2, Bigfork 110; 3, Choteau 36; t-4, Manhattan 30; t-4, Malta 30; 6, Thompson Falls 29; 7, Joliet 28; 8, Townsend 26; 9, Glasgow 18; t-10, Boulder 12; t-10, Plentywood 12; t-12, Baker 11; t-12, Red Lodge 11; 14, Three Forks 10; 15, Fairfield 8; 16, Roundup 7; t-17, Colstrip 6; t-17, Shelby 6; 19, Ronan 5; t-20, Loyola Sacred Heart 4; t-20, Columbus 4; t-22, Huntley Project 3; t-22, Forsyth 3; t-24, Florence 1; t-24, Wolf Point 1; t-24, Cut Bank 1.

100 – 1, Truanne Roginske, Jol, 12.50; 2, Aubry Bair, Tow, 12.75; 3, Hailey Phillips, Pla, 12.80; 4, Haile Norred, Big, 12.92; 5, Payge Durocher, Cho, 12.94; 6, Lauren Wang, Bak, 13.01.

200 – 1, Truanne Roginske, Jol, 25.78; 2, Hailey Phillips, Pla, 26.05; 3, Haile Norred, Big, 26.47; 4, Hannah King, Cho, 26.71; 5, Brook Kolar, LSH, 26.91; 6, Paige Harris, Ple, 26.99.

800 – 1, Bryn Morley, Big, 2:14.22; 2, Makena Morley, Big, 2:16.70; 3, Kim Parsell, She, 2:24.00; 4, Baylee Green, Rou, 2:24.29; 5, Kimberly Earhart, Pla, 2:24.30; 6, Paige Harris, Ple, 2:24.75.

3200 – 1, Makena Morley, Big, 10:37.76; 2, Bryn Morley, Big, 11:07.61; 3, Grace Wyse, Tow, 11:53.13; 4, Kimberly Earhart, Pla, 11:57.01; 5, Josie Braaten, Gla, 11:58.23; 6, Sierra Summers, WP, 12:09.35.

100 hurdles – 1, Hailey Phillips, Pla, 14.75**; 2, Amy Breigenzer, Gla, 15.08; 3, Hannah King, Cho, 15.38; 4, Janessa Williams, Bou, 15.40; 5, Tessa Bruke, LSH, 15.60; 6, Autrey Hannum, ThoF, 15.90.

300 hurdles – 1, Hailey Phillips, Pla, 43.50; 2, Aubry Bair, Tow, 46.14; 3, Sophia Stiles, Mal, 46.77; 4, Hannah King, Cho, 47.48; 5, Anna Christman, ThrF, 47.49; 6, Matti McAnally, Big, 47.71.

400 relay – 1, Choteau 50.25; 2, Bigfork 51.10; 3, Baker 51.39; 4, Glasgow 51.59; 5, Fairfield 51.62; 6, Plains 51.74.

1600 relay – 1, Bigfork (Matti McAnally, Haile Norred, Makena Morley, Bryn Morley), 4:01.71* (Plentywood, 4:03.26, 1999); 2, Plains, 4:11.00; 3, Choteau 4:11.08; 4, Glasgow 4:13.24; 5, Townsend 4:17.46; 5, Forsyth 4:18.25.

Shot put – 1, Kayla Holmes, Pla, 43-9; 2, Mariah Harvey, Man, 39-4.5; 3, Leah Thompson, Pla, 38-6.25; 4, Aspen Jore, Ron, 37.6.75; 5, Riley Coleman, Big, 37-3; 6, Darby Schye, Mal, 37-1.5.

Javelin – 1, Carley Vonheeder, Pla, 142-5; 2, Kimberly Earhart, Pla, 134-7; 3, Hailey Poole, Col, 133-5; 4, Logan Beckman, ThoF, 129-10; 5, Kaitlyn Smith, Mal, 127-3; 6, Aspen Jore, Ron, 125-0.

High jump – 1, Shey Hannum, ThoF, 5-4; 2, Morgan Allen, ThrF, j5-4; 3, Lizzy Klinker, Fai, 5-2; 4, Autrey Hannum, ThoF, j5-2; 5, Kailynn Ray, Rou, 5-0; 6, Jade Nicholson, Mal, j5-0.

Triple jump – 1, Sophia Stiles, Mal, 36-9.5; 2, Janessa Williams, Bou, 35-9.5; 3, Truanne Roginske, Jol, 35-5; 4, Autrey Hannum, Tho, 35-3.75; 5, Stephanie Kreamer, RL, 35-2; 6, Autumn Round, Flo, 34-9.5.

BOYS

Team scores – 1, Manhattan 109; 2, Huntley Project 56; t-3 Troy 41; t-3, Glasgow 41; 5, Bigfork 40; 6, Boulder 39; 7, Townsend 26; 8, Thompson Falls 25; 9, Red Lodge 20; t-20, Joliet 14; t-10, Forsyth 14; t-10, Shelby 14; 13, Deer Lodge 11; t-14, Baker 10; t-14, Fairfield 10; t-14, Colstrip 10; 17, Eureka 9; t-18, Plains 7; t-18, Cut Bank 7; 20, Whitehall 6; t-21, Florence 4; t-21, Big Timber 4; 23, Loyola Sacred Heart 3; 24, Shepherd 2; t-25, Ronan 1; t-25, Malta 1; t-25, Conrad 1; t-25, St. Labre 1; t-25, Columbus 1.

100 – 1, Turner Stone, Man, 11.19; 2, Sean Opland, Troy, 11.20; 3, Christian Langston, Eur, 11.20; 4, Cade Johnstone, For, 11.29; 5, Noah Pohlman, LSH, 11.32; 6, Benji Phillips, Gla, 11.37.

200 – 1, Sean Opland, Troy, 22.60; 2, Turner Stone, Han, 22.84; 3, Patrick McCarthy, Whi, 23.09; 4, Luke Gonsioroski, Bak, 23.16; 5, Zachary Iffland, She, 23.21; 6, Chase Fossum, Gla, 23.44.

1600 – 1, Logan Morley, Big, 4:24.29; 2, Paul Bielawski, She, 4:30.27; 3, AJ Eckmann, Bou, 4:33.48; 4, Tyus Menoza, Col, 4:35.39; 5, Russell Kujala, Pla, 4:38.40; 6, Wally Three Irons, SL, 4:40.24.

110 hurdles – 1, Quincy Wittman, HP, 15.60; 2, Jared Schwend, Jol, 15.61; 3, Bryce Green, Tow, 15.62; 4, Caleb Neth, Man, 15.63; 5, Michael Jobman, HP, 15.86; 6, Luke Breigenzer, Gla, 16.22.

300 hurdles – 1, Caleb Neth, Man, 39.37; 2, Bryce Green, Tow, 40.71; 3, Jared Schwend, Jol, 41.16; 4, Quincy Wittman, HP, 41.21; 5, Luke Breigenzer, Gla, 41.70; 6, Josh Wulfekuhle, ThoF, 42.14.

400 relay – 1, Manhattan (Shondel Connerton, Caleb Neth, Conner Cross, Turner Stone), 43.48; 2, Boulder 43.54; 3, Thompson Falls 44.46; 4, Glasgow 44.54; 5, Deer Lodge 44.55; 6, Loyola 44.84.

1600 relay – 1, Manhattan (Shondel Connerton, Conner Cross, Turner Stone, Caleb Neth), 3:26.44; 2, Boulder 3:27.72; 3, Glasgow 3:30.62; 4, Townsend 3:30.67; 5, Thompson Falls 3:33.01; 6, Malta 3:33.12.

Shot put – 1, Alec Nehring, Man, 53-10; 2, Tanner Miller, HP, 49-9.25; 3, Tyler Iverson, Big, 48-1.5; 4, Trase LeTexier, Bou, 46-6; 5, Nolan Hofstee, Eur, 46-4.5; 6, Weston Wagner, Col, 46-4.25.

High jump – 1, Chase Fossum, Gla, 6-4; t-2, Sean Opland, Troy, 6-2; t-2, Brandon Porter, DL, 6-2; 4, Connor Thorne, Flo, j6-2; 5, Seth Omsberg, CB, j6-2; 6, George Barrett, CB, 6-0.

Triple jump – 1, Cantor Coverdell, Fai, 42-3.75; 2, Donte Wohlfeil, HP, 41-10.25; 3, Case Fossum, Gla, 41-6.5; 4, George Barrett, CB, 41-4.25; 5, Quincy Wittman, HP, 41-2; 6, Alec Nehring, Man, 40-11.25.

*Class record
**Wind aided class record