by Scott Sacry
The Stevensville girls track team won the third-place state trophy at the 2026 Class A state track meet in Laurel on May 30. This was the first time in Stevensville school history that either a boys or girls track team has won a state track trophy. And they did it with only three girls.
Bitterroot Valley track excellence
The Bitterroot Valley has a rich history in Class A track and field. Corvallis is arguably the best Class A track program in the state and has won 18 total team state titles. The Hamilton track team finishes near the top year after year and has won six total team state titles.
Coming into this season, individual Stevensville athletes have had state success, but as a team, they had never won a first, second, or third place state trophy in track.
The track facilities at both Corvallis and Hamilton are some of the best in the state. They have clean pits, newer runways and hurdles, and a rubberized track, all of which make it possible to host large events. In contrast, Stevensville facilities are in need of repair. The rubber runways are cracked and have holes, and the pits need work. Overall, the track equipment needs some refurbishing.
Because of these factors, Corvallis and Hamilton have great participation in their program. For example, at the Ravalli County Invitational hosted by Hamilton on May 8, Corvallis brought 88 athletes, and Hamilton brought 81 athletes. Stevensville brought 34 kids, seven less than Class B Darby.
New coach
Stevensville’s second-year head track coach Chris Jones wants to change all of this. Jones was an assistant coach at Missoula Sentinel before coming to Stevensville. When he moved to the Bitterroot, Jones started looking for a head coaching position. Helping rebuild the Stevensville program piqued his interest. “Something about it just felt right,” said Jones. “I knew we had a lot of work to do, the facilities weren’t in good shape, and participation was low. I won’t lie, it’s been a struggle at times these last couple of years, but it’s been rewarding as well. I was blessed to have six awesome assistants to help me this year in Sydnie Heidtke, Tyler Joyner, Ceara Chavez, Rowley Dupras, Gary Little, and Jay Aliff.”
The Bitterroot track community has been supportive of Jones’s efforts. “Spencer Huls of Corvallis has been so gracious and supportive to us,” said Jones. “He gave me some recommendations for assistant coaches, and lent us their line sprayer to paint lane lines on our track at Stevensville.”
Jones is hoping to help change the culture of track in Stevensville. “One of the biggest challenges I face is changing the kids’ perception of track from an individual sport to a team sport,” said Jones. “I want them to think of a team dynamic. To build a culture where all the athletic teams are supporting each other. There is room for growth at Stevensville, and we can do better.”
The 2026 state meet
Stevensville brought three girls to the state tournament in 2026: sophomore Reagan Johnstone, sophomore Eva Brunell, and senior Sophia Hutchison. First-place Havre brought 10 girls, and both second-place Corvallis and fourth-place Hamilton brought 11 girls.
“We knew it was going to be an uphill battle to place at state,” said Jones. “Reagan was in five events, Sophia in three, and Eva in one. We had an outside chance, but everything needed to fall into place for it to work.”
And everything fell into place. Johnstone had an epic state meet, winning the 100m and 300m hurdles, taking third in both the 200m and triple jump, and sixth in the long jump. Hutchison won the triple jump and took second in the long jump. And Brunell took fifth in the discus.
State track team standings are often determined by the smallest fractions of a second or inch. This was the case in the 2026 Class A girls team standings. Stevensville scored 53 points to take third place – one point more than fourth place Hamilton, who scored 52 points. With the point totals up in the air until the end, the Stevensville girls peaked at the perfect moment.
“Eva had a personal-best throw on her very last attempt at state, moving her into fifth place for two points,” said Jones. “Sophia won the triple jump by just one inch with a personal-best leap, earning the team ten points. Finally, Reagan secured her best jump of the meet on her last attempt in triple jump, taking third place and scoring six more points.”
Stevensville wouldn’t have won a trophy without those final efforts.
“It’s cool how it all worked out – like it was meant to be,” said Jones. “If any of those things hadn’t happened when they did, we wouldn’t have gotten a state trophy.”
Looking forward
Jones hopes the girls’ success at state will jump start the program. “We still have a lot of work to do,” said Jones. “We’re certainly going to miss Sophia next year. But our boys saw what the girls did, and they are hungry to succeed as well. I predict that Stevensville will do great things in the next couple of years.”
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