Harrington, Klinker lead Great Falls High third-place finish at state track meet

For all the individual accolades Great Falls High’s Ryan Harrington garnered in his career, a solo state title had eluded him.

That changed in his final high school meet on Saturday.

The school-record holder topped the field in the 800-meter finals at the Class AA state track meet at Memorial Stadium. Teammate Scott Klinker repeated as the state triple jump champion following a win in the long jump on Friday, as the Bison boys finished third in the team standings. Great Falls High racked up 57 points behind champion Bozeman Gallatin (84) and second-place Kalispell Flathead (77). Helena High dominated the girls' race with 129 points to earn the program's third straight title.

For C.M. Russell High, Jackson Tarver earned a pair of podium visits in the sprints with a second-place finish in the 200 and fourth place in the 100.

Harrington’s time of 1:52.69 not only extended his Bison record in the 800 but set the all-time Memorial Stadium mark. Also a decorated cross country runner who led Great Falls High to a team title in the fall, Harrington ends his prep career with eight All-State finishes including a third in the 1600 Friday and third in the 3200 Saturday (9:25.09).

The future Montana State harrier outlasted defending 800 champ Wilson Schmidt of Belgrade (1:53.07) in the final stretch to take gold. Harrington shared the podium with fellow Bison Ashtyn Rask, who finished in third (1:54.36).

“We knew it was going to be fast and it was going to be tough,” Harrington said. “Wilson has got that crazy fast kick and we’ve seen it before. I knew if I got in that final 150 (meters) that I’d have a good shot.”

The wait for a state title for Harrington wasn’t for lack of effort, as all-time Montana greats such as Bozeman’s Weston Brown and Nathan Neil always loomed large. Neil, a nationally ranked runner and University of Washington signee, broke Brown’s All-Class record in the 1600 (4:04.89) on Friday and set another state mark in the 3200 (8:53.19) Saturday.

“Every year since my freshman year, there’s just been great, phenomenal Montana runners,” said Harrington, also the program-record holder in the 3200. “It just meant a lot to me to come away with a state title finally.”

To finish on top in the 800 along with Rask meant even more, Harrington said, as they have been competing together since middle school along with distance teammate John Spinti.

“It’s really special. We’ve been running together since seventh grade,” Harrington said. “We just worked so hard and came away with the state championship in cross country and (Rask) came really close to making state (track) last year and recommitted himself this winter and we really pushed each other at practices...We knew he had the speed and he got it done today.”

Klinker tops triple again

Great Falls High’s Scott Klinker added a third state championship to his resume on Saturday, hitting 48 feet, 0.5 inches in the triple jump on his final attempt of the afternoon. His previous two best in the prelims of 46-02 and 46-09.5 set the standard for the field until Butte’s Sam Henderson hit 47-02 in the finals.

Klinker and fellow competitors all rushed to the tape in anticipation to see the final mark, and the crowd erupted as the result was made official. Klinker leaped up to the stands and embraced Bison jumps coach Chris Napierala in celebration.

Klinker, a signee at MSU-Billings for baseball, finishes his Bison track career with the back-to-back triple jump state victories, Friday’s triumph in the long jump and a second-place showing in the high jump. He also earned top-six finishes in the long and high jumps at state last spring.

More state track: Great Falls High’s Scott Klinker wins state long jump title

Tarver shines in sprints

CMR’s Jackson Tarver ended his career with a pair of great showings Saturday, earning second in the 200 at 22.12, just 0.14 behind 100 and 200 champ Ryan Dierenfield of Billings Skyview and edging Kalispell Flathead’s Ben Bliven by 0.04. The Southern Utah commit was also fourth in the 100 dash, clocking an 11.36. Great Falls High’s Scott Anderson, a state swimming champ for the Bison, earned All-State as well as he took sixth (11.45).

More CMR sports: Stimac, Crist lead CMR boys’ tennis to state championship

Tarver said he was battling with a knee issue that caused him to scratch in the 400 on Friday, but found a way to power through on Saturday.

“My knee is acting up a little bit but I worked through it,” Tarver said. “It’s not quite the way I imagined it but it’s still a good way to end it.”

Tarver ends his career as the Rustler record holder in the 400 (48.87) and second in the 200 (21.60) behind All-Class record holder Chris Wilson (21.06 in 2009).

MacDonald, Harris, Farmer add to Bison girls’ accolades

Freshman standout Scarlet Harris picked up her first two solo All-State accolade Saturday, earning fourth in the 100 hurdles as well as the 200.

Also a state-qualifier in the high jump and 100, Harris crossed the finish line in 15.4 seconds in the hurdles and 26.31 in the 200. Junior teammate Abby MacDonald finished just ahead of Harris at 26.08 to earn third.

The pair were also a part of the second-place 4x100 relay on Friday along with Addisyn Rask and Isis Haslem.

“I’m really happy about it,” Harris said of the short relay performance. “And the seniors push us to do our best and I’m excited for next year, and hopefully they can come back and see us break it.”

Senior Kyesha Farmer picked up her second All-State showing of her career on Saturday, taking fifth in the triple jump with a leap of 36 feet, 3.25 inches, also a personal record. Farmer, who also finished sixth in the long jump last season for the Bison, recently signed with NCAA Div. III George Fox University (Ore.) for track.

Great Falls High sophomore Bree MacDonald was also a standout as things kicked off Thursday, topping her previous best by a foot and tying a school record as she finished third in the pole vault (11-06).

Photos provided by Matt Ehnes of Jared's Detours.

This article originally appeared on Great Falls Tribune: Great Falls High's Harrington, Klinker earn state track titles, Bison third