Spring sports fans, cinch up the Velcro, tighten up your wigs and dust off your running shoes.

If you are longing for and/or seeking area high school track and field action, look to the north and the south.

That’s where you’ll find the first outdoor track and field events of the season, with Class B schools heading north toward the Canadian border to the Eureka Invitational this Saturday, while area C schools will congregate in Corvallis, south of Missoula for the Blue Devil Invitational.

Sanders County’s two Class B high schools, Plains and Thompson Falls, will be sending their squads to Eureka for the First Chance Meet. Joining the Plains and T Falls teams will be Noxon, Bigfork and host Lincoln County (Eureka).

The combined Superior/Alberton co-op team will head south past Missoula on their way to Corvallis where 19 teams are scheduled to take part in the event hosted by the Blue Devils from Corvallis High. The meet includes a mix of Class B and C schools, including Superior/Alberton and Hot Springs.

St. Regis, meanwhile, gets it’s track season underway the following weekend (Saturday, March 31) when they travel to Polson along with all other area schools for the annual Dave Tripp Memorial Invitational hosted by Polson High.

Local softball enthusiasts will also have a chance to take in their favorite sport this Saturday at the Polson Invitational tournament.

The Plains Trotters will be the lone Sanders County representative to participate in the Polson softball tourney this weekend, but will kick off their long-standing rivalry with Thompson Falls, the only other high school softball program in the Sanders-Mineral County area, next Tuesday, March 28 on the field adjacent to Thompson Falls High.

Next Tuesday (Mar 28) will also mark the debut of the area’s only high school baseball team, when Plains hosts Florence in their season opener. The Horsemen hard-ballers will play a second game next week (March 30) when they travel to Frenchtown for a meeting with the Class A Broncs.

Only Plains from Sanders or Mineral County was able to field a baseball team, newly allowed this year by the MHSA, with Noxon and possibly Thompson Falls joining the fray next year.

Golf fans will get their first taste of the Spring sports season next Thursday, March 30, when Plains and Thompson Falls journey to Hamilton for the Darby/Florence Invitational meet.

Finally, tennis fans will get a chance to see their sport in action in the form of Superior as the Lady Bobcats venture to Darby for a head-to-head meeting with the Lady Tigers April 7.

Check your school’s website for schedule confirmations and any changes that occur due to weather or other circumstances.