At the top of the Top 10, that’s where you will find some of our best local athletes.

Several of the finest track and field athletes from Mineral and Sanders counties made their marks in a big way at the Russ Pilcher Top 10 meet at MCPS Stadium in Missoula April 28.

Leading that list of locals gone good, Superior junior Landon Richards set the Montana track and field world abuzz with his monster effort in winning the high jump, clearing an astounding height of 6 feet, 8 inches to win the event hands down.

In proof of how dominant a win it was, the second place high jumpers, both Class AA athletes, tied for that spot at 6-4.

What’s more, Richards tried for and just missed three attempts at 6-9.5 in trying to break the record of 6-9.25 set by Avery Stiles of Jefferson back in 2019. Even if he could not clear that height this time, Richards’ 6-8 effort is still currently the best mark in Montana so far this season in any classification, and a new Superior school record, breaking his own previously set record.

Superior coach Logan Labbe says Richards may just be scratching the surface of his immense potential. “The sky is indeed the limit for Landon,” he said. “We talk a lot as a team about not putting limits on ourselves, just because we are from a small school, and he has fully bought into that. We are excited to see what he can accomplish.”

Elsewhere around MCPS Stadium last week, Plains distance runners Cord Greer, John Owen Jermyn and Simeon Costner, and Hot Springs hurdler Ben Aldridge also made big impressions on observers at the Top 10.

Running against mostly Class AA and A competition, Greer won the 1600 meters in a personal best time of 4:25.47, while Jermyn won second place to Polson’s David DiGiallonardo in the 3200 meters in another personal best time of 9:40.63 and Costner ran to yet another personal best time of 9:49.01 to finish fifth in that hotly contested race.

Of note to distance running fans, Greer and Jermyn are only sophomores and Costner is a freshman.

A junior who broke his ankle during an All-Sate football season for the Savage Heat, Aldridge is obviously completely healed as evidenced by his impressive win of the Top 10 300 meter hurdles in a personal best time of 41.13 seconds.

The only athlete to qualify for the Top 10 from Thompson Falls, Hawk junior Addy Deal, the defending State B champion in the javelin, pitched the spear 112-5 to place fourth in that event.

Senior Maryisa Swope and sophomore Ava White of Superior also made the Top 10 meet in the javelin and in the 300 meters, respectively. Swope finished ninth in Missoula with a best throw of 106-11 and White finished her race in a very fast time of 47.72 seconds for tenth.

Although they did not place in the top six in the Top 10, two other locals – Hadyn Rice of Plains and George Hanson of Superior – also qualified for the prestigious midseason meet.

Rice placed eighth in the girls 300 meter hurdles and in the javelin, while Hanson did not mark in the boys pole vault in Missoula, although he did clear an impressive height of 14-3 in winning the event at the Bigfork Invitational Saturday.