The short-term goal for Bristol Lenz is to slowly add events, lower her marks, attract  more attention from college track and field programs and — most importantly — stay healthy.

Long term, she might like to be a physical therapist — the profession she’s dealt with so much during her athletic career. 

“Just having all the injuries made me interested,” the Flathead High senior said. She ticks through them: IT bands; glutes; patella tendinitis; rotator cuff and biceps injuries from swimming; knee pain; hip flexors. “Just a combination of it all,” she said. 

Some combination happened all at once in the spring of her eighth-grade year in Somers. 

“Last middle school meet, and it was snowing,” she said. “Halfway through the race, I just stopped being able to walk.” 

One supposes injuries are the byproduct of a hyper-active life, and Lenz would be the proof. Asked if she’d thought about following in her father Colby’s commercial pilot footsteps, she said: “I don’t think I could sit that long.” 

Last spring she hoped to give Flathead a 1-2 punch with fellow Somers product Alivia Rinehart. But while Rinehart had a glory-filled senior year — culminating in three state records, one of them the all-class 100 hurdles mark — Lenz never recovered from a hamstring injury suffered in late January. 

“It was really frustrating, for sure,” she said. “Last year was supposed to be a pretty good season and I was really excited. I’d had a lot of good indoor training. Then right before my last indoor meet I pulled my hamstring.” 

It was, after a spring in which, “Any time I did run, I didn’t have a good time,” time to cool her heels. Lenz credits Brian Miller at Advanced Rehabilitation Services with setting her on a path back. By this past fall she was back on the volleyball court for the Bravettes, feeling great. 

“I added indoor training at the end of October,” she said. “No issues. Thank goodness.” 

On April 17 at the MCPS Invitational Lenz clipped through the 100-meter hurdles in 14.95 seconds. Thus far it is the fastest time in Class AA. 

“Bristol is a great example of a kid who has progressively gotten better over her career,” Flathead girls coach Kaylee Fox said. “It’s great when they pan out like you expect and hope. She's grown in all the right ways in high school, including how competitive she’s become.” 

“I pretty much had to relearn how to do everything so I was definitely surprised,” she said of her sub-15 time. “I’m pleased with how things are going so far.” 

Saturday brings the annual Archie Roe Invitational to Legends Stadium. The plan, Fox said, is to have Lenz run the 300 hurdles for the first time, plus a leg on the short relay in addition to the long jump and 100 hurdles.  

Tuesday at a triangular in Missoula Lenz hit a personal-record in the long jump: 17 feet, 5.5 inches, which sits fourth in AA. That kind of mark, along with her high hurdles time, brings college attention: Division II Cal State-San Marcos for example. Dickinson State in North Dakota and Lewis-Clark State in Idaho have shown interest. 

One wonders who might be on the trail if Lenz had been a little healthier. Rinehart landed at the University of Montana; the Grizzlies do have a very good PT program, and who says the 1-2 punch from Somers can’t keep delivering? 

“That’d be a lot of fun,” said Lenz, whose known Rinehart almost from the time she moved to Somers at age 6. “We have a lot of history.” 

    Flathead's Bristol Lenz (7) goes to the net for a kill against Glacier at Flathead High School on Thursday, Oct. 16. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider