What happens when you clear 5 feet, 6 inches in the high jump as a high school senior?

For Erin Wilde, the next thing was to start dreaming about 6 feet. 

The University of Montana senior by way of Whitefish High engraved her name deeper in the Grizzly track and field record book on May 13, reaching 5-9.75 to win the Big Sky Conference title in rainy Greshman, Oregon.  

That came six and a half weeks after she cleared 6-0 at the Al Manuel Invitational on March 28; she set the Dornblaser Field record that day. Six weeks before that she cleared 6-0.5 at the Mountain State Games indoor meet at Idaho State University. 

Which is the too-short version of her career. 

“It was such a big dream, to jump six feet,” she said this week, while she prepared for the West Regional in Fayetteville, Arkansas (she jumps a week from Saturday). “I thought, I’m so close, I just need to work a little harder and it will happen.” 

The longer version allows for her overcoming scoliosis to excel; it has her finally acquiescing to her dad Kirk’s request and trying the high jump in middle school (and setting the school record).  

It shows her clearing 5-9.25 to win the Big Sky outdoor title as a true freshman on May 10, 2023. She hit 5-9.5 to win the 2024 Big Sky indoor in Spokane; she cleared 5-10.5 at the 2024 Tom Gage meet; and reached 6-0 for the first time to win the 2025 Big Sky indoor title in Flagstaff, Arizona. 

If you’re thinking, “That’s a lot of Big Sky titles,” you don’t know half of it. Wilde has racked up seven — three indoor and four outdoor. 

The path wasn’t always gilded in gold, and the turning point came freshman year, when she marked 5-3.75 and finished eighth at the Big Sky Indoor.  

“I wasn’t mentally prepared,” she recalled. “Going into the outdoor season, I was so sad.” 

The grind of college athletics was one thing; for another “Oki,” her Aussie Shepherd rescue from Oklahoma, had died. And if you haven’t lost a longtime pet, well, you just don’t know. 

“That one hurt me,” she said. 

Enter UM assistant Erica Fraley, wife to head coach Doug Fraley. She counseled Wilde to compartmentalize: be your best self but make sure to have fun. Starting with a mark of 5-7.25 on April 13, 2023, Wilde began jumping higher and higher. 

In a blink it will be over, but maybe not: Wilde has her degree in business management and has talked job prospects with a few companies. 

“But depending on how I place in this coming meet I might try to keep going, see how I do competing unattached for a while,” she said. “I’m definitely going to stay in Missoula for another year or two.” 

And reach 6-4, maybe. That would be Wilde. 

Sports Editor Fritz Neighbor can be reached at 406-758-4463 or [email protected]. If you value local journalism, pledge your support at dailyinterlake.com/support.