The Plains Trotters and Horsemen live on to compete another day. Actually, two more days, this Friday and Saturday at the season-ending 2026 State B track and field meet at MCPS in Missoula.

And coach Jesse Jermyn and his charges would like nothing better than to shake things up a little in the Class B track and field world those two days.

The MCPS stadium is a facility the Plains track teams became quite familiar with last week at the Western B meet, where the Trotters scored 75 team points to tie Anaconda for third behind co-champions Loyola and Florence, who registered 96 each, and the boys scored 52 points and finished behind champion Loyola (97), Darby (96) and Florence (89) and in sixth place.

The Trotters did not win any events but placed consistently high in enough to score very well in the Western B. Hadyn Rice won second place in both hurdles races, third in the javelin and legs on both placing relays, Kalli Tuma won second in the 400 meters and placed third in both hurdles races, and Katelyn Subatch won fourth in the high jump and fifth in the 300 hurdles.

Aubree Butcher threw the javelin a career-best 98-8 to snag fourth place, Annika Ercanbrack won fourth place in the 1600 meters and fifth in the 800, and Jayden Cook grabbed sixth place in the triple jump with a career-best effort of 31-1.25.

Reese Meredith, Tuma, Subatch and Rice also combined running forces in slightly different order to win second in the 1600 meter relay and third in the 400 relay.

John Owen Jermyn strode to a convincing victory in the 800 meters to lead the Plains boys, recording a personal best time of 2:01.80.

Freshman Simeon Costner won the 1600 meters in another personal best time of 4:34.42, Cooper Meredith placed second in the 110 meter hurdles, third in the triple jump and fourth in the 300 meter hurdles, and Matthew Thurston ran down third in the 300 hurdles for the Horsemen’s other individual points.

The Horsemen’s 400 meter relay team of Meredith, Greg Tatum, Eddie Siebert and Thurston recorded a personal best time of 45.79 seconds to win fifth place to also advance on to the State B meet.

    TROTTER RUNNERS Reese Meredith and Kalli Tuma on the baton exchange during 400 meter relay action at the Western B meet in Missoula May 22. The Trotters won third place and a State B berth in this race. (John Hamilton/vp-mi)