Local athlete prepares for upcoming meets

According to coach Denise Montgomery, sophomore track athlete Hailey Phillips is notoriously humble about her accomplishments. Phillips prefers to let her ability on the track do the talking for her and when she takes the field, the voice is loud.

While shy and unassuming off the track, Phillips looms large on the track. Most athletes focus on one or two events, usually specializing in sprints, distance, jumping or throwing events. Specializing in one or two events apparently does not satisfy Phillips’ competitive nature.

While Phillips competes in basketball and volleyball, her passion is outdoors on the track where she excels at multiple events. At the district meet in Eureka last Saturday, she won four events and placed second in her fifth.

Proving that what goes up may not come down for a really long time, Phillips won the long jump. Phillips went on to win the 400-meter race, the 300-meter hurdles, the 200-meter dash and took second in the 100-meter hurdles.

Phillips began competing in track and field in the seventh grade and immediately excelled in her events. Phillips started in the hurdles and gradually expanded her repertoire to include sprints and jumping events. Just this year, Phillips started competing in the triple jump and immediately began to place in the event.

“My favorite event is the hurdles. It’s a fun race. The trick is in the timing between hurdles. You always have to think about the next hurdle. The key is to maintain a consistent speed,” said Phillips.

Apparently the occasional glancing blow to the knee from a hurdle does not bother her.

“Your adrenaline eases the pain at the time. It hurts later,” said Phillips.

When she is not running circles around the competition, Phillips prefers to spend her time outdoors, riding horses and snowboarding among other activities.

Coach Montgomery has said in the past that she purposefully downplays the pressure that can be felt by her athletes as a result of so much accomplishment. Phillips appears to be following in the level headed footsteps of her coach.

“I try not to feel pressure. I kinda feel like the underdog cause I’m only a sophomore. I’m just going to try to do my best and not compare myself to other people. I’m going to run my race and let it all out for state. I’m not going to hold anything back,” said Phillips.

With two competitions left in the season, Phillips is looking forward to competing against athletes from all over Montana. Phillips will be competing in the Divisional meet from May 17 through 18 in Missoula and then it is on to the state competition in Laurel on May 24 though 25.

Sanders County residents lucky enough to attend one or two of these meets should be aware: keep your eyes peeled for that flash of orange and black sprinting around the track. Make sure to catch her before she straps those wings to her feet and heads down the runway for the long jump. Otherwise you will miss Phillips.