Great Falls High track star Scarlet Harris aiming to finish strong again

Kilian said he knew it would take time for Harris to adjust to track conditioning coming out of basketball season, and the marks would take care of themselves down the line.

“It’s difficult coming out of that grind at the end of basketball when the conditioning goes off to the side, and so you’re not always in great track shape coming out of your winter sport,” Kilian said. “So, a lot of it was reassuring her, ‘Hey, you’re going to be fine.’ I see her a lot more relaxed, a lot more at ease because now the fruits of the labor are really starting to show.”

Harris was a standout from the get-go as she placed fourth at state in her freshman year in both the 200 and 100 hurdles.

Last season, she was second in the short hurdles to Flathead’s Alivia Rinehart — who set the Class AA record in the event (42.07) — and was sixth in the long jump. Harris finished just off the podium in the 300 as she clipped a hurdle in the final stretch and took seventh.

Along with the 4x100 relay, last year’s state meet concluded with Harris competing in seven events in two days, not including the sprint prelims. To go along with Harris’ goal of competing in heptathlons in college, Kilian supported the decision to take on the heavy workload and see where it would lead.

“That was our conversation afterwards, like, that was a great experience (for Harris),” Kilian said. “That was an adventure and it didn’t go the way we wanted, but you can do one of two things when things don’t go great. You can wallow in it or you can grow from it. She’s 100% grown from it and you can see it from her willingness to say, ‘OK, I’m going to trust, I’m going to be patient, and then let’s have good conversations.’”

This year, Harris has opted to forgo the 200 and will focus on the 100 and hurdles to go along with her field events, while again anchoring the short relay.

At the Eastern AA divisional meet on May 22 at Memorial Stadium, Harris said she hopes to see gains in the long jump while getting a bit of a preview for the state meet in Missoula the following week.

“I think it’s going to be scoping out, if everyone is running, then seeing what the competition will look like but also just getting my feet underneath myself,” Harris said. “Because divisionals is one day, it’s going to be that much in one day, it’ll be a ‘scoper’ for state.”

Harris has taken on more of a leadership role this season, Kilian said, a trait that will continue to serve her well as she finishes out her junior year and beyond.

“That kind of growth, those are the lessons that make you from that kind of good to great and that’s going to carry her on into college,” Kilian said. “I think those are the areas, the unseen internal things are way bigger. The stuff on the track, she’s already outstanding and that’s just going to come with it.”

This article originally appeared on Great Falls Tribune: Great Falls High track star Scarlet Harris aiming to finish strong again