The reality of high school sports, as certain as death and taxes, is that athletes ultimately graduate. They come into a program as ninth-graders, often gangly and awkward; grow in size, skill, and confidence; and then, just when we’re getting to know them, leave to pursue the next new thing.
This fall at Jefferson High, that reality will feel especially harsh.
For much of the last four years, and especially in the last two, Panther sports were defined by a generational talent bulge that was the class of 2022. In the last school year, Jefferson teams won two Class B state championships, in boys’ track and field and golf, and picked up two second-place plaques (volleyball and girls’ basketball), one third (wrestling), a fourth (girls’ track) and two fifths (boys’ cross country and girls’ golf).
Seniors accounted for much, though not all, of that bling, and their departures have left gaping holes in many Jefferson teams — not least, this fall, in the Panther football and volleyball squads. You will, in all likelihood, need a scorecard to identify all the new faces.
Football
That big-name graduating class? “I don’t think about that much, honestly,” says Head Coach Clint Layng.
It’s a week before the Panthers’ season opener against Baker – to be played at Lockwood High School, a neutral site that eases the travel for the distant rivals. Layng is filling the Gatorade cooler before evening practice. (On this team, head coach doubles as chief mixologist.)
“The seniors got a lot of attention,” Layng continues. “But Jace Oxarart [a junior last year] was all-conference at linebacker. Dylan Root [also a junior] was all-conference at running back. Luke Oxarart [freshman] was all-conference [for kick returns]. We have five or six kids who have played a lot.”
This year’s team will miss Braden Morris, a strong all-around quarterback who led the offense since the middle of his sophomore year; and a talented corps of receivers and defensive backs. Luke Oxarart will take over at quarterback, with senior Zach Zody seeing time, as well. Mike Emter, a sprinter on the Panthers’ championship 100-meter relay squad last spring, has switched to football for his senior year and figures to geta action at the speed positions; Zody and senior John Armstrong also will slot in at receiver.
But the Panthers’ strength will be its running game. “We always like to run the ball,” Layng says; even with Morris and his fleet receivers last year, Jefferson ran twice as often as they passed. “We’ll run more than we throw, but take shots [in the air] when we can.
Root was the team’s leading rusher last year, averaging 66 yards per game and 4.9 yards per carry. Luke Oxarart averaged 6.8 yards each carry, and Jace Oxarart averaged 5.4 yards.
And “I like our line,” Layng says. “We have good size, pretty athletic, and decent experience.” Junior Dalton Noble has started since his freshman year, and Luke Jackson, Brady Armstrong, Tavin McMaster, and Tyler Mcgady will step up. Caleb Smartnick, an all-conference selection last year, returns as punter.
These new-look Panthers will be tested early in the fall. After its Aug. 26 opener against Baker, Jefferson takes on Bigfork, probably one of the top Class B teams in the state, at home on Sept. 2. And they travel to Florence, last year’s state champion, on Sept. 16. “Right off the bat, some tough games,” says Jace Oxarart. “But we’ll be ready.”
Cross country
Last year, the Panther boys finished just a combined 30 seconds out of third place at the state championship. They lost just one athlete to graduation – plus Emter to football – and return a core of underclassmen that’s focused on the possibility of a state title. “If we can get the track and cross country in the same year, that would be pretty cool,” says sophomore Dominic Hurlbert.
It’s not unthinkable. Hurlbert finished 40th at last year’s state meet. Junior Logan Hornung, who turned in a personal best of 17:49 to finish 16th at last year’s state meet, wants to break the 17-minute barrier. So does his classmate Luke Mest, whose personal best in 2021 was 17:43.
“Everyone has to stay focused,” says Dylan Myksell. “And willing to work,” adds Hurlbert.
This makes coach Karson Klass happy. He has a team of 14, maybe 15 – his biggest ever; he watches with some satisfaction as the squad takes up the width of Fourth Avenue in Boulder as it begins its morning run. And “they’re excited about running. They’re motivated. We’re all in shape. We’re coming into this season as prepared as we’ve ever been.”
What’s more, Klass has a full girls’ team. The emergence of three freshman — Hannah Stevens, Meredith Rieder, and Mikala Morris, all of whom ran at Clancy School — plus seniors Austie May, Izzy Morris, and Renae Parker means that the Panthers can now qualify for team scoring.
Parker is an elite runner: She finished second at last year’s championship, despite breaking a bone in her foot with half a mile left in the race and suffering a knee injury earlier in the fall. At this year’s track and field championship, she won the 3200-meter run by 47 seconds and took third in the 1600 – while on steroids to combat pluerisy.
Now, she’s dialing her training back a bit – running just 45 miles a week instead of 60. Last year, her first in high school competition, “I wanted to go all in, so I increased my work too much. I figured more was better.” It wasn’t, and her body suffered. “This year, I feel much better.”
Parker is aiming for a time this year under 18 minutes. That would be huge: Her second-place time at State last year, a personal best, was 19:32. “I want to run without restraint,” she says, “to push myself without injury or sickness.”
Volleyball
Mike Majors is riffing on visualization. He’s telling his Jefferson girls about Bob Beamon, the American athlete who smashed the world long jump record in 1968 by imagining himself doing just that. He’s talking about his own golf game, about going to bed before tournaments thinking: “I’m the best. I love pressure. The pressure is a privilege.”
“Visualize success,” Majors tells his charges. “I promise you, it’s magical. I know it helped us last year.”
Ah, last year. The 2021 Panthers, led by nine seniors, many of whom had been playing together since middle school, mostly tore through its conference schedule. And after crashing out the divisional tournament two years in a row, this group shut down Joliet and Colstrip to make it to State. They couldn’t unseat Huntley Project, the longtime powerhouse – but everyone was thrilled with the second-place plaque.
In the wake of that thrill, Majors finds himself with a very young team, most of whom have had little varsity experience. “We’ll see,” he says. This is always the toughest challenge for a successful coach: Can he reload immediately with the talent on the floor, or will this year provide the foundation for future seasons?
“I think we’ll surprise a lot of people,” says Emma McCauley, the libero on last year’s squad and one of just three seniors, with Brooke Eveland and Jessie Harris, this fall. “Everyone’s still growing. We’re improving a lot, and working really hard.” Harris adds: “Last year, we set high expectations that we want to maintain.”
This team lacks height. “No, we are not tall,” Majors says. McCauley may stay at libero, or she may shift to one of the hitter slots. Sophomore Cameron Toney and junior Arena Thaler are also in the mix for hitter, as are Haleigh Henschel and Maddy Averil, the squad’s only left-hander.
Among potential setters, junior MacKenzie Layng is “doing a great job,” Majors says, and sophomore Erica Shields and junior Maria Mest should also see time. Harris, he says, “is our ace in the hole,” flexible enough to slot in as setter and defender.
The Panthers open this Wednesday at Columbus. Their big test comes Sept. 8 at home against Broadwater, which graduated just one senior and is, Majors figures, the team to beat.
