It’s spring. Possibility abounds. That goes for track & field, too.

Baseball fans like myself understand in their souls that spring is a precious time. Anything seems possible — the past has been forgotten and everyone starts from scratch. Even teams that stumbled and bumbled through the previous season emerge, blinking, into the bright spring sunshine with a renewed sense of hope.

Turns out, it’s like that for track and field, too.

The Hamilton Bronc Invitational happens annually in the first week of April. Often there’s snow, sometimes not. (This year, a squall came through the night before, but the dusting had cleared by mid-morning.) It’s a massive event: buses from 27 schools across western Montana and Idaho jam the parking lot, including one from Jefferson High. Hundreds of athletes spill onto the Hamilton High School grounds, wedged between the Bitterroot and Sapphire mountains.