How does a small town middle school with fewer than 200 students become a major breeding ground for track talent? You might start with a committed coach like Sheila Plant, who since 2012 has trained more than half a dozen athletes who have gone on to win state high school titles, with potentially more in the pipeline.
Precise data is hard to find, but it seems likely that no other Montana middle school with so few students has graduated as many track standouts in recent years. Of course, much of the credit goes to the athletes themselves – there’s no substitute for talent and hard work – and their families. But there’s little doubt Coach Plant has played a key role, starting by helping young students overcome the biggest hurdle.
“Not many kids like running, but she made it fun and something a lot of kids here in Montana City want to do,” 19-year-old Logan Todorovich (Montana City class of 2020), said in an interview last week. “There’s a ton of people from Montana City who have gone to do track at the next level and in college – and that started with Sheila.”
