Butte High’s baseball hoisted a team trophy, while the Bulldog softball team went down fighting at Class AA State tournaments Friday.

That comes as track athletes from Butte High and Butte Central impressed during raining state track meets in the final week of the 2025-26 high school sports season.

We said goodbye to some incredible seniors, and we got to see some flashes from some athletes with a lot more to come. We will look at that as we take one final lap around the Mining City sports slate before we head into summer.

Butte boys share third place

Butte High was one of three baseball teams to close the season on a victory Friday at the rushed Class AA State baseball tournament on Miners Field at 3 Legends Stadium.

The tournament was jammed into Thursday and Friday after weather forecasts accurately called for a heavy rain in Butte on Saturday. The tournament also included a couple of lightning delays — even though there was not a lot of lighting and very little rain — that had games playing into the wee hours of the morning.

Missoula Sentinel upset Gallatin 6-3 in a game that ended in the early minutes of Saturday morning. That game followed Butte High’s 14-4 win over Kalispell Glacier for a share of third place. (Boxscore)

Yes, Butte High shares third place with Great Falls Russell, which beat Bozeman 19-4 on Field 4 as the Bulldogs were beating the Wolfpack on Miners Field. No third-place game was played because there was simply not enough time with the wet weather moving in.

The trophy is the first for a Butte High boys’ team since the Bulldogs placed second in football in 2019. It is the third piece of hardware from state overall this decade for Butte High. The Bulldog girls placed third in swimming in 2020 and wrestling in 2023.

The tournament began in promising fashion for Butte High. Senior Logan Carden hit a leadoff home run against Gallatin, sending the Butte crowd and players into delirium.

That high did not last long, however, as the Raptors scored 11 runs in the bottom of the inning. After a fantom lightning delay of more than 3 hours, the game resumed and Gallatin won 18-7 in five innings. (Boxscore)

True Archer and Harvey Kimmell each drove in three runs, and Braeden Matthews hit a grand slam to lead the Raptors in the opener.

Cayde Stajcar homered and drove in four runs to lead the Bulldogs. Troy Samson doubled for Butte, while Calvin Cunningham and Evan McEwen hit singles.

Carden added a pair of walks for Butte. Kodye Kjersten, Teagan Duffy and Grady Foley each walked once.

Stajcar homered again Friday morning as the Bulldogs beat Missoula Big Sky in a loser-out game. (Boxscore) Noah Powers pitched five strong innings, striking out five, before leaving with the lead.

McEwen, though, was the hero at the plate and on the mound as the Bulldogs won the back-and-forth game. Butte High built a 6-2 lead before the Eagles rallied for six runs off the Bulldog bullpen in the top of the sixth inning.

McEwen, a junior, moved from designated hitter to pitcher to stop the bleeding. Then he burned Big Sky center fielder Kieran Cooney for a double to score Duffy and Cunningham.

After Cooney ended the inning with an incredible diving catch, to rob Chase Nasheim of extra bases, McEwen retired the Eagles in order to end the game.

Cunningham joined MeEwan with a double in the win. Duffy and Samson hit two singles. Stajcar, Kjersten, Gunner and Bushman each hit one.

Colter Nicolarsen hit an inside-the-park grand slam to put Big Sky on top 8-6 in the top of the sixth inning. Ethan Paugh hit a double and a single for Big Sky. Kade Williams and Tait Ramsay each hit a single.

After a long delay, the Bulldogs played their final game nearly 3 hours behind schedule. Then, they left little doubt.

Butte High took advantage of 11 walks and smacked nine singles to claim their share of third. After Glacier led 1-0, the Bulldogs took command with eight runs in the second, two in the third and four in the fourth.

The game ended after five innings by the run rule, but not before the Wolfpack made things interesting with three runs.

McEwen again came in to register the last three outs after runs were scored off the bullpen.

Duffy and Kjersten each poked two singles and drove in three runs. Cunningham, who pitched four strong innings before leaving with the big lead, also smacked two hits. Nasheim, McEwen and Carden each hit one.

Stajcar and Cunningham each worked two walks. Carden, Kjersten, Duffy, Bushman, McEwen, Samson and Nasheim walked once. Stajcar, McEwen, Foley and Carden were hit by pitches.

The trophy-claiming victory means Butte High’s six seniors — Brooks Vincent, Chase Lubick, Bushman, Carden, Foley and Stajcar — close their high school careers with a win. Bulldog senior Jaxon Williamson missed the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery on his pitching arm in November.

Butte High goes 1-2 in Missoula

The Bulldogs did not bring home a trophy from the Class AA State softball tournament in Missoula.

Butte High, though, did not leave the rainy Garden City without a fight. Butte’s season came to an end with a 4-3 win to Belgrade late Friday. (Boxscore)

The tournament started at the Fort Missoula Regional Park, and it ended in the University of Montana Stadium with Billings West beating Great Falls Russell 10-0 for the title.

Butte High began the tournament Thursday against West. That game, though, was delayed and picked up on Friday mornding. West won 4-0. (Boxscore)

West ace Tatum Bush struck out 11 Bulldogs and held Butte High to two hits in the win. Ryane Viker homered, and Bush hit two singles to lead the Golden Bears offense. Brittyn Klima and Gracie Jonart hit singles for the Bulldogs. Freshman Brea Henderson pitched well in the loss. She struck out five and walked one.

The Bulldogs followed with a 13-3 win over Missoula Sentinel to keep their season a live for one more game.

Klima hit a grand slam to walk off the win by the run rule. She drove in five runs on the day. Mattie Stepan, who was in a walking boot with an ankle injury before the tournament, also homered and drove in three runs, joining Klima, Jonart and Cliry Conway with a two-hit game.

Reese Johnson doubled and drove in two runs. Allie Becker also singled in the win.

Henderson went the distance, scattering five hits and fanning three in the five-inning win.

Alyssa Hanninen homered and Hayden Slater doubled to lead the Spartans.

Butte High’s season ended with two runners on base in a 4-3 loss to Belgrade later Friday. (Boxscore) The Panthers fell 2-0 to Glacier in their next game.

Brooke Stump, Krissy Carillo and Trinity Marble drove in runs to back up pitchers Londyn Freese, Leah Larson and Mallory Zimmer to lead the Panthers to the win.

Klima belted another home run, and Stepan doubled for the Bulldogs. Stepan also hit a single, while Kendallyn Schad, Henderson and Conway singled.

Henderson went the distance in the hard-luck loss.

The loss closed the high school career for Butte High’s three seniors — Stepan, Jonart and Ally Godbout.

The Bulldogs won six straight games, including a playoff win over Helena Capital, on their way to the tournament. They close the season at 12-9.

Hanson second in high jump

Butte High senior Ryan Hanson closed his career with a silver medal in the high jump at the Class AA State track & field meet at Missoula County Stadium. (Results)

Hanson matched his career best by clearing 6 feet, 4 inches to tie Asher Hanzen of Helena High for second place. Josiah Coelho of Billings Senior cleared 6-6 to take home the gold.

That was the best finish for the Bulldog boys, who claimed six top-10 performances.

Junior Brady Walsh jumped 21 feet 1 ¾ inches to place sixth in the long jump for the Bulldogs. Hanson placed ninth in the long jump and 14th in the triple jump.

Senior Camden Houchin placed seventh in the 1,600-meter race. He also ran to 10th place in the 3,200.

Senior Jacob Galle placed sixth in the 110-meter hurdles. He also ran a leg of Butte High’s eighth-place 400-meter relay team. Miner Lee, Preston Jensen and Brady Walsh also ran a leg for the Bulldogs. Galle ran to 12th in the 300 hurdles.

Jaeger Hansen, who took second in the javelin as a sophomore, placed 12th in the event this time around with a throw of 156 feet, 2 inches. Junior Bradey Doyle took 13th in the pole vault, clearing 12-6.

Butte High’s 1,600-meter relay team placed 14h. Chase Choquette and Raeder Grey ran legs along with Houchin and Galle.

On the girls’ side, junior Cadence Graham and freshman Sophia Houchin led the way for the Bulldogs.

Graham placed fifth in the 330-meter hurdles with a personal-best time of 45.37 seconds. She also took seventh in the 100 hurdles.

Houchin placed sixth in the 800-meter race with a personal-best time of 2:16.85. Houchin and Graham also ran a leg of Butte High’s fifth-place team in the 1,600-meter relay along with sophomore Wakely Burelson and freshman Saege Grey.

Senior Emma Johnson and eighth grader Peyton Poole also placed in the top 10, saving their best for the end of the year. Johnson took eighth in the discus with a personal-best mark of 118-5. Poole took eighth in the javelin with a personal-best throw of 117-2.

Butte High’s 400-meter relay team placed 12th. Kloe Dickinson, Kate DeShaw, Graham and Grey each ran a leg.

Billings West swept the team titles. The boys won with 76 points, edging Kalispell Glacier by two. Helena Capital and Bozeman tied for third at 54. The Bulldogs placed 14th with nine points.

West scored 122 points to run away with the girls’ crown. Gallatin was second at 84, and Glacier took third at 66. Butte High finish 14th with five.

Kellicut, Palmer medal in Laurel

Two Butte Central runners returned from the Class A State meet in Laurel with medals. (Results)

Sophomore Palmer Kellicut ran to fourth place in the 110-meter hurdles. He finished with a personal-best time of 15.03 seconds.

Junior Danny McCarthy placed fifth in the 100-meter race. He also reached a personal-best team, crossing in 11.10 seconds.

Senior Will McGree placed 21st in the triple jump for the Maroons.

On the girls’ side, BC’s 1,600-meter relay team ran to 18th place. Sophomore Cambri Campbell and freshmen Ashley White, Harper McGree and Evyn Tippett each ran a leg of that race.

Host Laurel won the boys’ title with 96 points. Bigfork placed second with 50 points, which was one better than Corvallis. BC and Miles City tied for 17th with six points.

Havre won the girls’ crown with 62 points. Corvallis took second at 58, and Stevensville placed third at 53. The Maroons did not score any team points.