Archived Story

Relay helps celebrate anniversary of Big Sky State Games competition
By LUELLA N. BRIEN of the Missoulian

Hellgate Elementary physical education and kindergarten teacher Marsha Hamilton takes the torch from student Jack Haller, 7, as they run their leg of the Big Sky State Games cross-state relay Friday in Missoula.
Photo by MICHAEL GALLACHER/Missoulian
The Big Sky State Games is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a cross-state torch relay, and on Friday it passed through Missoula for the first time in all those years.

The relay began in Billings on May 18.

Relay coordinator Chris Marshall said the last time there was a relay was during the inaugural state games.

"We decided to have the relay to celebrate the anniversary," Marshall said.

The first of six volunteer runners for the Missoula leg of the torch's trip, Jared Wierson, was also celebrating a birthday. He will turn 30 on Sunday, and rather than receiving gifts, he gave back this week by volunteering at the Montana Special Olympics and the Western AA divisional track meet, as well as the State Games torch run.

"I'm a fan of sports, so this is more down my alley," the First Interstate Bank employee said.

Wierson ran a half-mile to Scott Street from First Interstate Bank in downtown Missoula before passing the torch to another runner.

Bryn Christopher, Jack Haller, Christopher Lange, Marsha Hamilton and Avery Sindler also ran the Missoula leg of the relay.

The Big Sky State Games is an Olympic-style sports festival for residents of Montana. Last year, the games hosted close to 11,391 athletes and 2,500 volunteers from more than 250 communities in 33 different sporting events.

The games boast the largest per-capita participation of any state with such an event, Marshall said.

This year's games will be held in Billings from July 15 to 17, and offer competition in basketball, billiards, bowling, cycling, disc golf, equestrian, fencing and figure skating, just to name a few.

The torch will travel up to Whitefish on Saturday and make its way to Great Falls on Sunday, then through Havre and Malta on Monday. The torch will travel across the Hi-Line on Tuesday and down through Miles City to Billings on Wednesday.

The relay also aims to garner some attention for Life Center Northwest, an organ donor network that serves communities in Washington, Alaska, Montana and Northern Idaho.

 

Enter the games



State Games entry booklets are available at First Interstate Bank and Wendy's restaurants. For more information, contact the Big Sky State Games at (406) 254-7426 or visit the Web site at www.bigskygames.org.
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