It's that time of year again. The time when the summer schedule is winding down and preparations are being finalized for the fall high school sports seasons.

So many Blaine County teams and athletes were busy this summer preparing for the upcoming high school sports season. The Harlem girls basketball team was very active through much of June with team camps, in Dillon, Montana and at Dixie State College in Utah as well as various other tournaments and open gyms.

The Harlem boys basketball team competed all over the state of Montana in preparation for the 2021-22 season as well as playing out of state on a couple of occasions. The Harlem boys were busy with open gym as well and took a junior varsity team to the Big Sky State Games in Billings the middle of July.

The Chinook girls and boys basketball teams held open gyms a couple times each week and participated in a number of tournaments as well. The Sugarbeeter girls volleyball team competed against some stiff competition which included Class AA and A teams at the Big Sky State Games. The Harlem Lady Cat Volleyball team also participated in a couple of tournaments in June as well.

The Hays/Lodge Pole Thunderbird Girls Basketball team held a number of fundraisers for their program this summer to help them along the way. The girls were very busy and spent a bunch of time in the weight room as well as open gym. The Thunderbirds performed very well at the tournaments they attended, including winning one in Stanford.

The Sugarbeeter Football team had a fantastic June, highlighted by a stellar performance at the Montana State University Bobcat Football Camp. The team worked hard while at home and will have a few new wrinkles to work on when practice begins this Friday.

The summer certainly included a bunch of high school team events, but several individual competed on their own and a number of recent graduates who will be heading to college to play athletically were busy as well. Even a few adults got in on the summer action.

2021 high school graduated Trent Main (Harlem) and Ethan Bell (Chinook) will be playing college basketball this winter at the collegiate level. Those two local prospects joined upcoming Harlem Wildcat seniors Taya Trottier and RJ Ramone in Phoenix, Arizona at the Native American Basketball Invitational. Main and Ramone played on the same team while Trottier and Bell had their own respective teams at the tournament.

Chinook junior Anna Terry had a very busy summer competing in a number of distance races. She began with a first place finish in the inaugural Bear Paw 5K in June. She also competed in the Big Sky State Games in July and capped the summer running season off with the Smelter City Scamper in Anaconda, Montana this past weekend.

Chinook junior Levi Jensen also competed in the Bear Paw 5K, finishing second in the Men's Division.

As far as the adults go, Leslie Zellmer of Chinook won the first annual Bear Paw Half Marathon. Chinooks Levi Capdeville finished third in the mens race while Amber Huestis was ninth on the womens side. Other local runners taking part in one of the Bear Paw Marathon races include: Alexa Nicholson, Chinook; Lori Takawira, Havre; Christina Flansburg, Harlem; Christie Nissen, Chinook; Taryn Schmitt, Chinook; Angie Billmayer, Chinook; Stephanie Billmayer Silva, Chinook; Haley Velk, Chinook; Carey Patrick Wertz, Harlem; Derek Bell, Chinook; Joseph Patrick Wertz, Harlem; Valerie Beck, Chinook; Lisa Hinebauch, Chinook.

In basketball Harlem was well represented at the Big Sky State Games. In the Masters Division of Mens Basketball, Harlem's 'Stud Stallions' team took home the Bronze Medal. the team consisted of: Andrew Walker, Ben Carrywater, Bill Main, Chase Main, Ivan Wing, John Young, Merle Wing, Simon Walker, Thunder Bigby, Tom Main.

Harlem senior Taya Trottier, middle, takes a pic with her teammates, Bailey Egan (Colstrip), Cami Harris (Billings), Canzas His Bad Horse (Colstrip) and Tailee Harris (Billings) after going 5-0 in the 11/12 Grade Girls Division at the 'Above the Rim' tournament in Billings this past weekend.

In the Mens Open A Division, Harlem's 'The Fellas' earned a Bronze Medal as well. The team had many familiar faces on it, including some from Harlem, Dodson, Hays/Lodge Pole and Arlee. The team roster included: Ben Carrywater, Bernie Bahr, Brad Cichosz, Corbain Lonebear, Frank Runsabove, John Young, Josh Smith, Phillip Malatare and Steven Fisher.