State C Preview

It’s finally here, the moment of truth, the quest to be the best.

Of course we are referring to the 2026 State C Tournament for girls and boys in Missoula at the University of Montana, to be played on Robin Selvig Court.

Get ready for a deep dive on all eight girls teams and all eight boys teams.

The boys started their tourney on Wednesday, March 11, and here are the first-round pairings:

• Winnett-Grass Range Rams versus Scobey Spartans, 3 p.m.

• Belt Huskies versus West Yellowstone Wolverines, 4:30 p.m.

• Lustre Christian Lions versus Chester-Joplin-Inverness Hawks, 6 p.m.

• Manhattan Christian Eagles versus Roy-Winifred Red Raiders, 7:30 p.m.

For the girls, who begin competing on Thursday, March 12, the first-round action looks like this:

• Denton-Geyser-Stanford- Geraldine (DGSG) Bearcats versus Scobey Spartans, 12 p.m.

• Chester-Joplin-Inverness Hawks (CJI) versus West Yellowstone Wolverines, 1:30 p.m.

• Circle Wildcats versus Belt Huskies, 3:30 p.m.

• Drummond Trojans versus. Melstone Broncs, 5 p.m.

Here is an in-depth look at the 16 teams that will be competing in this week’s State C Tournament in the Adams Center:

GIRLS Belt Huskies Head coach: Peyton Maki. Overall record/points for-points against/averages: 21-3, 1242793, 51.7-33.0.

Current streak: W1. Their losses were against: DGSG 65-26, DGSG 57-26 and CJI 56-45 in the North C Division Tournament semifinal.

Fast fact: Belt’s appearance at this season’s State C is the program’s sixth in a row, starting with 2021 and followed by 2022-2324-25-26. Player names to know: June Bock, Aaliyah Gaylord, Destonee Goodman, Dezirae Goodman, Zoe Holum, Maren Keaster, Olivia Knudsen, Mackenzie Pogany.

Chester-Joplin-Inverness Hawks Head coach: Jordan Mitchell. Record/PF-PA/averages: 22-1, 1450-612, 63.0-26.6.

Current streak: W12. Their lone loss was against: DGSG 62-36 on January 22 in Geraldine.

Fast fact: CJI standout junior post Brynn Kammerzell recorded a 31-point, 16-rebound game at the District 9C Tournament in Shelby, which was a 62-40 firstround win against the North Star Knights. In addition, Kammerzell had an 18-point, 20-rebound performance versus the Box Elder Bears at...