BILLINGS — Montana's fastest guy is taking that speed south.
Billings Skyview's Ryan Dierenfield, the reigning Class AA state champion in the 100- and 200-meter dashes and a five-star track recruit, will be blazing the track down in Knoxville next year for the University of Tennessee.
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"I didn't think I'd feel it, but you really do end up feeling it. The coach and everyone was super involved. The team was unbelievably welcoming, and it just felt like home to me," Dierenfield said.
Dierenfield's personal-best time in the 100 is 10.45 seconds, and that speed is no accident.
He hit the weight room early, taking an interest in bodybuilding between his eighth-grade and freshman years. But when he found out he had next-level wheels, that weight training became focused more on explosiveness rather than bulk.
"I kind of, not fell out of love with getting super big. I obviously want to stay pretty defined and whatnot, but I just fell so much more in love with having a sport behind it and having a reason behind what I do," Dierenfield said.
Dierenfield hopes to break the all-class state records in both the 100 and 200. Great Falls CMR's Damien Nelson set the record in the 100 at 10.50 seconds in 2017, while CMR's Chris Wilson set the 200 record at 21.06 back in 2009.
The journey Dierenfield has been on has caused him to miss out on some activities typical of high school kids, but he wouldn't have it any other way.
"I think the biggest thing for me was understanding and humbly saying it, understanding that I'm trying to do something that a lot of other people aren't trying to do," Dierenfield said.
"I think missing out on things, if you want to call it that, is something I had to accept. Missing out on sporting events, basketball games, football games, missing out on dinner with the guys, things like that. You kind of have to understand that you're doing something that not no one else is trying to do, but you have to understand that no one is going to do it for you. You have to get up and go do it and accept that fact."
Dierenfield hopes he can rack up some more state gold and take down a couple records before heading south to Knoxville.
