by photo credit: Tommy B. Robinson
Dan Ninham, Contributing Writer
Karis Brightwings-Pease is not only the leader of the pack for the Hardin HS Bulldogs but she is a two-sport state champion and she may just be getting started.
She is a four-time individual state champion in 2022 and 2033 in XC and 2023 in Track in the 1600m and 3200m. She is a two-time State XC Team Champion in 2022 and 2023.
She broke all her high school records in the eighth grade in distance running in track and XC. She is also the first individual Girls XC State Champion the school has had in 30 plus years.
Indigenous athletes use their core values to help guide them in preparation and in competition.
“I believe we as American Indians are resilient,” said Karis Brightwings-Pease. “We are well and capable of greatness, and we are still here and don’t count us out.”
Brightwings-Pease’ personal records are 18:15 in the 5k, 5:07 in the one mile, and 11:17 for the two mile. She is striving to surpass her goals every time she steps on the field or track.
“I’m Apsaalooke which means Crow and Apsaalooke people are strong,” said Brightwings-Pease. “When I run I have a meaning why I run and that meaning just isn’t about making my younger self proud. I am succeeding my goals that I had as a little girl but also that meaning is when I run, I run with strength and endurance.”
She continued to talk about why she runs. She said, “When I wanna try to PR I put my mind to it and I have a confident mindset and I don’t think about the negativity because knowing what I put my mind to, my body does.”
“I was part of the back-to-back team champions in 2022 and 2023,” said Brightwings-Pease. “My eighth grade year I made history by being the first eighth grader to win an individual state title.”
“I played varsity basketball my eighth grade year and I was part of the runner-up team at state for basketball. I made the girls varsity team my second year as a freshman at Hardin. I got Academic Allstate for basketball as well,” added Brightwings-Pease.
Timothy Pease and Tamara Stewart are Brightwings-Pease’ parents. Their daughter Karis said, “My parents do the beyond for me. They helped me train and practice. They made sure I always had a workout in before I start my day off. They pushed me to be a great runner and a basketball player. They knew what my dreams and goals were and what was mine, was there’s.”
“They took me all over and showed me what kind of competition is out in the world. They made me compete at another level and made me learn from my experiences from the last past years leading up to now,” added Brightwings-Pease.
“At a very young age of nine years old, Karis wrote out a list of goals she wanted to accomplish, and in sports the list included things such as individual State Titles in XC, team titles in basketball and along with MVP awards,” said dad Timothy Brightwings-Pease. “She wanted to set state records, she wanted to compete at the highest level nationally in cross country, basketball, and track. She wrote down of becoming a national champion in cross country and track. She wants to compete in the 2028 Olympics representing the United States. She wrote a list of D1 colleges she wants to reach for to play or run for, she wants to play in the WNBA.”
“These were some of the things she wrote down on her list of goals as a young girl and over the years as parents we try our best to give her the best opportunity to reach them, opening doors of opportunity that can help her reach the peck of her talents,” added Brightwings-Pease.
It’s getting to a point that some high school goals need to be changed to strive for higher achievements.
“In basketball she has played up in age with two different travel teams, teams that compete nationally in major tournaments across the country,” said Brightwings-Pease. “The teams are Lady Unity out of Washington and Team Blazers out of Montana which is a branch team of a national Blazers team from each state.”
Coach Cindy Farmer has the opportunity to coach Karis during the fall cross country season and also the winter basketball season.
“Coach Farmer knew what I was capable of,” said Karis Brightwings-Pease. “She gave me the opportunity to play and run for her on varsity squads. She pushed me to be a great athlete on and off the court and course and even in the classroom. Coach Farmer always pushed me to my limits but without all that hard work I wouldn’t be the kind of athlete I am,”
“Karis has an unparalleled ability to focus her energy and effort while tuning out all the peripheral ‘noise’ during practices and competitions,” said Coach Farmer. “Her level of determination and courage stands out amongst her peers, and Karis puts in the work year round. She is extremely competitive and strives each day to be a better runner and person.”
“Karis’s presence has also made track and cross country practices a competition in itself; and not in a bad way. Her teammates know firsthand what Karis’s work ethic and determination can mean in the test called competition,” added Coach Farmer.
Chris Fuchs coached Karis the past two years as the assistant high school cross country coach. He said, “Karis is an amazing athlete with many accomplishments at such a young age. Her personality is always light and bubbly and she has the ability to lighten the mood with her teammates. I remember before state this year Karis was having a lot of butterflies. I took her through some breathing activities to help calm her down and get ready to race.”
“Sometimes we forget what it takes to be a champion and just because you are extremely talented does not mean we are not human and succumb to nerves. I always tell athletes, ‘Nervous energy is good energy, you’re going to use it in the race. It also means you care.’ It has been an honor to coach an athlete like Karis and witness all her amazing accomplishments,” added Coach Fuchs.
“Coach Fuchs always had a joke almost every practice,” said Karis Brightwings-Pease. “He would always tell us but most of the time it was always just him laughing by himself. Every workout we did we were locked in or just focused. When the team is not having a good day, Coach Fuchs always knew how to make us laugh and smile during school hours and at practice. He was always encouraging and supporting everyone on the side.”
Dustin Martin is the Executive Director of the Wings of America program. Karis chose not to compete this January at the 2024 USATF National Cross Country Championship but she did participate with the Wings program in 2022 and 2023. Dustin Martin said: “Despite being in the midst of basketball season, Karis performed admirably at the 2023 USA Cross Country Championships in Richmond, VA. She was the fourth Wings runner to cross the line that day and ran in a small pack with two of her teammates, Stella Hall and Maddie Castillo, to finish with a very respectable time of 23:28. Although she was an eighth grader and it was her first time bumping up to the 6KM distance, she held her own and showed no fear.”
“Truthfully, I think she is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Native distance running talent in Montana. I really hope her participation and success encourage others to test their boundaries and embrace opportunities to keep racing at a higher level,” added Martin.
Karis Brightwings-Pease said: “Right now I’m taking the little steps to get to my goal because in the big world there are harder steps to get at. Right now I’m just looking at the future and keeping god in prayer because god has a plan for everyone.”
Very proud of our outstanding athlete from Crow country.
No water district from the foothills of the bighorn mountains.