(Editor's note: Big Sky Conference, Montana and Montana State press release.)
GREELEY, Colo. — Montana State’s men’s and women’s teams each finished second at the Big Sky Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Saturday at Nottingham Field, and Bobcat senior Duncan Hamilton capped the league portion of his career in fitting fashion by earning Most Valuable Men’s Athlete honors at his final conference meet.
Hamilton led the way, as he has for much of his Bobcat career. His 24 points stood as the most of any individual in the men’s competition.
Both of Hamilton’s Saturday races provided dramatic. Hamilton was nearly tripped by one Northern Arizona runner and traded bumps with another during the physical 1,500 meters, taking a late lead that he was unable to hold. In the 5,000 he stayed with NAU's Nico Young, the eventual champion, until about the 500-meter mark.
Saturday’s distance races also provided memorable moments for other Bobcats. Camila Noe, fresh off Friday’s 10,000-meter championship, finished second in Saturday’s 5,000 meters by replicating her strong closing 600 meters from the night before.
Ben Perrin’s strong kick boosted him to third in the 5,000, while Sam Ells (seventh) and sophomore Rob McManus (eighth) also contributed to the strong distance performance. Alex Moore also finished seventh in the women’s 5,000.
After scoring just two points in the distance events at the 2022 championships, Montana State’s women scored 36 points this weekend.
Montana's men and women each placed sixth in the team standings. UM's men scored 72 total points while the women had 65.5.
Montana had a pair of men and a pair of women take home individual conference championships. There were a couple that were expected coming in, as Evan Todd in the javelin (222-4) and Holly Sudol in the 400-meter hurdles (1:00.14) were the top seeds entering the meet.
But there were also two champions that rose above all expectations. Jaydon Green ran a PR in the 110-meter hurdles (13.82) and Erin Wilde jumped a lifetime best in the high jump (5-9.25) as she edged MSU's Lucy Corbett. Both performances moved them from the really good category of the seeding list to the top.
Wilde becomes Montana’s first outdoor high jump champion since Brenda Naber did it in 1996. Todd is Montana’s third two-time winner in the javelin and just the second to successfully defend his title.
Sudol won Montana’s first title in the 400 hurdles since Kourtney Danreuther in 2011. Green, meanwhile, captured UM's first 110-hurdles crown since Matt Larson in 2007.
Securing three-consecutive titles on both the men’s and women’s side, Northern Arizona claimed both team championships.
The Lumberjack men scored 220.5 points, which is just .5 points away from tying their own conference record set in 2012. On the women’s side, the Lumberjacks secured 192 points to win their third title in as many seasons.
For full results, click here.