(Editor’s note: Montana State University press release)
FLAGSTAFF, A.Z. – The Montana State men’s squad held its position in the team standings to finish third, while the Bobcat women placed fifth, as the 2018 Big Sky Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships came to a close at J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome on Saturday, Feb. 24.
“It was a pretty exciting day for our kids,” Montana State head coach Dale Kennedy said. “I thought it was really a great group effort on both sides. Certainly, the men performed at a little bit higher level than our women’s team. They scored more points and we kind of knew that going in that they had potential to finish in the third spot.”
The Bobcat men racked up 87.83 points over three days of competition. Host Northern Arizona won the team title with 137.50 points and Southern Utah earned runner-up with 111 points. MSU finished ahead of Sacramento State (80).
MSU’s best showings came in the shot put and the 800-meter run. The Bobcats recorded 31 points alone in the two events combined.
Senior Kyle Douglass earned runner-up honors in the shot put, his highest finish at the Big Sky indoor meet, behind a toss of 57-02.75 (17.44m). Sophomore Alec Nehring picked up all-conference accolades for the first time in his career by taking third in the event. Nerhing’s throw of 56-11.25 (17.35) netted him a bronze medal.
A trio of Bobcats scored points for the men’s squad in the 800.
Cameron Carroll crossed the line in 1 minute, 51.98 seconds for a runner-up finish and the first all-conference honors of his collegiate career. Chris Bianchini placed fourth with a mark of 1:52.71 and Samuel Bloom followed in 1:53.37.
Five other individuals scored points on Saturday for the MSU men’s team.
Mitch Horning, Diego Leon and Ty Mogan all earned top-eight individual finishes for the first time at Big Sky indoor meet. Horning earned a personal-best time in the 200 by crossing the line in 21.51. Leon placed sixth in the mile by earning a time of 4:17.25. Mogan led the Bobcats in the 3,000 and picked up a point by finishing eighth overall.
Sophomore Noah Martin tied for fourth in the high jump by clearing 6-09 (2.06m). Jadin Casey finished fourth in the 400 behind a personal-best time of 47.15.
Both of the Bobcats’ 4×400 relay teams completed performances that earned them silver medals. The Bobcat men’s relay of Christopher Lange, Horning, Parker Walton and Casey completed a time of 3:12.93. The women’s relay registered a time of 3:43.50 with the Bobcats represented by Taylor Buschy, McKenna Ramsay, Elisabeth Krieger and Amanda Jaynes.
“I thought we had some shining moments on both sides on both the men’s and women’s teams,” Kennedy said. “We had multiple numbers of all-conference performers with both the 4×400 relays each getting second place.”
The MSU women’s team placed fifth overall with a total of 48 points. The Bobcats narrowly trailed Eastern Washington (52) in the team standings but did finish ahead of Southern Utah (42). NAU won the women’s Big Sky title with 150 points.
Amanda Jaynes and Kelsi Lasota each had runner-up showings to highlight the women’s team’s efforts on Saturday.
Jaynes earned individual all-conference accolades during the indoor season for the first time by finishing in a time of 8.58. Lasota achieved the same Big Sky honors by wrapping up the 3,000 in 10:07.68.
Layne Oliver also made a podium appearance for the MSU women’s team in the mile. Her time of 5:09.99 earned her the bronze medal, which also led a Bobcat contingent of Trisha Carlson, Ellen Brooks and Joby Rosenleaf that finished 9-10-11 overall.
Three other Bobcats – Ramsay, Taylor Buschy and Kendra Larson – scored points for the squad Saturday. Ramsay (55.22) and Buschy (55.76) finished sixth and seventh, respectively in the 400 while Larson (2:12.44) took seventh in the 800.
Several MSU women’s athletes narrowly missed out on contributing to the team total. Samantha Kelderman (3,000) and Amber Prevedello (pole vault) each finished 10th in their respective events. Truanne Roginske triple jump and Carter Theade pole vault took 12th in the triple jump and pole vault, respectively.
The Montana State men’s and women’s teams wrapped up their indoor campaigns with the conclusion of the Big Sky Conference Championships. For those that advance to the NCAA Championships, those qualifiers will be announced in the next week.
