HELENA — The Montana Tech women's track and field team continued its Frontier Conference dominance by winning its fourth consecutive title at the league's outdoor championship meet on a wet Monday at Vigilante Stadium.
Over the course of the two-day gathering, the Orediggers scored 202 points to outpace second-place Carroll College (174 points) and third-place Rocky Mountain College (141 points).
Senior standout Abby Clark was again a big factor; she won her fourth straight Frontier high jump crown one day after capturing the long jump for the second straight year.
Clark, from Fort Benton, also added points by placing second in the 200 meters and fifth in the 100-meter hurdles. Clark's winning high jump mark was 1.66 meters, or 5 feet, 5¼ inches. She came into the meet having already won her fourth straight Frontier heptathlon title, which she achieved at the Trudnowski Open on April 17.
The Orediggers also got titles on Monday from MaKenzie Sheils in the 400 meters (1:00.59), Alyssa Plant in the 5,000 meters (18.40.47), Olleca Severson in the 100 hurdles (14.82), Ayla Janzen in the triple jump (11 meters/36-1), and the 4x400 relay team of Sverson, Sheils, Kamryn Comba and Peyton Walker (4:07.62).
That followed up a strong opening day of the meet for the Orediggers on Sunday.
The Carroll men won their team championship by scoring 261 overall points, besting second-place Montana Tech (217 points) and third-place Rocky (127 points).
Weston Means, coming off an NAIA indoor national championship in the high jump, won the Frontier's outdoor title in that event on Monday with a jump of 1.95 meters (6-4¾). Teammate Brycen Gardner took home the 1,500 meters with a time of 4:08.07 a day after winning the 3k steeplechase.
Other Fighting Saints to win championships on Monday included Treyton Graham in the 400 (49.13), Jack Jensen in the 800 (1:56.2), Zack Gacnik in the 5,000 (14:47.91), Carson Krack in the 400 hurdles (54.58), and the 4x400 relay quartet of Krack, Jensen, Graham and Tucker Monaco (3:26.68).
Krack had also previously won the Frontier decathlon title.
Carroll entered Monday with a 44-point advantage with three event wins on Day 1 on Sunday.
Among the other meet standouts was Providence thrower Cade VanVleet, a Noxon product who finished as a three-event winner.
On Monday, VanVleet won the shot put title for the second straight year with a throw of 16.85 meters (55-3¼). That added to to the second consecutive discus championship he won Sunday and the third straight hammer throw crown he claimed on Thursday in Great Falls.
Providence thrower Lauren Cima, coming off winning the hammer throw in Great Falls on Thursday, claimed the shot put title with a heave of 13.54 meters (44-5).
Rocky's Kellan Wahl was also a multi-event winner, claiming titles in both the women's 100 meters (12.15) and 200 meters (25.4). Wahl's win in the 100 marked her third straight Frontier championship in the event.
The other event winners on Monday were:
MEN
- 100: Ryan LaMere, Rocky, 10.9
- 200: Matt Moreni, Montana Tech, 21.85
- 110 hurdles: Morgan McClernan, Montana Tech, 14.91
- 4x100 relay: Rocky 43.27
- Triple jump: Nicolo Lancini, Montana Tech, 14.1
WOMEN
- 800: Maya Pearcy, Rocky, 2:16.14
- 1.500: Madalen Shipman, Carroll, 5:02.75
- 400 hurdles: Claire Bucklin, Carroll, 1:05.12
- 4x100 relay: Carroll 48.98
For a full list of event winners, click here.
The NAIA national championships are slated for May 21-23 in Marion, Ind., hosted by Indiana Wesleyan University.
