5 program records tumble for Montana Grizzlies at Carnigan Classic

BOZEMAN — A record-breaking season showed no signs of slowing down for Montana track and field on Friday night. The Grizzlies set five new program marks at the Carignan Classic in Bozeman.
 
“I’m really happy with the way we traveled up this morning and get off the bus ready to go,” Grizzlies coach Doug Fraley said. “Our theme was to get February off to a good start after a good January, and I’m just really pleased with how the kids in all event areas delivered on that today.”
 
Several records had already gone down this season, and several athletes either bettered their own marks or broke records in new events on Friday night. There were also two new record breakers in Bozeman. 
 
One of the bigger stories of the night was the performance of senior pole vaulter Carson Hegele. The All-Conference athlete outdoors had never jumped higher than 16-feet indoors. 
 
Hegele matched his PR on his fourth jump of the day. He broke it two jumps later. He set a double PR on his very next attempt. Finally, on his third attempt at a 5.25m bar, Hegele went up and over to break Keith Webber’s 12-year old program record.
 
Hegele didn’t have the only tremendous story on Friday night. Jayel Dovichak also etched her name into the Montana record book in the women’s 60-meter hurdles. All it took was one-upping her own coach, Lindsey Hall. 
 
Hall’s record of 8.48 seconds had stood since 2012. Dovichak had come close in the past, nearly broke it in the prelims, and then finally eclipsed her own coach by winning the event with a time of 8.39 seconds.
 
The oldest record to fall came on the track in the men’s 4x400-meter relay to end the night. Montana competed against a slim field as Montana State and Utah State, the other D-I programs in Bozeman, didn’t field an A team at the event. 
 
It didn’t stop the Grizzlies from history. The team of Ben Antley, Taylor Johnson, Cadence Waller, and Braden Ankeny ran a time of 3:12.18 to break a record that had stood since 1984. 
 
Johnson has been part of many great relay teams in recent history and Ankeny was last year’s outdoor freshman of the year in the Big Sky. The two paired with newcomers Antley and Waller for a tremendous run.
 
Montana had a couple of athletes add on to already impressive resumes in Bozeman. Callie Wilson has had about as good of a start to a collegiate career as you could dream up, breaking program marks in the 60 meters and 200 meters in her first meets. 
 
The freshman backed it up again on Friday night, running a time of 7.35 in both the prelim and final of the women’s 60 meters to break her own school record and win the event. 
 
Karsen Beitz has already improved on his own 200-meter school record this season, but he joined Wilson as a double record holder in Bozeman. Beitz ran a time of 6.72 in the men’s 60-meter final to tie former teammate Cooper Hewett in the Grizzly record book.