GRESHAM, Ore. — It was a historic day one at the Big Sky Championships for one member of Montana’s track and field team, and a great overall outing for the rest of the Grizzlies as the conference meet got under way.
Erin Wilde won her seventh straight title in the women’s high jump to enter elite company in the history of the Big Sky Conference. Brynn Fuller joined her atop the podium, winning the women’s javelin in a 1-2-3 podium sweep for the Grizzlies. Montana also had five all-conference athletes and advanced 13 runners to Saturday’s finals.
Wilde becomes one of just four women in the entire history of the Big Sky Conference to win the same event seven or more times at indoor and outdoor Big Sky Championships. She’s the most decorated high jumper of all-time having won seven straight since her outdoor title as a freshman.
“I’m glad that I get to be part of that history,” Wilde said. “I’m proud of myself and I’m super grateful to all the people that helped to get me here. It feels really good. It’s how I wanted to end my Big Sky career before going off to regionals. It was kind of my dream, so I’m super happy that I got to do that.”
The conditions weren’t ideal for Wilde and her fellow jumpers as they opened the meet on Friday at 10 a.m. in blustery, wet conditions. Wilde passed several bars past most of the competition before entering at 5-6 and clearing on her first attempt.
She had one slip at the 5-7.25 mark, but cleared on her second jump and went over the next bar on her first try. It would prove to be enough to win her seventh straight title. She added another bar at 5-9.75 before going out at the next height. Her jump broke the facility record at Earl L. Klapstein Stadium.
In the difficult conditions and facing a stronger challenge than she has at some her title victories, Wilde just did her best to stay grounded, mentally that is.
“I was just trying to remember that we all have to compete in it together,” Wilde said. “So if it is going to affect one of us, it is going to do it to all of us. The mental part, just kind of leaving it out and having fun doing what I love.”
Wilde joins Loni Perkins-Judisch as the only Grizzlies to ever win seven titles in the same event. Only two other women in the league’s history have accomplished that feat. She now is tied for the second-most golds in program history with Lindsey Hall, Shelley Smathers and Kris Schmitt, trailing only Perkins-Judisch’s eight (seven in the 400m, one in the 200m).
“Erin winning her seventh straight Big Sky Championship in the high jump was just amazing,” head coach Doug Fraley said. “The most successful female high jumper in Big Sky history as far as titles, and I’m just so proud of her for being able to sustain that since she was a freshman and to never waver at a Big Sky Championship. She’s just a really special athlete who has done amazing things for us and I couldn’t be prouder.”
Wilde gave Montana some momentum on the women’s side to start the day, and the javelin group took that to another level with their performance a few hours later. Fuller hit a huge throw of 160-4 on her first attempt of the day that was enough to make her Montana’s first women’s javelin champion since Hall in 2013.
Fuller claimed the gold, but her teammates Ashley Carroll and Ella Moodry joined her on the podium with big throws of their own. Carroll’s second throw of the day traveled 156-4 to earn her the silver medal. Moodry hit it big on her fifth throw with a mark of 152-10 to take home the bronze.
The trio all hit personal-best throws, which will likely send Fuller to the NCAA First Round and puts Carroll on the bubble.
“We were highly ranked in that event so we knew it would be a good point-getter for us, but you’re not expecting to go in and sweep the podium,” Fraley said. “For all three of them to throw personal bests in the championship setting and take 1-2-3 is one of the greatest things that can happen to a team at a championship. It generates so much momentum and those ladies did such a great job.”
The weather proved to play a factor all day, but Fuller said they went in to the event knowing that they would have to bring the energy. The trio supported each other and they also had some help from the rest of Montana’s throws group, which provided some of the biggest cheers of the day during the event.
“The emotions were so high,” Fuller said. “We knew coming in we were going to have to bring the energy because the weather wasn’t the greatest, but we decided we weren’t going to let it affect us and that we were going to leave it all out there and keep our emotions up.”
Fuller passed her final three attempts of the meet, holding on to her lead while maintaining her health. It has been a difficult final stretch to the season for the Grizzly newcomer as she’s managed an injury since a meet in Pocatello, Idaho.
Friday was the first time since the Bengal Invitational that Fuller has thrown a javelin. There was no rust as she exploded on her first attempt of the competition for a new facility record at Mt. Hood Community College.
“I have been working hard the past couple of weeks just trying to stay healthy and battle through injuries,” Fuller said. “I hadn’t thrown a jav in two weeks, so it was kind of like, ‘Hey coach, I’m going to go out there and throw one big one and see what happens.’”
It is rare for a podium sweep, but it’s something that was in the cards since the Al Manuel Invitational back in March when all three of Montana’s throwers had big performances. After each big throw on Friday, Fuller, Carroll and Moodry embraced each other with big smiles.
The camaraderie helped to make the moment even more special for the Big Sky champ.
“That was the best moment of my life, honestly,” Fuller said. “We thought in the beginning of the season when we were 1-2-3 in the conference that we could sweep it, but also you don’t want to put that pressure on each other. When Ella threw her big one we just thought, no way. We hoped it and God willed it.”
Montana also received plenty of points in the men’s javelin competition, where half of the point scorers were wearing maroon and silver. In another early morning start, it was freshman Hunter Loesch who reached the podium for Montana.
Loesch finished in third with a throw of 223-10 to earn all-conference honors at his first Big Sky meet. Kyle Iorg finished right behind him with a throw of 214-1. Cooper Henkle and Ethan Grimm finished in seventh and eighth to add three more points to Montana’s total.
“Great job by that group,” Fraley said. “There were some guys in there that wish they could have done a little bit better, but that’s championship competition. They all hung in there and all four were able to so score and get us on the board in a big way on the men’s side.”
The rain and wind made things difficult on many of the athletes, but none more so than the men’s pole vaulters. The conditions were so bad that just clearing a bar would have earned you points as the wind swirled and the precipitation made it difficult to grip the pole.
Through those difficulties, senior Carson Hegele was able to record a lifetime best outdoors to finish with a silver medal.
Hegele cleared 17-2.25, which tied for the best mark with two others. He finished in the middle of the tiebreaker based on misses at the previous height and for the second time this year received a silver Big Sky medal.
“It was really tough out there in the pole vault with the wind and the rain. It’s especially difficult in that event because it affects your grip and your safety and everything,” Fraley said. “Carson really flourished in that situation not only getting the silver medal, but also clearing a bar in those conditions that will most likely get him to the NCAA First Round. That’s a fantastic accomplishment in a day where a lot of people struggled in that event.”
Patrick Kremer is no stranger to the podium at the Big Sky Championship. The senior already had five medals in his career between indoor and outdoor entering Friday’s competition. All five came in the high jump.
Kremer switched things up on Friday, jumping 23-8.75 in the long jump to earn a bronze medal in the event.
“For a guy that has been All-Big Sky so many times in the high jump and that long jump is his secondary event, he really started to perform well in the second half of the spring,” Fraley said. “To come to the Championships and get on the long jump podium is just a testament to what kind of athlete he is. We’re proud of him and looking forward to what he can do in his primary event in (Saturday's) high jump.”
Montana also got three points from Morgan Thomas in the women’s hammer throw with a PR mark of 174-1.
On the track, the Grizzlies advanced 13 runner to the finals on Saturday with several in great positions to chase after titles and all-conference honors. The Grizzlies had two of the most highly ranked sprinters in the competition in Callie Wilson and Karsen Beitz.
Beitz had the second-fastest qualifying time in the 100m at 10.39 seconds and the fourth fastest 200m time at 21.23 seconds. He won his heat in both to receive an automatic bid to the finals.
Wilson also won her heat in the two sprint events, going 11.61 in the 100m to enter with the top time in the competition and 24.17 in the 200m to qualify second.
“Callie and Karsen both had great days,” Fraley said. “They are both highly ranked in the 100 and 200 and they both went in and won their heats in good fashion to get the automatic qualifying bids, which was exactly what we wanted on the prelim day. I thought they both did a good job.”
Wilson will be joined in the 200m final by Lily Meskers. The senior qualified fourth in the women’s 200m and was also one of four Grizzlies to make it to Saturday in the women’s 400m.
It sets up a busy afternoon for her on Saturday.
“Lily had a fantastic day for us,” Fraley said. “The women’s 400-meter group was great, advancing four to the final to make half of (Saturday's) race Griz which is awesome. Lily in particular had a great day, coming back after that to qualify in the 200. She’s going to be busy (Saturday) with the 4x100, 400 final, 200 final, and then the 4x400. That’s an amazing accomplishment.”
Mikenna Ells had the second-best time in 400m qualifying at 54.15. Sophia Clark was third at 54.71 and Claire Hutchison claimed the final spot with a time of 55.56.
Ainsley Shipman qualified for the women’s 100-meter hurdles finals with a time of 14.04 seconds.
On the men’s side, Braden Ankeny will join Beitz in the men’s 200m final and Cadence Waller made it through in the 400m with his time of 47.34. He ranks third going into Saturday.
Truman Thompson had a big performance in the men’s 800m prelims, running neck-and-neck with Northern Arizona national champion Colin Sahlman in his heat. Thompson advanced to the final with a time of 1:49.58.
“Truman had a great race to get a top five time in the prelims,” Fraley said. “He came in ranked eighth and did a very good job to run strong for a PR time and to qualify for the final. That’s huge for us on the men’s side.”
Montana had some very high highs on Friday and also some performances that they wish they could have back. It happens in track. Fraley knows that, as does his team.
The fourth-year Grizzly head coach also knows that they have plenty of opportunities to score on Saturday and that his team will be ready. The final day begins at 11 a.m. (MT) with four field events before the races begin at 12:30 p.m.
“It’s a typical track meet where you have some ups and some downs and everything in between,” Fraley said. “I feel like we’ve put ourselves in a good position going into championship Saturday and really looking forward to getting out there and giving them hell.”
MONTANA MEN’S RESULTS
100m Prelim- Karsen Beitz (10.39q, 2nd), Ben Bliven (10.96, 26th), Romin Saleki (11.05, 28th)
200m Prelim- Karsen Beitz (21.23q, 4th), Braden Ankeny (21.56q, 7th), Ben Bliven (22.01, 15th)
400m Prelim- Cadence Waller (47.34q, 3rd), Taylor Johnson (48.09, 10th), Braden Ankeny (48.70, 12th), Ben Antley (48.96, 15th), Garrett Dahlke (49.74, 21st)
800m Prelim- Truman Thompson (1:49.58q, 5th), Morgan Amano (1:51.78, 15th), Henry Ballinger (1:52.19, 16th)
400mH- Adam Maxwell (55.58, 11th)
Steeple- Lane Krautschun (9:16.41, 10th)
Pole Vault- Carson Hegele (17-2.25, 2nd), Carter Petersen (15-0.75, 6th), Michael Cullen (NH), Corbin Luce (NH), Kevin Swindler (NH)
Long Jump- Patrick Kremer (23-8.75, 3rd)
Hammer- Titus Jeffrey (152-8, 14th), Cooper Henkle (ND)
Javelin- Hunter Loesch (223-10, 3rd), Kyle Iorg (214-1, 4th), Cooper Henkle (192-6, 7th), Ethan Grimm (187-2, 8th)
MONTANA WOMEN’S RESULTS
100m Prelim- Callie Wilson (11.61q, 1st), Rileigh McGree (11.96, 9th), Tara Ohlwiler (11.97, 10th), Brooke Zetooney (12.02, 11th)
200m Prelim- Callie Wilson (24.17q, 2nd), Lily Meskers (24.32q, 4th), Tara Ohlwiler (24.66, 10th), Brooke Zeetooney (24.72, 14th), Rileigh McGree (24.79, 16th)
400m Prelim- Mikenna Ells (54.15q, 2nd), Sophia Clark (54.71q, 3rd), Lily Meskers (54.77q, 4th), Claire Hutchison (55.56q, 8th), Cosley Bruno (55.76, 10th), Ally Sempf (56.21, 12th)
100mH- Ainsley Shipman (14.04q, 8th), Isabelle Berry (14.43, 12th), Jayel Dovichak (DQ)
High Jump- Erin Wilde (5-9.75$, 1st), Jaidyn Pevey (5-4.25, 12th)
Long Jump- Ainsley Shipman (17-11.5, 18th)
Hammer- Morgan Thomas (174-1, 6th), Scout Nadeau (155-7, 16th), Lillian White (153-7, 18th), Mary Mickelson (145-6, 22nd)
Javelin- Brynn Fuller (160-4$, 1st), Ashley Carroll (156-4, 2nd), Ella Moodry (152-1, 3rd)
Q – Qualified for Saturday’s final
$ - Facility Record
MEN’S TEAM SCORES (7 of 21 events)
1. Weber State (66.5)
2. Montana State (49)
3. Northern Arizona (36)
4. Idaho State (34)
5. Montana (30.5)
6. Eastern Washington (22)
7. Idaho (19)
8. Northern Colorado (8)
9. Sacramento State (7)
WOMEN’S TEAM SCORES (7 of 21 events)
1. Northern Arizona (51)
2. Idaho (46)
3. Montana (40)
4. Weber State (37)
5. Montana State (36)
6. Idaho State (23.5)
7. Sacramento State (17.5)
t8. Eastern Washington (8)
t8. Northern Colorado (8)
10. Portland State (6)
MONTANA MEN’S POINT SCORERS
Carson Hegele – 8 (pole vault)
Patrick Kremer – 6 (long jump)
Hunter Loesch – 6 (javelin)
Kyle Iorg – 5 (javelin)
Carter Petersen – 2.5 (pole vault)
Cooper Henkle – 2 (javelin)
Ethan Grimm – 1 (javelin)
MONTANA WOMEN’S POINT SCORERS
Erin Wilde – 10 (high jump)
Brynn Fuller – 10 (javelin)
Ashley Carroll – 8 (javelin)
Ella Moodry – 6 (javelin)
Brooke Stayner – 3 (heptathlon)
Morgan Thomas – 3 (hammer)
