Karsen Beitz breaks 58-year old record as Montana starts strong in California

MISSOULA — There’s a new fastest man in Montana program history. Karsen Beitz had a record-setting day on Thursday in California, running the fastest 100- and 200-meter times in program history within a few hours of each other. 
 
Beitz knocked off a Montana program record that had stood since 1968 in the men’s 200m. Jack Emigh was the first to set the record all the way back in 1939. Willie Jones tied it in 1968. 
 
After Thursday’s performance, Beitz stands alone by over three-tenths of a second. The junior from Missoula ran a time of 20.55 to win the Pacific Coast Intercollegiate and put his name in the history books. 
 
The time cracks the top 10 in Big Sky Conference history and is a top 15 mark in the NCAA West region this year, which will likely book him a spot at the NCAA First Round in Fayetteville, Ark. 
 
The wind played spoiler on a potential second record for Beitz as he ran far and away the fastest time of his career but missed out on a program record because of a wind reading over 2.0 m/s. Beitz was the runner-up in an 84-man field with a time of 10.17, three tenths faster than his previous best time.
 
Beitz’s time does qualify for the regional performance list where it would be a top 10 time in the West entering the week. It’s also the fourth-fastest time in the history of the Big Sky Conference behind three former Big Sky champions. 
 
 “As well as he competed indoors and as successful as he has been, today is really the breakthrough that we’ve been looking for as far as getting to the next level,” head coach Doug Fraley said. “I felt that he was ready for it both physically and mentally today and the great conditions and great competitions in those races pushed him over the edge. I’m very proud of what he accomplished in both of those events today.”
 
The wind ruined a record in the women’s 100 meters as well. Callie Wilson ran what would have been a school record if not for a wind reading of 3.2 m/s. The freshman, in her second outdoor event, ran a time of 11.46 to finish fourth overall in the 85-woman field. 
 
The time does fall within regional qualifying standards in terms of wind as she moves into the top 40 in the NCAA West Region with her time and is the sixth-fastest time in Big Sky Conference history.
 
The Grizzlies also officially have the four fastest women in program history on the same squad after new personal record runs from Brooke Zetooney and Rileigh McGree. Entering the 2025 season, Catie Buck had the school record at 11.80 seconds. 
 
Tara Ohlwiler, who finished 22nd on Thursday, broke the record last season. Wilson has gone lower this year in her two races. McGree and Zetooney added their names to the list in Long Beach. 
 
Zetooney ran a time of 11.64 to finish 11th in the event and move up to third in program history. McGree finished close behind at 11.72 seconds to finish 17th overall and move into the No. 4 spot on the program’s all-time list.
 
Montana also had a pair of 100-meter hurdle runners break 14 seconds on the women’s side. Jayel Dovichak finished eighth with a time of 13.89 and Ainsley Shipman ran a career best time of 13.97 to crack the top 10.
 
“I felt like our sprints and hurdles groups on the women’s side had a good day,” Fraley said. “We had some PRs, we had some season bests, and I feel like the trajectory of those groups looks really good. There’s a lot that we have to progress through and improve on, but for this point in the season to come out on day one of this trip and perform like they did was very encouraging.”
 
Alex Shields had the second-best throw in program history in the men’s shot put with a distance of 58-8½. The school record holder now has the top two marks as he finished fifth in the field of 53 in California. There were 12 Big Sky athletes in the field and Shields was the top finisher of the group.
 
Freshman Titus Jeffrey continued his impressive season in the men’s discus with a throw of 181-5 to place 12th in a tough field. The throw is the second best in program history, trailing only Jeffrey’s record setting throw two weeks ago. 
 
Another true freshman, Cooper Henkle, had a season-best day in the men’s javelin as the lone Grizzly competitor. Henkle won the event with a throw of 213-9, which is a top 30 mark in the NCAA West Region. 
 
“It was a really good day for the male throwers and that was highlighted by Cooper’s javelin throw,” Fraley said. “The focus today was for him to try to improve that javelin mark and give himself a shot at regionals and he did a really good job of taking care of that today.”
 
Montana also saw several athletes enter the program’s all-time top 10 list on Thursday. Patrick Kremer won the men’s long jump competition with a new career best mark of 24-0¼. 
 
Ben Bliven entered the top 10 in the men’s 100 with a time of 10.68 and Rileigh McGree joined the top 10 in program history in both the 100 and the 200. 
 
The women’s 4x100m finished second with a time of 45.07. Sam Henderson was in the top three in the men’s triple jupm with a mark of 47-7¾. Fraley managed his roster on day one with some athletes competing in just a single event and some holding out for the weekend’s Beach Invitational at the same venue.
 
“It’s always good to get off to a good start and that’s the benefit of having two competitions is you can spread people out where you need them to be and have them compete on day one and re-evaluate what you want to accomplish in the second meet,” Fraley said. “It’s good to have options in a three-day span.”
 
Montana starts the Beach Invitational on Friday with the competition continuing into Saturday. The Grizzlies will also have three middle distance runners competing in the Bryan Clay Invitational at Azusa Pacific starting on Friday. 
 
“I was really pleased with an overall solid day one,” Fraley said. “In a situation like this, we will now sit down and evaluate who gets to do what in the next meet. We’re excited for the middle distance guys to get going at the Bryan Clay meet in phenomenal conditions and competition. 
 
“We just want to take the momentum we created today and ride that into tomorrow and Saturday,” Fraley continued. “It’s a great opportunity for the athletes that didn’t compete as well as they wanted to today. They get another crack at it, and that is the big bonus of coming to multiple meets in one week.”