FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — There was a long delay, and plenty of rain, to get in the way of the Montana men’s pole vaulters. Originally scheduled for Wednesday, Kevin Swindler had to hold out until Thursday to compete.
It didn’t matter. The Grizzly vaulter matched his own school record in the rain, clearing 17-7¼ to punch his ticket to Eugene, Ore., and the NCAA Championship meet. He’s just the second Grizzly since 2019 to advance to Eugene, joining Evan Todd in 2024.
The bar opened at 16-7½, which Swindler cleared on his second attempt. He moved into a top group at 17-1½, but still needed to go higher to guarantee a spot in Eugene.
Through the rain, Swindler went up and over 17-7¼, tying his school record and booking his trip back to his home state of Oregon to compete with the top 24 vaulters in the country.
“Tremendous performance given the conditions,” Montana coach Doug Fraley said. “Those guys were out there for three-and-a-half hours in the rain and it was tough conditions for pole vaulting today. Kevin matched his personal record on a day like that against the best in the West and punched his ticket to Eugene.”
Swindler won the Big Sky Conference title indoors, but in the rain and wind in Portland, Ore., two weeks ago no-heighted at the outdoor championships. He more than made up for that with a huge jump on Thursday.
“Today really showed what he’s made of coming off such a bitter disappointment at the conference meet,” Fraley said. “We could not be prouder of the way that he bounced back in 10 days time to make the National Championships.”
Senior Carson Hegele also competed, clearing 16-7½ to finish 28th in the West in the event. Hegele has been all-conference three times in his decorated career ad ends it in Fayetteville on another great performance.
The women’s javelin duo of Brynn Fuller and Ashley Carroll also put together a solid day in Arkansas, finishing in the top 35. Fuller, the Big Sky Champion in the event, had a throw of 151-5 to finish 29th in the West.
Carroll, competing in her second regional meet after finishing as the runner-up in the Big Sky, had a throw of 148-6 to finish 35th at the NCAA First Round meet.
Freshman Callie Wilson had one of the best seasons possible as a rookie at the Division I level, winning five total gold medals and a silver in her first collegiate season. She qualified for both the 100 and 200 meters this year to become the first Grizzly in program history to reach this stage in the East/West Regional era.
Wilson ran a time of 11.89 and in the 100 and 24.14 in the 200, finishing 45th and 43rd in the events, respectively.
Lily Meskers competed in the 400, finishing 44th with a time of 53.72. She set the school record this season, running a time of 52.8 at the Idaho State Bengal Invitational.
Shealyne McGee competed in her second career regional meet. The school record holder in the pole vault fought through the rain, but didn’t clear a bar at the opening height.
The Grizzlies will return four athletes that competed on Thursday next season, and the experience that they gained this year will benefit them in the future in a big way.
“We have so many young athletes that are not necessarily pleased with their results, but they’ve gained so much experience,” Fraley said.
“I tell athletes this all the time when they are getting ready to go to their first regional meet, you just can’t know what it’s all about until you experience it. I think this week we’re getting so much valuable experience for athletes that will be coming back for the next two or three years. We’re really fortunate to be in that situation.”
