5 more title winners ignite Montana State to 2nd-place finishes at Big Sky indoor championships

POCATELLO, Idaho — The Montana State track and field program accumulated five event wins, 11 podium finishes, and 32 scoring performances on the third and final day of the Big Sky Indoor Championships to secure second-place finishes on the men’s and women’s side at the ICCU Dome.
 
Caroline Hawkes (400 meters); Sydney Brewster (shot put); the women’s 4x400-meter relay team of Peyton Garrison, Tilde Bjerager, Giulia Gandolfi and Hawkes; Easton Hatleberg (shot put), and Tatum Richards (pole vault) all earned individual Big Sky titles on Saturday to power the Bobcats to a total of 135 points on the women’s side and 91 points for the men. Hailey Coey was named the meet’s women’s Most Outstanding Performer for her school- and conference-record breaking performance on Friday.
 
The 400-meter dash trio of Hawkes, Gandolfi, and Bjerager combined for 20 points, all finishing in the top five for the Bobcats in the finals. Hawkes clocked a converted time of 52.86 to surpass her own school record by .25 seconds, winning her first Big Sky title in the event after four-straight runner-up finishes across the indoor and outdoor conference meets. Giulia Gandolfi clocked a 54.37 to place third for her first all-conference honor in the event, and Tilde Bjerager posted a time of 54.52 to finish close behind in fifth.
 
Three women’s shot put throwers tallied points for the Cats as Brewster took the victory, Emma Brensdal finished sixth, and Maggie Hillis placed eighth. Brewster recorded a winning throw of 17.18m/56-4.50 on her final attempt to win the indoor shot put title for the second year in a row. Brensdal recorded a mark of 14.41m/47-3.50 on her opening throw, and Hillis posted a 13.90m/45-7.25 on her fourth attempt in a strong showing for the Bobcat throwers.
 
The women’s 4x400 relay team of Garrison, Bjerager, Gandolfi, and Hawkes clocked a winning converted time of 3:37.06, taking the victory by over two seconds. The quartet’s unconverted time of 3:36.62 shattered the previous ICCU Dome facility record of 3:37.28, which was set in 1981 and stood for 45 years.
 
Hatleberg took home the Bobcats’ first individual title of the day with a win in the men’s shot put, throwing 17.73m/58-2 on his second attempt to earn his second-straight All-Big Sky honor in the event indoors and third overall in his Bobcat career. Talon Holmquest also scored for the Bobcats for the second time indoors, recording a throw of 16.48m/54-1 to finish seventh as the two Cats combined for 12 points to open the day.
 
The Bobcats combined for 16 points in the women’s pole vault with a pair of All-Big Sky finishes for Richards and Libby Hansen. Richards took home gold with a clearance of 4.18m/13-8.50, and Hansen finished third with a mark of 4.08m/13-4.50. Richards’ victory marks her second consecutive gold medal between the Big Sky Indoor and Outdoor Championships and her third-straight all-conference honor dating back to the 2025 indoor meet. Hansen took home her first All-Big Sky honor with her bronze-medal performance in Pocatello.
 
Kalei Moravitz and Annie Kaul finished second and fourth, respectively, in the women’s 800, clocking converted times of 2:10.64 and 2:12.01. Moravitz’s second career scoring performance in the event helped her earn her first All-Big Sky honor. Kaul earned her second-straight fourth place finish across the indoor and outdoor conference meets while tallying her third total scoring effort at a Big Sky track & field meet.
 
Tamia Ramos leaped to second in program history in the women’s triple jump, posting a mark of 12.54m/41-1.75 on her fourth attempt to place third for the Bobcats. She recorded her second-straight indoor podium finish while taking her second Big Sky title overall in the event coupled with her win at the 2025 Big Sky Outdoor Championships. Coey finished just behind in fourth with a mark of 12.47m/40-11.
 
Sam Ells took third in the men’s 3,000 meters while AJ Ringert finished sixth. Ells clocked an 8:05.69 to secure his bronze medal and his first all-conference honor in the event, and Ringert posted an 8:12.50 for his scoring finish.
 
On the men’s side, Blaise Snow clocked the No. 6 time in program history in the 800 to place third with a converted time of 1:50.03 to earn his first All-Big Sky honor. Jackson Fagerlin also scored for the Bobcats with a fifth-place time of 1:52.54.
 
Hawkes took fifth in the 200-meter finals with a time of 24.01, tallying four points for the Cats.
 
A trio of mile runners tallied points between the men’s and women’s races. Eva Koos clocked a converted 4:51.98 to finish seventh on the women’s side, and Blaise Snow and Quinn Newman posted times of 4:08.78 and 4:09.72 to place sixth and eighth, respectively.
 
Bjerager and Millie Hubbell combined for four points in the 60-meter hurdles as Bjerager clocked a sixth-place converted time of 8.50 and Hubbell placed eighth with a time of 8.75. On the men’s side, Ethan Anderson place seventh with a time of 8.51 to tally two points for the Bobcats.
 
Three Cats combined for seven points in the men’s 60 meters, led by Xavier Simpson’s converted time of 6.83 to place fifth at the ICCU Dome. Stryder Todd-Fields placed seventh with a time of 6.90, and Drake Wilkes crossed the line in eighth place.
 
Jaeden Wolff clocked a time of 7.51 in the 60-meter finals to place sixth and tally two points for the Cats.
 
Destiny Nkeonye leaped 14.23m/46-8.25 on his sixth and final triple jump attempt to move into seventh place and tally two points for the Bobcats.
 
The men’s 4x400-meter relay team of Simpson, Nash Coley, Preston Wysocki, and Peyton Nelson posted a converted time of 3:17.91 to finish seventh.
 
Todd-Fields finished eighth in the 200 to pick up a point for the Bobcat men.
 
Coey (long jump) and Brewster (shot put), who currently hold top-16 marks nationally in their respective events, will await the final conference championship results from around the country as they look to lock in their qualifying marks for the NCAA Indoor Championships in Fayetteville, Ark., on March 13-14.