(Editor's note: Montana State Athletics release.)
POCATELLO, Idaho — Three school records fell for the Montana State track and field team to highlight a wildly impressive outing at the Bengal Invitational last weekend.
All-time MSU marks in the men's javelin, women's 100-meter hurdles, and men's 4x400 meter relay were broken, making it now five new total school records for the Bobcats during the 2024 season (men's 200 meters, women's shot put).
On Friday, sophomore Pat Vialva broke his own record in the men's javelin for the third time this season with a massive throw of 229-10. The Tigard, Oregon, product launched the 70-meter mark on his fifth throw, moving him up to No. 34 this season in NCAA Division I.
On Saturday, Elena Carter added on to what is one of the most decorated careers in Montana State track and field history with a school record in the 100 meter hurdles. The senior from Helena turned in an altitude-converted time of 13.45, eclipsing her previous mark of 13.53 from the 2022 outdoor season.
Carter also added a personal best in the long jump, leaping 20-05.00 to win the event and improve upon her No. 3 all-time mark in MSU history. Along with her teammate Hailey Coey, Carter is one of four MSU women all-time to jump 20 feet (Janet Buntin, 1983, Lacey Hinzpeter, 2003).
On Monday, Carter was named Big Sky Conference women’s track athlete of the week and co-field athlete of the week. It marks the first time this season the league has selected a single athlete for both awards.
Also on Saturday, the men's 4x400 meter relay team of Michael Swan Jr., Stryder Todd-Fields, Sean Jackson, and Jett Grundy broke a record that had stood since 2005 with a blazing, altitude-converted time of 3:10.98.
Two members of the relay, Swan and Grundy, also ran eye-popping times in the men's 400 meters.
Grundy, the 2024 Big Sky Indoor Track and Field Freshman of the Year and 2024 indoor champion in the event, won thanks to an altitude-converted mark of 46.92, the third-best mark in school history.
Swan, a native of Manhattan, Montana, and the school record-holder in the 200 meters, ran a converted 47.35 to move up to fifth all-time in MSU history.
In the women's 100 meters, sophomore Peyton Garrison rocketed up the top-ten board to No. 5 all-time with an altitude-converted time of 11.80 (plus-1.5).
Caroline Hawkes continued her outstanding season with an altitude-converted time of 54.30 in the women's 400 meters, climbing to fourth on the MSU all-time list with the fastest mark since 2014.
Meanwhile in the jumps, senior Maisee Brown's win in the pole vault with a mark of 13-08.25 highlighted a big collection of impressive marks. The Billings native now leads the Big Sky and is second in MSU history in the event, behind only NCAA champion vaulter Elouise Rudy. Brown's teammate, Taylor Holmes, also enjoyed a big personal-best in the event this weekend, clearing 13-00.25 to reach No. 7 in program history.
In the long jump, Destiny Nkeonye tacked on three-quarters of an inch to his best mark with a winning leap of 24-05.75, the No. 3 jump in MSU history. Ian Fosdick, the school record-holder in the triple jump since 2022 (51-02.75), cleared 50 feet for the first time this season to win the event.
On the women's side, Taylor Brisendine joined Carter with big PRs in the long jump, as she recorded a mark of 19-05.25 to break into the top-ten all-time at No. 8. The 2024 Bobcats now have three of the top-eight long jumpers in program history on the same squad (Carter, Coey, and Brisendine).
Brisendine wasn't done yet, as she capped off the best weekend of her career with a win in her main event, the triple jump. The Kalispell native finished with a mark of 40-07.75 to reach No. 4 on the all-time MSU list and become just the fourth Bobcat in history to reach 40 feet in the event, and the first since Alex Hellenberg in 2022.
In the throws, freshman Emma Brensdal added on a few inches to her personal-best in the discus, winning the event with a throw 158-02 — the fifth-best mark in school history.
It was a banner weekend for the sprints team, featuring two school records — but could have potentially featured more fireworks and top-ten marks had the wind been below the record-legal limit of (plus-2.0.
Andrew Powdrell, running in just his second-ever collegiate meet, ran a wind-aided time of 10.52 (plus-4.2) in the men's 100 meters, Grundy ran a 21.28 (plus-2.5) in the men's 200, Carter ran an 11.77 (plus-2.2) in the women's 100.
Marks above the plus-2.0 wind threshold but under the plus-4.0 barrier can qualify athletes for the NCAA West Preliminaries, but do not count towards Montana State all-time top ten lists.
