ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The Montana State women’s 4x400-meter relay team of Tilde Bjerager, Peyton Garrison, Giulia Gandolfi and Caroline Hawkes ran a scorching converted time of 3:32.58 to break their own school record while setting a new Big Sky Conference record at the Don Kirby Elite Invitational on Saturday.
The Bobcat quartet placed third in Albuquerque while surpassing their old program record, set at the Bobcat Challenge last month, by an astonishing 4.33 seconds. Between the Don Kirby Elite Invitational and the Husky Classic in Seattle, Wash., the Cats posted eight program top-10 marks, one event win, and one school record to conclude a successful weekend on the road.
“Some great results from meets in Seattle and Albuquerque,” MSU coach Lyle Weese said. “The women's 4x400 at Albuquerque really put an exclamation point on the weekend, running 3:32.58. Our teams are gaining momentum and getting excited about the Big Sky Conference Championships in two weeks. We have our last home indoor meet on Thursday to finish up a great first year hosting in the Kennedy-Stark Athletic Center and to get in one more competition before the conference championships.”
Bjerager, Garrison, Gandolfi and Hawkes, who posted a school-record time of 3:36.91 at the Bobcat Challenge in January, took a further 4.33 seconds off their own school record (3:32.58) for their top-three finish in New Mexico.
Additionally, they surpassed the previous conference record of 3:35.48, set by Northern Arizona last year, by 2.90 seconds. The team ranks 17th in the NCAA this season with its impressive time following its second relay of the year.
Sydney Brewster came within a half-inch of her own shot put school record with a mark of 16.80m/55-1.50 to win in Seattle. The mark came on her opening attempt and helped her win the event by 2.29 meters. Brewster has won every shot put competition in which she has competed this season, marking five-straight wins to open the season.
At the Husky Classic, Kalei Moravitz and Annie Kaul both bettered their top-10 marks in program history to finish 17th and 23rd, respectively, in the 800-meter run. Moravitz clocked a 2:07.93 to move to second in program history, which sits just .25 seconds shy of the Montana State program record. Kaul improved her own No. 6 mark with a time of 2:08.92.
Tatum Richards posted the No. 2 pole vault mark in program history in New Mexico, clearing 4.25m/13-11.25 to finish 13th in the section A of the event. She cleared the bar on her third attempt to reach the milestone.
Tilde Bjerager clocked a converted 60-meter hurdles time of 8.41 in the prelims in Albuquerque to leapfrog teammate Millie Hubbell for second in program history indoors. Bjerager finished ninth, just one spot short of making the finals, while Hubbell placed 26th with a converted time of 8.76.
The mile duo of Eva Koos and Hannah Perrin rewrote the program all-time top-10 list in the event as Koos bettered her No. 7 time and Perrin posted the No. 10 time in MSU history to enter the record books. Koos clocked a 4:45.75 to finish 30th in Seattle while Perrin posted a 4:48.53 for 41st.
The men’s 4x400m relay team of Noah Barbery, Peyton Nelson, Nash Coley, and Ethan Anderson clocked a ninth-place time of 3:15.53 at the Don Kirby Elite Invitational to crack the Montana State record books. The quartet clocked the ninth-fastest time in program history in the penultimate event of the day for the Bobcats as part of a successful day for the relay teams.
