BOZEMAN — After leading the Montana State women’s track qnd field team to its first Big Sky outdoor title in 23 years, Lyle Weese was named women’s outdoor coach of the year by the conference office on Tuesday.
Weese took home the award in a unanimous vote by the Big Sky Conference’s head coaches, marking the second time in program history that a Bobcat head coach was named women’s outdoor coach of the year (Dale Kennedy, 2003).
It also marks Weese’s second Big Sky coach of the year award following his Big Sky men’s outdoor coach of the year award after leading the Bobcat men to a conference title in 2024.
Weese’s Bobcats earned their first Big Sky women’s outdoor title since 2003, tallying 181 points for a dominant victory in Gresham, Ore., on May 13-16. The Montana State women earned eight individual titles — five in the field events and three on the track — and accumulated 14 all-conference performances to take home the title with a 53-point margin.
Tilde Bjerager swept the Big Sky most outstanding performer, most valuable athlete, and freshman of the year awards after taking home gold in the 400-meter hurdles and 4x400m relay, silver in the high jump, and fourth in the 100m hurdles. Bjerager and Sydney Brewster toppled the meet records in the 400m hurdles and shot put, respectively, with Bjerager also climbing to the top of the Montana State and Big Sky all-time record books in the 400m hurdles at the meet.
Brewster, Bjerager, and pole vaulter Libby Hansen combined for six Big Sky athlete of the week awards during the regular season, and the Bobcat women have shattered 13 school records and counting during the outdoor season. Eleven Bobcat women qualified for the NCAA West Regionals under Weese’s guidance.
Montana State opens competition at the NCAA West Regionals on Wednesday with competition continuing through Saturday in Fayetteville, Ark.
