(Editor's note: Information provided by Montana and Montana State athletics.)
POCATELLO, Idaho — New records were established over the weekend by Montana and Montana State track and field athletes at Idaho State's Bengal Invitational.
A pair of record-breaking marks from two familiar stars headlined the weekend's action for the Bobcats.
On Friday, junior Hailey Coey shattered her own school record in the long jump before Saturday, sophomore Sydney Brewster obliterated her own school and Big Sky Conference record in the shot put.
Ahead of her sixth and final attempt at the Davis Field sand pit, Coey did something the humble superstar from Billings rarely ever does—she asked for the 'clap' from the gathered spectators.
The crowd obliged, clapping in unison to spur the reigning indoor Big Sky champion down the runway where she launched herself from the board and straight into rare air.
The mark? 21 feet, 3½ inches to beat her previous personal-best by nearly four full inches.
The jump shattered the school record she set two weeks ago in Long Beach, California, and moved the junior up to No. 2 all-time in Big Sky Conference history behind Eastern Washington's Caitlin Simmons (21-04¾).
Coey has enjoyed one of the more special seasons by a Bobcat in program history this year, breaking the Big Sky Conference indoor long jump record in February at the conference meet and setting new school records in both the indoor long jump and indoor triple jump multiple times.
Friday's mark puts her at No. 11 in NCAA Division I this year.
On Saturday, it was Brewster's turn to make history — though she didn't wait around until her sixth and final attempt to do it.
Stepping into the shot put ring for her very first throw of the meet, the sophomore from Sandy, Oregon, spun twice and rocketed a throw out further than any Big Sky Conference competitor has dared to go.
The mark? 56 feet, eight inches.
The throw was an astounding two feet further than what her own previous conference and school record had been (54-09.¼), set two weeks prior in Long Beach at the Pacific Coast Intercollegiate, when she surpassed Cal State Northridge's Beth Burton (1998).
Brewster, the reigning indoor Big Sky champion in the event, now holds the No. 17 mark in NCAA Division I this season.
For the Grizzlies, the highlight of Saturday came on the track in a pair of races. Tara Ohlwiler broke the Montana school record last week and ran the second-fastest time in program history on Friday to reach the finals.
She then smashed her own record on Saturday, pulling away from the field early and cruising to a win in 11.53 seconds. The time beats her own record and matches Jaeden Wolff, who she beat in the race, for the top time in the Big Sky.
The Grizzlies broke another school record in the final event of the night. The women’s 4x400-meter relay team of Whitney Morrison, Sophia Clark, Mikenna Ells, and Lily Meskers shattered a 12-year old record by nearly three full seconds.
The team ran a time of 3:37.75 to move into 18th in the West Region this year.
