(MSU Billings release)
COLORADO SPRINGS – Drake Henson surpassed his own MSUB record in the 800 meter dash and Isaiah Girard tied the school record for high jump as the track teams of Montana State University Billings completed two days of competition at the Air Force Invitational at Cadet Fieldhouse Saturday afternoon. The Yellowjackets received numerous strong performances in the indoor track meet, despite being up against mostly Division I opponents. Other teams in attendance included Wichita State, Long Beach State, Colorado State, Northern Colorado, Colorado, and Western Colorado.
“We had an even better second day at the Air Force Invitational after yesterday went well,” commented head coach Jon Woehl. “Our field guys got us a good start and the rest of the team followed. Forrest set his personal best in shot put and Brady beat his personal best by even more. Overall it was a good meet for us with the GNAC Indoor Championships right around the corner.”
Henson came in second place in the 800 meters with a time of 1:56.00. He narrowly surpassed his own record of 1:56.13. Girard jumped 2.03 meters to claim sixth place in high jump and vaulted ahead of Chuck Carr’s 2017 MSUB record of 2.03 meters.
Shot put was a strong event for MSUB at Air Force Academy. Both Forrest Cross and Brady Ostermiller put up personal best marks and Ostermiller took fourth place at 16.14 meters for MSUB, locking up the NCAA provisional mark along the way. Cross came in ninth at 15.78 meters.
In men’s triple jump, Ty Stanton had a strong effort to jump 13.81 meters and Marcus Lindquist was in the mix at 13.37 meters as well. After qualifying on Thursday, Sam Zook posted a semifinal time of 7.00 seconds for 10th position. Mark Hovland continued a string of good performances in the mile run with a seventh place time of 4:31.95. Hovland got second place in his heat behind Josh Wojciechowski of Air Force.
The Yellowjackets also had three personal best times for the women’s 800 meter dash. Sierra Durbin led the trio in fourth place with a time of 2:29.63. Miranda Livingston was sixth at 2:37.70, and Rachel Hiner finished seventh at 2:38.51.
Hannah Nessan was a notable performance in women’s shot put with a mark of 10.75 meters for MSUB. Nikki Aiken neared her personal best in women’s 3000 meters with a time of 11:21.59.
FRIDAY: In the final for men’s long jump, Ty Stanton came in a tie for fifth place with a mark of 6.78 meters as he earned four points for MSUB. Isaiah Girard also jumped 6.78 meters for three team points. Wichita State’s Rayvon Allen won the event with a mark of 7.47 meters.
In men’s weight throw, Forrest Cross made a mark of 14.97 meters on his final throw for MSUB and took 13th place. Brady Ostermiller was 16th with a mark of 14.21 meters. Isaiah Evans from Wichita State took first place with a mark of 19.49 meters for the Shockers.
NEXT UP: The Yellowjackets will compete in the Jacksons Nike Boise Indoor Invite on February 1-2 in Nampa, Idaho. The Great Northwest Athletic Conference Indoor Championships are scheduled for February 15-16 in Nampa.
