Bobcats head to NCAA Regionals
5/28/2003 12:00:00 AM | Track & Field
Bobcat Notebook
Big Sky Champions
Montana State won its first-ever Big Sky Conference Outdoor Track Championship last weekend when the Bobcat women earned the title on their home track. Dale Kennedy won his fourth women’s track title as Montana State’s head coach (including the 1985, ‘86 and 2001 indoor titles). The Bobcat men’s team also had an outstanding weekend at the Big Sky meet, finishing a surprising third. That third place finish vaulted Montana State to its first Big Sky Men’s All-Sports Trophy since 1967.
The Senior Triple
Lyle Weese seeks a rare accomplishment this outdoor season. If Weese earns All-America honors next month in Sacramento, he becomes the second Bobcat in history (Shannon Butler, 1990, is the other) to earn All-America honors in cross country and indoor and outdoor track in the same season.
Going the Distance
MSU has had an outstanding outdoor season in the distance events, and last weekend’s performance at the Big Sky meet did nothing to diminish that excellence. MSU won Big Sky titles in three of the six distance races (Ari Lee in the women’s 10k, Lyle Weese in the men’s 5,000 and Casey Jermyn in the men’s 10,000), and earned six all-conference mentions in the distance events.
The Distance, Part II
The Bobcats will have a strong crew of distance runners in Lincoln this weekend. Ari Lee is fifth in the 5,000 meters on the women’s side, while Lyle Weese will compete in the steeplechase and the 5k, Kevin Clary will compete in the 1500 and 5k, Casey Jermyn will run the steeplechase and the 5,000, and Jonathan Gibson will run the steeple. Additionally, Jermyn has reached the NCAA provisional mark in the 10k, which won’t be run until the NCAA meet in Sacramento.
INDOOR SCHEDULE
Date Competition Men/Women
F1 at Idaho State Pocatello
F7 MSU Open Bozeman
F14 MSU Dual Invit. Bozeman
F22 ISU Dual Invit. Pocatello
F28 Big Sky Champ. Flagstaff
M1 Big Sky Champ. Flagstaff
M14 NCAA Champ. Fayetteville
DALE KENNEDY QUOTES
"We are going into this meet with a lot of unknowns. We didn’t get information about the track from Nebraska until just last week, and I haven’t talked to very many people about what that track is like. There are a lot of schools and athletes there that we never see because we tend to go to the west coast rather than the midwest. I know Nebraska has an outstanding, state-of-the-art facility, and they will run an outstanding meet. They have a very strong program. I think there’s a sense of excitement with our kids, not so much focused on team goals but on individual goals, because this is the chance to qualify for the national championship meet. There will be team scoring at this meet, but the only way to qualify for the regional meet or the national meet is as an individual. We have some individuals that stack up real well, people like Lyle Weese and Blake Jackson, like Carrie Damschen and Lacy Hinzpeter and Jen Allen and Ari Lee. Our conference is a very good track and field league, and this is the chance for our kids to go out and compete against schools from the Big 10, the Big 12, and several strong programs from Texas. Our kids will be going in with their eyes wide open. I think we have a chance to compete for the top 10 in the region, and that would be a tremendous accomplishment."
OUTDOOR SCHEDULE
Date Competition Men/Women
M28-29 UM Open Missoula
M29-30 Stanford Invit. Palo Alto
A5 Al Manuel Duals Missoula
A10-12 Weber St. Invit. Ogden
A19 MSU Invit. Bozeman
A25 Oregon Invit. Eugene
M3 ‘Cat-Griz Dual Missoula
M9 Tom Gage Bozeman
M14-17 Big Sky Champ. Bozeman
M30-31 NCAA Regionals Lincoln
J11-14 NCAA Champ. Sacramento
BOBCAT COACHING STAFF
DALE KENNEDY
HEAD COACH/DISTANCE/MIDDLE DIST. Dale Kennedy is in his 24th year as MSU’s women’s coach, his third as coach of the combined program... was Big Sky Coach of the Year for the 2001 indoor season... has led MSU to two women’s cross country titles this decade, and has led the Lady Cats to three conference track titles and a pair of runnerup finishes... has produced five All-Americas and 17 NCAA qualifiers.
MIKE CARIGNAN
THROWS
In his 21st year at MSU... has coached 35 athletes to all-Big Sky honors... MSU’s throwers led the Big Sky in points in 2002.
TOM EITEL
JUMPS/MULTI-EVENTS
Enters his ninth year act MSU... competed for the ‘Cats from ‘79-82... won the ‘82 Big Sky pole vault championship... coached Big Sky champ Brian Schweyen.
CHRISTY (OTTE) MASTEL
SPRINTS/HURDLES
Christy Mastel, in herfourth year as a Bobcat coach, was a 13-time Big Sky Conference champion and an All-America. She was one of the premiere athletes in Big Sky Conference track and field history.
Two- and Three-Timing
A pair of Bobcat throwers will compete for regional titles in multiple events this weekend. Blake Jackson enters the meet ranked seventh in the shot put and 23rd in the discus, while Jen Allen is 14th in the shot put, 1st in the hammer throw, and 18th in the discus.
Women’s Leaderboard
Jen Allen leads the Midwest Region in the hammer throw and Chrissy McKinstry is sixth, Ari Lee is 5th in the 5k, and Carrie Damschen is 4th in the 400 hurdles, Lacy Hinzpeter is sixth in the long jump, and Cortney Ellis is seventh and Michelle Hodge ninth in the pole vault.
Men’s Leaderboard
Lyle Weese leads the Midwest Region in the 5,000 meters and is second in the steeplechase, while Jonathan Gibson is fifth in the steeple. Blake Jackson is seventh in the shot put.
Heavy Artillery
Dale Kennedy has long referred to his throws crew as the heavy artillery, and that group will be fully loaded at the NCAA Midwest Regional meet this weekend. Montana State has qualified a dozen throwers for the regional championship meet, believed to be the largest number of throwers by any one team at the meet. Bobcat throwers are expected to compete well against storied track and field programs such as Texas and Nebraska. Jen Allen enters the meet ranked first in the hammer throw, 18th in the discus and 14th in the shot put. Chriss McKinstry (6th) and Mary Jo Kraft (10th) are also in the top 10 in the hammer, while MSU has four entries in the javelin. On the men’s side, Blake Jackson is 7th in the shot put and 23rd in the discus, while Josh Henigman is 19th in the hammer. Three Bobcats have qualified in the javelin.
Chasing the Steeple
As strong as MSU’s throwers appear entering the regional meet, MSU’s strongest single event may be the 3,000 meter steeplechase. Lyle Weese enters the meet in Lincoln ranked second in the region, Jonathan Gibson is fifth, Kevin Lary is 15th, and Casey Jermyn is 18th. Additionally, Ari Lee is ranked in the top five in the women’s steeple, but did not declare for that event.
Power Rankings
Montana State’s outstanding performance at the Big Sky Championships have vaulted the ‘Cats into rarified territory in the national power rankings. Montana State is ranked 21st in the national women’s poll, and registered the highest total of points the school has ever accumulated. The same holds for the men’s team, which is ranked 46th in this week’s poll.
Honors, Honors, and More Honors
The past two weeks have brought a basket-full of honors to the Bobcat track program. MSU won the Big Sky Outdoor women’s championship for the first time in school history, and along the way senior Lacy Hinzpeter was named the meet’s Women’s Track Athlete of the Meet. Lyle Weese earned the meet’s Men’s Track Athlete of the Week award, as well. This week, Dale Kennedy was named the Mountain District Women’s Track and Field Coach of the Year for leading MSU to the Big Sky title.
The Terrific 27
Montana State has entered 27 athletes in this weekend’s NCAA regional competition, the second-most competitors of any Big Sky school. Weber State, who MSU edged for the women’s title, has 28 athletes, 17 women and 11 men, entered in the NCAA West Regional at Stanford. (All Big Sky schools other than MSU and Montana are competing in the West Regional.) The Breakdown: for women, Weber State and MSU have 17 qualifiers, Montana, NAU and Idaho State have six each, Portland State and Eastern Washington have three each, and Sacramento State has two; on the men’s side, NAU has 12, Weber 11, MSU 10, Eastern eight, Idaho State seven, Montana five, and Sacramento State and Portland State four each. The totals for men’s and women’s combined: Weber 28, MSU 27, NAU 18, Idaho State 13, Eastern and Montana 11, PSU seven, and Sac State six.
NCAA Midwest Regional
Schedule of Events
Events of MSU Athletes
Friday, May 16
2:00 pm--Men’s Hammer, Women’s Javelin
5:15--women’s 100 hurdles*
5:30--Men’s discus, Women’s shot put, Women’s pole vault, Women’s long jump
7:30--Women’s 400 hurdles*
8:30--Women’s 5000 meters, Men’s 5000 meters
Saturday, May 18
2:00 pm--Women’s hammer, Men’s javelin
5:30--Women’s discus, men’s shot, Men’s pole vault, Women’s triple jump
6:30--100 hurdles
8:00--Women’s steeple, men’s steeple
9:00--Women’s 1600 relay
*-denotes trials/all times central
MSU Entries--Men
1500: Kevin Clary (14th in Midwest region, 3:48.60)
SC: Lyle Weese (2nd, 8:37.29), Jonathan Gibson (5th, 8:50.75), Kevin Clary (15th, 9:00.59), Casey Jermyn (18th, 9:04.27)
5000: Lyle Weese (1st, 13:50.33), Casey Jermyn (8th, 14:08.00)
10,000: Casey Jermyn
PV: Ed Keefe (30th, 16-0.75)
Jav: Tim Uribe (18th, 210-3), Joel Walthall (24th, 198-8), Leif Arthun (25th, 198-7)
Shot: Blake Jackson (7th, 59-4.25)
Discus: Blake Jackson (23rd, 171-6)
Hammer Throw: Josh Henigman (23rd, 183-7)
MSU Entries--Women
100: Lacy Hinzpeter (18th, 11.99)
5000: Ariana Lee (5th, 16:40.77)
100 H: Lisa Svaleson (14th, 13.86)
400 H: Carrie Damschen (4th, 58.12)
Shot: Jen Allen (, 14th, 47-1.5)
LJ: Lacy Hinzpeter (6th, 20-9)
Jav: Amanda Emslie (17th, 147-6), Kelli Phillip (18th, 147-0), Lindsay Gill (21st, 142-5), Wendy Lambott (28th, 137-10)
PV: Cortney Ellis (7th, 12-6), Michelle Hodge (7th, 12-6)
Discus: Jen Allen (18th, 155-6)
TJ: Erin Jones (17th, 40-11.75)
HT: Jen Allen (1st, 208-6), Chrissy McKinstry (6th, 182-5), Mary Jo Kraft (10th, 177-11)
4x400: Leslie Baldus/Lacy Hinzpeter/Ashley Williams/Carrie Damschen (17th, 3:44.65)
Big Sky Champions
Montana State won its first-ever Big Sky Conference Outdoor Track Championship last weekend when the Bobcat women earned the title on their home track. Dale Kennedy won his fourth women’s track title as Montana State’s head coach (including the 1985, ‘86 and 2001 indoor titles). The Bobcat men’s team also had an outstanding weekend at the Big Sky meet, finishing a surprising third. That third place finish vaulted Montana State to its first Big Sky Men’s All-Sports Trophy since 1967.
The Senior Triple
Lyle Weese seeks a rare accomplishment this outdoor season. If Weese earns All-America honors next month in Sacramento, he becomes the second Bobcat in history (Shannon Butler, 1990, is the other) to earn All-America honors in cross country and indoor and outdoor track in the same season.
Going the Distance
MSU has had an outstanding outdoor season in the distance events, and last weekend’s performance at the Big Sky meet did nothing to diminish that excellence. MSU won Big Sky titles in three of the six distance races (Ari Lee in the women’s 10k, Lyle Weese in the men’s 5,000 and Casey Jermyn in the men’s 10,000), and earned six all-conference mentions in the distance events.
The Distance, Part II
The Bobcats will have a strong crew of distance runners in Lincoln this weekend. Ari Lee is fifth in the 5,000 meters on the women’s side, while Lyle Weese will compete in the steeplechase and the 5k, Kevin Clary will compete in the 1500 and 5k, Casey Jermyn will run the steeplechase and the 5,000, and Jonathan Gibson will run the steeple. Additionally, Jermyn has reached the NCAA provisional mark in the 10k, which won’t be run until the NCAA meet in Sacramento.
INDOOR SCHEDULE
Date Competition Men/Women
F1 at Idaho State Pocatello
F7 MSU Open Bozeman
F14 MSU Dual Invit. Bozeman
F22 ISU Dual Invit. Pocatello
F28 Big Sky Champ. Flagstaff
M1 Big Sky Champ. Flagstaff
M14 NCAA Champ. Fayetteville
DALE KENNEDY QUOTES
"We are going into this meet with a lot of unknowns. We didn’t get information about the track from Nebraska until just last week, and I haven’t talked to very many people about what that track is like. There are a lot of schools and athletes there that we never see because we tend to go to the west coast rather than the midwest. I know Nebraska has an outstanding, state-of-the-art facility, and they will run an outstanding meet. They have a very strong program. I think there’s a sense of excitement with our kids, not so much focused on team goals but on individual goals, because this is the chance to qualify for the national championship meet. There will be team scoring at this meet, but the only way to qualify for the regional meet or the national meet is as an individual. We have some individuals that stack up real well, people like Lyle Weese and Blake Jackson, like Carrie Damschen and Lacy Hinzpeter and Jen Allen and Ari Lee. Our conference is a very good track and field league, and this is the chance for our kids to go out and compete against schools from the Big 10, the Big 12, and several strong programs from Texas. Our kids will be going in with their eyes wide open. I think we have a chance to compete for the top 10 in the region, and that would be a tremendous accomplishment."
OUTDOOR SCHEDULE
Date Competition Men/Women
M28-29 UM Open Missoula
M29-30 Stanford Invit. Palo Alto
A5 Al Manuel Duals Missoula
A10-12 Weber St. Invit. Ogden
A19 MSU Invit. Bozeman
A25 Oregon Invit. Eugene
M3 ‘Cat-Griz Dual Missoula
M9 Tom Gage Bozeman
M14-17 Big Sky Champ. Bozeman
M30-31 NCAA Regionals Lincoln
J11-14 NCAA Champ. Sacramento
BOBCAT COACHING STAFF
DALE KENNEDY
HEAD COACH/DISTANCE/MIDDLE DIST. Dale Kennedy is in his 24th year as MSU’s women’s coach, his third as coach of the combined program... was Big Sky Coach of the Year for the 2001 indoor season... has led MSU to two women’s cross country titles this decade, and has led the Lady Cats to three conference track titles and a pair of runnerup finishes... has produced five All-Americas and 17 NCAA qualifiers.
MIKE CARIGNAN
THROWS
In his 21st year at MSU... has coached 35 athletes to all-Big Sky honors... MSU’s throwers led the Big Sky in points in 2002.
TOM EITEL
JUMPS/MULTI-EVENTS
Enters his ninth year act MSU... competed for the ‘Cats from ‘79-82... won the ‘82 Big Sky pole vault championship... coached Big Sky champ Brian Schweyen.
CHRISTY (OTTE) MASTEL
SPRINTS/HURDLES
Christy Mastel, in herfourth year as a Bobcat coach, was a 13-time Big Sky Conference champion and an All-America. She was one of the premiere athletes in Big Sky Conference track and field history.
Two- and Three-Timing
A pair of Bobcat throwers will compete for regional titles in multiple events this weekend. Blake Jackson enters the meet ranked seventh in the shot put and 23rd in the discus, while Jen Allen is 14th in the shot put, 1st in the hammer throw, and 18th in the discus.
Women’s Leaderboard
Jen Allen leads the Midwest Region in the hammer throw and Chrissy McKinstry is sixth, Ari Lee is 5th in the 5k, and Carrie Damschen is 4th in the 400 hurdles, Lacy Hinzpeter is sixth in the long jump, and Cortney Ellis is seventh and Michelle Hodge ninth in the pole vault.
Men’s Leaderboard
Lyle Weese leads the Midwest Region in the 5,000 meters and is second in the steeplechase, while Jonathan Gibson is fifth in the steeple. Blake Jackson is seventh in the shot put.
Heavy Artillery
Dale Kennedy has long referred to his throws crew as the heavy artillery, and that group will be fully loaded at the NCAA Midwest Regional meet this weekend. Montana State has qualified a dozen throwers for the regional championship meet, believed to be the largest number of throwers by any one team at the meet. Bobcat throwers are expected to compete well against storied track and field programs such as Texas and Nebraska. Jen Allen enters the meet ranked first in the hammer throw, 18th in the discus and 14th in the shot put. Chriss McKinstry (6th) and Mary Jo Kraft (10th) are also in the top 10 in the hammer, while MSU has four entries in the javelin. On the men’s side, Blake Jackson is 7th in the shot put and 23rd in the discus, while Josh Henigman is 19th in the hammer. Three Bobcats have qualified in the javelin.
Chasing the Steeple
As strong as MSU’s throwers appear entering the regional meet, MSU’s strongest single event may be the 3,000 meter steeplechase. Lyle Weese enters the meet in Lincoln ranked second in the region, Jonathan Gibson is fifth, Kevin Lary is 15th, and Casey Jermyn is 18th. Additionally, Ari Lee is ranked in the top five in the women’s steeple, but did not declare for that event.
Power Rankings
Montana State’s outstanding performance at the Big Sky Championships have vaulted the ‘Cats into rarified territory in the national power rankings. Montana State is ranked 21st in the national women’s poll, and registered the highest total of points the school has ever accumulated. The same holds for the men’s team, which is ranked 46th in this week’s poll.
Honors, Honors, and More Honors
The past two weeks have brought a basket-full of honors to the Bobcat track program. MSU won the Big Sky Outdoor women’s championship for the first time in school history, and along the way senior Lacy Hinzpeter was named the meet’s Women’s Track Athlete of the Meet. Lyle Weese earned the meet’s Men’s Track Athlete of the Week award, as well. This week, Dale Kennedy was named the Mountain District Women’s Track and Field Coach of the Year for leading MSU to the Big Sky title.
The Terrific 27
Montana State has entered 27 athletes in this weekend’s NCAA regional competition, the second-most competitors of any Big Sky school. Weber State, who MSU edged for the women’s title, has 28 athletes, 17 women and 11 men, entered in the NCAA West Regional at Stanford. (All Big Sky schools other than MSU and Montana are competing in the West Regional.) The Breakdown: for women, Weber State and MSU have 17 qualifiers, Montana, NAU and Idaho State have six each, Portland State and Eastern Washington have three each, and Sacramento State has two; on the men’s side, NAU has 12, Weber 11, MSU 10, Eastern eight, Idaho State seven, Montana five, and Sacramento State and Portland State four each. The totals for men’s and women’s combined: Weber 28, MSU 27, NAU 18, Idaho State 13, Eastern and Montana 11, PSU seven, and Sac State six.
NCAA Midwest Regional
Schedule of Events
Events of MSU Athletes
Friday, May 16
2:00 pm--Men’s Hammer, Women’s Javelin
5:15--women’s 100 hurdles*
5:30--Men’s discus, Women’s shot put, Women’s pole vault, Women’s long jump
7:30--Women’s 400 hurdles*
8:30--Women’s 5000 meters, Men’s 5000 meters
Saturday, May 18
2:00 pm--Women’s hammer, Men’s javelin
5:30--Women’s discus, men’s shot, Men’s pole vault, Women’s triple jump
6:30--100 hurdles
8:00--Women’s steeple, men’s steeple
9:00--Women’s 1600 relay
*-denotes trials/all times central
MSU Entries--Men
1500: Kevin Clary (14th in Midwest region, 3:48.60)
SC: Lyle Weese (2nd, 8:37.29), Jonathan Gibson (5th, 8:50.75), Kevin Clary (15th, 9:00.59), Casey Jermyn (18th, 9:04.27)
5000: Lyle Weese (1st, 13:50.33), Casey Jermyn (8th, 14:08.00)
10,000: Casey Jermyn
PV: Ed Keefe (30th, 16-0.75)
Jav: Tim Uribe (18th, 210-3), Joel Walthall (24th, 198-8), Leif Arthun (25th, 198-7)
Shot: Blake Jackson (7th, 59-4.25)
Discus: Blake Jackson (23rd, 171-6)
Hammer Throw: Josh Henigman (23rd, 183-7)
MSU Entries--Women
100: Lacy Hinzpeter (18th, 11.99)
5000: Ariana Lee (5th, 16:40.77)
100 H: Lisa Svaleson (14th, 13.86)
400 H: Carrie Damschen (4th, 58.12)
Shot: Jen Allen (, 14th, 47-1.5)
LJ: Lacy Hinzpeter (6th, 20-9)
Jav: Amanda Emslie (17th, 147-6), Kelli Phillip (18th, 147-0), Lindsay Gill (21st, 142-5), Wendy Lambott (28th, 137-10)
PV: Cortney Ellis (7th, 12-6), Michelle Hodge (7th, 12-6)
Discus: Jen Allen (18th, 155-6)
TJ: Erin Jones (17th, 40-11.75)
HT: Jen Allen (1st, 208-6), Chrissy McKinstry (6th, 182-5), Mary Jo Kraft (10th, 177-11)
4x400: Leslie Baldus/Lacy Hinzpeter/Ashley Williams/Carrie Damschen (17th, 3:44.65)
Wednesday, June 10
Friday, March 27
Monday, March 23
Friday, March 13
