Rudy Flies High at Big Sky Meet
2/25/2006 12:00:00 AM | Track & Field
Vaulting at the Walkup Skydome's 7,000 feet, Ellie Rudy started close to the sky, and ended closer to it than any Bobcat ever. The Bobcat freshman won the Big Sky pole vault Championship with a school- and league-record vault of 13-5.75 at the conference championship meet on Saturday.
Rudy's vault and two other school records highlighted the 2006 indoor season. Steve Heberly finished second in the 200 and set MSU's school standard for the second straight day, this time at 21.59. Brad Benjamin's 5,094 heptathlon points stand as a school record, as well.
In spite of the some individual superlatives, the Bobcat teams didn't fare well. MSU's men and women each finished fifth. "We're disappointed in the team results," Kennedy said. "I shared this thought with the team, but we can either let the disappointment of how we performed as a team here lift us up, or drag us down. It's up to us."
Kennedy praised several individuals, starting with his freshman vaulter. "Ellie really had an outstanding day," he said. "She set another school record, and it looks like she moves into the top 10 in the country, which is really an outstanding accomplishment. Steve Heberly didn't qualify for the 400 meters yesterday, but he bounced back and ran two outstanding 200 races. And Brad Benjamin finished his career on a strong note. We were real happy with those performances."
Benjamin, a senior from Fort Benton, finished with All-Big Sky honors in the heptathlon and the high jump. Ashley Jones earned MSU's other All-Conference honor Saturday, finishing third in the weight throw.
MSU results below...
Final Team Scores - Women
1. NAU, 189; 2. Portland State, 91; 3. Idaho State, 81; 4. Weber State, 80.5; 5. Montana State, 74; 6. Sacramento State, 68; 7. Montana, 57.5; 8. Eastern Washington, 22.
Pole Vault: 1-Ellie Rudy, 13-5.75; 4-Brittany Speirs, 12-4
Weight Throw: 3-Ashley Jones, 57-9.5; 5-Megan Lee, 56-6.5; 7-Karen Helvey, 55-4.25; 9-Lise Kilgore, 53-1.5; 17-Mary Jo Kraft, 48-10.25; 18-Carra Greyn, 48-1.25
Triple Jump: 6-Erin Jones-Graf, 38-6
Mile: 9-Jayme Larson, 8.77
60 Hurdles: 4-Erin Jones-Graf, 8.77
3000: 8-Carrie Gottschalk, 10:37.20; 10-Elisabeth Driscoll, 10:55.02
1600 Relay: 5-3:53.49
Final Team Scores - Men
1. Idaho State, 126.50; 2. NAU, 124.50; 3. Weber State, 111; 4. Eastern Washington, 78; 5. Montana State, 76; 6. Montana, 58; 7. Sacramento State, 45; 8. Portland State, 37.
Heptathlon: 3-Brad Benjamin, 5,094
Triple Jump: 4-Kevin Ludwig, 47-7.25; 10-John Voegel, 45-1
High Jump: 3-Brad Benjamin, 6-8
Shot Put: 4-Jesse Allen, 51-11.25; 11-Blake Corneliusen, 47-11.5
200: 2-Steve Heberly, 21.59
3000: 7-Kelly Fulton, 8:49.90; 11-Kurt Michels, 9:18.30
1600 Relay: 5-3:53.49
Rudy's vault and two other school records highlighted the 2006 indoor season. Steve Heberly finished second in the 200 and set MSU's school standard for the second straight day, this time at 21.59. Brad Benjamin's 5,094 heptathlon points stand as a school record, as well.
In spite of the some individual superlatives, the Bobcat teams didn't fare well. MSU's men and women each finished fifth. "We're disappointed in the team results," Kennedy said. "I shared this thought with the team, but we can either let the disappointment of how we performed as a team here lift us up, or drag us down. It's up to us."
Kennedy praised several individuals, starting with his freshman vaulter. "Ellie really had an outstanding day," he said. "She set another school record, and it looks like she moves into the top 10 in the country, which is really an outstanding accomplishment. Steve Heberly didn't qualify for the 400 meters yesterday, but he bounced back and ran two outstanding 200 races. And Brad Benjamin finished his career on a strong note. We were real happy with those performances."
Benjamin, a senior from Fort Benton, finished with All-Big Sky honors in the heptathlon and the high jump. Ashley Jones earned MSU's other All-Conference honor Saturday, finishing third in the weight throw.
MSU results below...
Final Team Scores - Women
1. NAU, 189; 2. Portland State, 91; 3. Idaho State, 81; 4. Weber State, 80.5; 5. Montana State, 74; 6. Sacramento State, 68; 7. Montana, 57.5; 8. Eastern Washington, 22.
Pole Vault: 1-Ellie Rudy, 13-5.75; 4-Brittany Speirs, 12-4
Weight Throw: 3-Ashley Jones, 57-9.5; 5-Megan Lee, 56-6.5; 7-Karen Helvey, 55-4.25; 9-Lise Kilgore, 53-1.5; 17-Mary Jo Kraft, 48-10.25; 18-Carra Greyn, 48-1.25
Triple Jump: 6-Erin Jones-Graf, 38-6
Mile: 9-Jayme Larson, 8.77
60 Hurdles: 4-Erin Jones-Graf, 8.77
3000: 8-Carrie Gottschalk, 10:37.20; 10-Elisabeth Driscoll, 10:55.02
1600 Relay: 5-3:53.49
Final Team Scores - Men
1. Idaho State, 126.50; 2. NAU, 124.50; 3. Weber State, 111; 4. Eastern Washington, 78; 5. Montana State, 76; 6. Montana, 58; 7. Sacramento State, 45; 8. Portland State, 37.
Heptathlon: 3-Brad Benjamin, 5,094
Triple Jump: 4-Kevin Ludwig, 47-7.25; 10-John Voegel, 45-1
High Jump: 3-Brad Benjamin, 6-8
Shot Put: 4-Jesse Allen, 51-11.25; 11-Blake Corneliusen, 47-11.5
200: 2-Steve Heberly, 21.59
3000: 7-Kelly Fulton, 8:49.90; 11-Kurt Michels, 9:18.30
1600 Relay: 5-3:53.49
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