MSU Hosts Cat-Griz Track Dual Saturday
5/2/2008 12:00:00 AM | Track & Field
With just two weeks remaining in the regular season, Montana State hosts the Bobcat-Grizzly Dual on Saturday at the Bobcat Track and Field Complex. UM swept the Bobcats last spring, the first time MSU lost both duals to their cross-state rivals since 1986, and enters this year’s Dual as five-point underdogs in the women’s meet and as 20-point underdogs on the men’s side.
This Week
The annual highlight competition of Montana State’s regular season begins Saturday at 11 am when the Bobcats tangle with the Grizzlies. The Grizzly men and women each enter the meet as huge favorites, while the women’s dual appears to be a toss-up. MSU and the Grizzlies split a set of duals earlier this season at the Al Manuel Invitational, when the Bobcat women won 103.5-96.5, while the men lost 121-75.
Results
Results will be available Saturday at www.msubobcats.com.
Bobcat Notebook
Injury Report
Senior sprinter Steve Heberly remains out (achilles), and his return date remains unknown. Dale Kennedy received another dose of bad news Friday when league-leading javelin thrower Kim Berg was ruled out (knee).
Youth is Served
Montana State’s roster of Big Sky Conference qualifiers is skewed toward youth. Of the 23 men that have qualified for the league championships, only four are seniors. More than half of those, 12, are freshmen or sophomores. On the women’s side, only six of the 16 qualifiers are seniors. Last year, 10 of the team’s 13 regional qualifiers were underclassmen.
Chuckin’ the Spear
Montana State has controlled much of the air space over Big Sky javelin runways this spring. Three of the top six women’s javelin throwers in the league (Kim Berg is 1st, Emily Tyrrell 5th , Lena Suek is 6th), while four of the top five male throwers in the league wear the Blue and Gold (Nick Lam is 1st, Dan van Swearingen 2nd, Taylor Hensen 4th, and Dustin Degen 5th).
BIG SKY OUTDOOR HONORS
* April 8 - Kris Schaffer, Women’s Field (NCAA Qualifying mark in javelin at Al Manuel Inv.), Nick Lam, Men’s Field (NCAA Qualifier in javelin at Al Manuel Inv.)
INDOOR SCHEDULE
Date Competition Men/Women
J18-19 MSU Multi-Events Bozeman
J25 MSU Open Bozeman
F1 MSU Duals Bozeman
F8-9 Mountain States Pocatello
F15 Fleet Feet Dual Bozeman
F22 Bobcat Open Bozeman
F29 Big Sky Indoor Pocatello
M8 UW Last Chance Seattle
M9-10 NCAA Indoors Fayetteville
DALE KENNEDY QUOTES
“On paper Montana really has the edge in this meet, which is a huge advantage on the men’s side. But the meet is won on the track, not on paper, and we emphasize that it’s the size of the fight in the Cat and not the size of the fight in the Cat, to spin an old saying. We have an uphill battle, and we’ll have to fight and scrap for every point we can get. We’ll need some upsets, and we’ll need to avoid Montana out-scoring us 8-3 in a lot of events. A big problem is that we only have one entry in the women’s steeple chase and one in the women’s 400, and only one in the men’s steeple chase, and that amounts to giving away points.”
BOBCAT QUALIFIERS
BSC Region NCAA
Men 23 4 -
Women 18 5 -
BOBCAT RANKINGS
Event Region NCAA
Kim Berg Jav 9th 21st
Kris Schaffer SP 17th 73rd
Lena Suek Jav 17th 60th
Allison Jones HT 11th 63rd
Emily Tyrrell Jav 13th 47th
Nick Lam Jav 7th 24th
Taylor Hensen Jav 20th 66th
D.van Swearingen Jav 16th 53rd
Dustin Degen Jav 23rd 80th
OUTDOOR SCHEDULE
Date Competition Men/Women
A5 Al Manuel Inv. Missoula
A12 MSU Invitational Bozeman
A16-18 Azusa Pacific Inv. Azusa, CA
A19 LBSU Inv. Long Beach
A25-26 Drake Relays Des Moines
A26 Montana Open Missoula
M3 Cat-Griz Dual Bozeman
M9 Tom Gage Meet Missoula
M14-17 Big Sky Champ. Sacramento
M30-31 Midwest Regionals Lincoln
J11-14 NCAA Champ. Des Moines
BOBCAT COACHING STAFF
DALE KENNEDY, head track/cross country coach
Dale Kennedy is in his 27th year as MSU’s women’s coach, his fifth as coach of the combined program... Women’s Big Sky Coach of the Year for the 2001 indoor and ‘03 outdoor seasons, and Men’s OCOY in ‘05... has led MSU to two women’s XC titles this decade, and has led the Lady Cats to three conference track titles and a pair of runnerup finishes... has produced 11 All-Americas and 33 NCAA qualifiers... MSU’s men’s Big Sky outdoor title in ‘05 was the program’s first men’s Big Sky crown ever
MIKE CARIGNAN, throws
In his 26th year at MSU... has coached 50 All-Big Sky honorees... MSU’s throwers led the Big Sky in points from 2002-06... MSU became the first Big Sky school in history to hold the top five spots in one event during the ‘04 Big Sky Indoor women’s shot put.
TOM EITEL, jumps/multis
In 14th year at MSU... MSU vaulter from ‘79-82... won the ‘82 Big Sky pole vault title... has coached 20 athletes to 41 league titles, and 48 athletes to 113 all-league honors, including the highest male and female vaulters in Big Sky history and 2007 and ‘08 NCAA Champion Ellie Rudy... coached athletes to Big Sky meet records in 2 men’s and 6 women’s events
JORAH GRIFFITH, sprints/jav
Fifth year in the program, third as full-time assistant... coaches sprints and javelin... former standout thrower at Wyoming... coaches a three-time conference champion
This Week
The annual highlight competition of Montana State’s regular season begins Saturday at 11 am when the Bobcats tangle with the Grizzlies. The Grizzly men and women each enter the meet as huge favorites, while the women’s dual appears to be a toss-up. MSU and the Grizzlies split a set of duals earlier this season at the Al Manuel Invitational, when the Bobcat women won 103.5-96.5, while the men lost 121-75.
Results
Results will be available Saturday at www.msubobcats.com.
Bobcat Notebook
Injury Report
Senior sprinter Steve Heberly remains out (achilles), and his return date remains unknown. Dale Kennedy received another dose of bad news Friday when league-leading javelin thrower Kim Berg was ruled out (knee).
Youth is Served
Montana State’s roster of Big Sky Conference qualifiers is skewed toward youth. Of the 23 men that have qualified for the league championships, only four are seniors. More than half of those, 12, are freshmen or sophomores. On the women’s side, only six of the 16 qualifiers are seniors. Last year, 10 of the team’s 13 regional qualifiers were underclassmen.
Chuckin’ the Spear
Montana State has controlled much of the air space over Big Sky javelin runways this spring. Three of the top six women’s javelin throwers in the league (Kim Berg is 1st, Emily Tyrrell 5th , Lena Suek is 6th), while four of the top five male throwers in the league wear the Blue and Gold (Nick Lam is 1st, Dan van Swearingen 2nd, Taylor Hensen 4th, and Dustin Degen 5th).
BIG SKY OUTDOOR HONORS
* April 8 - Kris Schaffer, Women’s Field (NCAA Qualifying mark in javelin at Al Manuel Inv.), Nick Lam, Men’s Field (NCAA Qualifier in javelin at Al Manuel Inv.)
INDOOR SCHEDULE
Date Competition Men/Women
J18-19 MSU Multi-Events Bozeman
J25 MSU Open Bozeman
F1 MSU Duals Bozeman
F8-9 Mountain States Pocatello
F15 Fleet Feet Dual Bozeman
F22 Bobcat Open Bozeman
F29 Big Sky Indoor Pocatello
M8 UW Last Chance Seattle
M9-10 NCAA Indoors Fayetteville
DALE KENNEDY QUOTES
“On paper Montana really has the edge in this meet, which is a huge advantage on the men’s side. But the meet is won on the track, not on paper, and we emphasize that it’s the size of the fight in the Cat and not the size of the fight in the Cat, to spin an old saying. We have an uphill battle, and we’ll have to fight and scrap for every point we can get. We’ll need some upsets, and we’ll need to avoid Montana out-scoring us 8-3 in a lot of events. A big problem is that we only have one entry in the women’s steeple chase and one in the women’s 400, and only one in the men’s steeple chase, and that amounts to giving away points.”
BOBCAT QUALIFIERS
BSC Region NCAA
Men 23 4 -
Women 18 5 -
BOBCAT RANKINGS
Event Region NCAA
Kim Berg Jav 9th 21st
Kris Schaffer SP 17th 73rd
Lena Suek Jav 17th 60th
Allison Jones HT 11th 63rd
Emily Tyrrell Jav 13th 47th
Nick Lam Jav 7th 24th
Taylor Hensen Jav 20th 66th
D.van Swearingen Jav 16th 53rd
Dustin Degen Jav 23rd 80th
OUTDOOR SCHEDULE
Date Competition Men/Women
A5 Al Manuel Inv. Missoula
A12 MSU Invitational Bozeman
A16-18 Azusa Pacific Inv. Azusa, CA
A19 LBSU Inv. Long Beach
A25-26 Drake Relays Des Moines
A26 Montana Open Missoula
M3 Cat-Griz Dual Bozeman
M9 Tom Gage Meet Missoula
M14-17 Big Sky Champ. Sacramento
M30-31 Midwest Regionals Lincoln
J11-14 NCAA Champ. Des Moines
BOBCAT COACHING STAFF
DALE KENNEDY, head track/cross country coach
Dale Kennedy is in his 27th year as MSU’s women’s coach, his fifth as coach of the combined program... Women’s Big Sky Coach of the Year for the 2001 indoor and ‘03 outdoor seasons, and Men’s OCOY in ‘05... has led MSU to two women’s XC titles this decade, and has led the Lady Cats to three conference track titles and a pair of runnerup finishes... has produced 11 All-Americas and 33 NCAA qualifiers... MSU’s men’s Big Sky outdoor title in ‘05 was the program’s first men’s Big Sky crown ever
MIKE CARIGNAN, throws
In his 26th year at MSU... has coached 50 All-Big Sky honorees... MSU’s throwers led the Big Sky in points from 2002-06... MSU became the first Big Sky school in history to hold the top five spots in one event during the ‘04 Big Sky Indoor women’s shot put.
TOM EITEL, jumps/multis
In 14th year at MSU... MSU vaulter from ‘79-82... won the ‘82 Big Sky pole vault title... has coached 20 athletes to 41 league titles, and 48 athletes to 113 all-league honors, including the highest male and female vaulters in Big Sky history and 2007 and ‘08 NCAA Champion Ellie Rudy... coached athletes to Big Sky meet records in 2 men’s and 6 women’s events
JORAH GRIFFITH, sprints/jav
Fifth year in the program, third as full-time assistant... coaches sprints and javelin... former standout thrower at Wyoming... coaches a three-time conference champion
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