Big Sky Championships - Day One
2/24/2012 10:08:00 PM | Track & Field
Bobcats take medals, advance to finals in Flagstaff
Montana State opened up the first day of the Big Sky Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships with several impressive performances. The Bobcat men sit in second place with 20 points after day one. Meet host Northern Arizona is currently in first with 37 points. The women are in fourth with 26 points, as 2011 champion Sacramento State leads the field. (Day One Results)
The day began with the first four events of the heptathlon (60 meter dash, long jump, shot put and high jump). Asa Staven and Jeff Mohl made their presence known quickly and finished day one in first and second place, respectively. Staven earned a lifetime best in the shot put with a throw of 13.28m (43-07). Thus far, he's finished first in all events except for the 60 hurdles, where Mohl crossed the finish line ahead of the pack. Staven currently sits in first with 3,192 points while Mohl has 3,013. Powhattan Williamson is in 10th with 2,563 and recorded a lifetime best in the long jump.
In the pentathlon, Sarah McGree was the highest finisher for Montana State with a season-high 3,535 points. Sadie McMillan placed 11th with 3,114, Kortnee Barrett in 12th with 2,446 and Carley McCutchen in 13th with 2,428.
Several preliminary races were run in Flagstaff, with much success for the Bobcats headed into Saturday's schedule.
Katie Niemeir, a veteran for Montana State, advanced the finals in 60 hurdles but unfortunately failed to make it out of the 200 prelims.
Also in the sprints, Chantel Jaeger, in her first conference show, holds a fourth-place seed headed into the 400 and is joined by classmate Sonia Antar in the event. Jaeger will also compete in the 200 on Saturday.
One of the biggest surprises of the night in the track events came in the Distance Medley Relay where the quartet of Heather Demorest, Chelsea Bourque, Madeline Fuchs and ReBecca Sorenson took the bronze medal with a time of 12:27.04.
In the field events, Amanda Murphy upheld her own precedent and earned the top spot of the podium in the shot put with a throw of 15.24m (50-00.00), a personal best for the senior.
Chris Wilson advanced to the finals of the 60 meter dash, after failing to do so in 2011 and holds a fourth place seed for Saturday's final. Wilson also finished eighth in the prelims of the 200 to stay alive for one more day in Flagstaff.
The hurdle finals will have some Blue and Gold on Saturday with Staven and Mohl advancing, after a very long day of competition. Mohl also finished with a lifetime best distance in the long jump with 7.17m (23-06.25) but failed to medal, coming in fourth. Staven finished just behind him in fifth, also with a lifetime best launch of 7.16m (23-06.00).
Mohl still wasn't tired after the first bout of the heptathlon, as well as his hurdle race and the long jump. He managed to come in second in the pole vault with a height of 5.00m (16-04.75), also a lifetime best for the Red Lodge, Mont. native.
Dan Jackson was a medalist in his final indoor championships, placing second in the 5,000 with a time of 15:04.23.
MSU also medaled in the Men's Distance Medley when Forrest Jarvi, Michael Nguyen, Matt Tex and Jacob Kirk crossed the finish line in second place in 10:24.65.
Grant Grosvenor, who was the second seed in the 800, placed first in the prelims on Friday and will look for his first conference championship on Saturday in the event.
“Today was a rollercoaster, lots of ups and downs,” said head coach Dale Kennedy. “We're behind a bit in terms of where we need to be right now but I'm confident that we'll really unload tomorrow. This is when character and hard work really shows.”
The Big Sky Championships will conclude tomorrow, Saturday, Feb. 25. Events begin at 8:30 a.m. with the conclusion of the heptathlon events. Field events begin at 11 a.m., followed by track events at 1:15.
