Friday, March 30
Missoula, MT
TBA
Montana State University
at
AL MANUEL INVITATIONAL
Trevor Gilreath is one of 21 Bobcats who earned a Big Sky qualifying mark at the Al Manuel Invitational on Saturday.
Photo by: R. Dean Hendrickson
Sweet Sweep
3/31/2012 7:29:00 PM | Track & Field
Bobcats sweep Montana and Eastern Washington in outdoor opener
Montana State Track and Field opened up the outdoor season in fine fashion at the Al Manuel Invitational in Missoula on Saturday. (Men's Results | Women's Results)
In the double-dual scored meet, MSU produced a banner day with both the men and women sweeping their Big Sky Conference foes. The men defeated Eastern Washington, 113-85, and meet host Montana, 110-86. For the women, the 'Cats defeated EWU, 124-71 and the Griz, 104-88.
Overall, the Bobcat Men picked up 10 initial qualifiers for the Big Sky Championships, taking place May 9-12 at the Bobcat Track and Field Complex in Bozeman. The Bobcat Women had a strong day of their own with 17 qualifying performances.
Overall, sixteen first-place finishes belonged to MSU at Dornblaser field with the men and women earning eight apiece.
David Phillips and Amanda Murphy headlined for MSU, each winning both the hammer throw and shot put in their outdoor debut. Phillips' throw of 16.47m (54-00.50) in the shot put was his first win since the 2011 outdoor season after redshirting this winter. His throw also marked a Big Sky Conference Championships qualifying distance. Phillips also prevailed in the hammer with 59.56m (195-05), also a conference mark.
Murphy finished the shot put in 14.11, (46-03.50) earning her a trip to the conference meet, which will be hosted by Montana State in Bozeman. In the hammer, her performance was over six meters ahead of the field with 57.51m (188-08). Murphy has only finished lower than first once since the 2012 indoor season began.
Other notable men's performances included Chris Wilson's sprinting efforts. Coming off a Big Sky Championship title in the indoor 60, he kept it up with a win in the 100 (10.76), second place in the 200 (21.85) and anchored the first-place 4x100 relay (Jeff Mohl – Nick Melone – Gage Pickering – Wilson) that posted a time of 41.48, the fastest time for MSU since 2006.
Mohl also put up a tremendous fight, anchoring the 4x400 relay that was edged out by four-hundredths of a second by Eastern Washington with a time of 3:18.34.
Freshmen phenoms, Grant Grosvenor and Jake Turner also put up gold medal performances. Grosvenor won the 800 with a Big Sky time of 1:51.68, while Turner won the steeplechase with a lifetime best and Big Sky mark of 9:15.40.
In addition to Murphy, Chantel Jager and Sonia Antar also shone through in Missoula. Jaeger won the 200 dash in 24.84 and placed second in the 100. Antar posted a lifetime best, Big Sky qualifier and gold medal finish in the 400 with a time of 55.69.
Junior Katie Niemeir earned two second place finishes in the 100 hurdles (14.53) and the 400 hurdles (1:01.04), with both times fast enough for the conference meet. Madeline Fuchs came in third in the 400 hurdles, also with a qualifying time of 1:01.70.
Emily Tyrell made her first competitive show since the 2010 season with a very impressive throw in the javelin. Tyrell launched to a 48.97m (160-08) to qualify her for the conference meet along with teammate Hannah Counter, who came in fourth in 40.35m (132-04).
Also in the field events, Amber Amsbaugh, a high jump mainstay for the Bobcats, placed first in her event with an outdoor lifetime best height of 1.73m (5-08.00).
“Today was a great start to the outdoor season,” said head coach Dale Kennedy. “The weather really cooperated with minimal wind, on top of having several great performances and conference qualifiers. We've got five weeks left to the Big Sky meet in Bozeman and today was just the beginning.”
The Bobcats return to the track in just a few days, when they host the Montana State Open April 5-7. April 5-6 feature the men's decathlon and women's heptathlon, with the remainder of the meet beginning on Saturday, April 7 at 11 a.m.
In the double-dual scored meet, MSU produced a banner day with both the men and women sweeping their Big Sky Conference foes. The men defeated Eastern Washington, 113-85, and meet host Montana, 110-86. For the women, the 'Cats defeated EWU, 124-71 and the Griz, 104-88.
Overall, the Bobcat Men picked up 10 initial qualifiers for the Big Sky Championships, taking place May 9-12 at the Bobcat Track and Field Complex in Bozeman. The Bobcat Women had a strong day of their own with 17 qualifying performances.
Overall, sixteen first-place finishes belonged to MSU at Dornblaser field with the men and women earning eight apiece.
David Phillips and Amanda Murphy headlined for MSU, each winning both the hammer throw and shot put in their outdoor debut. Phillips' throw of 16.47m (54-00.50) in the shot put was his first win since the 2011 outdoor season after redshirting this winter. His throw also marked a Big Sky Conference Championships qualifying distance. Phillips also prevailed in the hammer with 59.56m (195-05), also a conference mark.
Murphy finished the shot put in 14.11, (46-03.50) earning her a trip to the conference meet, which will be hosted by Montana State in Bozeman. In the hammer, her performance was over six meters ahead of the field with 57.51m (188-08). Murphy has only finished lower than first once since the 2012 indoor season began.
Other notable men's performances included Chris Wilson's sprinting efforts. Coming off a Big Sky Championship title in the indoor 60, he kept it up with a win in the 100 (10.76), second place in the 200 (21.85) and anchored the first-place 4x100 relay (Jeff Mohl – Nick Melone – Gage Pickering – Wilson) that posted a time of 41.48, the fastest time for MSU since 2006.
Mohl also put up a tremendous fight, anchoring the 4x400 relay that was edged out by four-hundredths of a second by Eastern Washington with a time of 3:18.34.
Freshmen phenoms, Grant Grosvenor and Jake Turner also put up gold medal performances. Grosvenor won the 800 with a Big Sky time of 1:51.68, while Turner won the steeplechase with a lifetime best and Big Sky mark of 9:15.40.
In addition to Murphy, Chantel Jager and Sonia Antar also shone through in Missoula. Jaeger won the 200 dash in 24.84 and placed second in the 100. Antar posted a lifetime best, Big Sky qualifier and gold medal finish in the 400 with a time of 55.69.
Junior Katie Niemeir earned two second place finishes in the 100 hurdles (14.53) and the 400 hurdles (1:01.04), with both times fast enough for the conference meet. Madeline Fuchs came in third in the 400 hurdles, also with a qualifying time of 1:01.70.
Emily Tyrell made her first competitive show since the 2010 season with a very impressive throw in the javelin. Tyrell launched to a 48.97m (160-08) to qualify her for the conference meet along with teammate Hannah Counter, who came in fourth in 40.35m (132-04).
Also in the field events, Amber Amsbaugh, a high jump mainstay for the Bobcats, placed first in her event with an outdoor lifetime best height of 1.73m (5-08.00).
“Today was a great start to the outdoor season,” said head coach Dale Kennedy. “The weather really cooperated with minimal wind, on top of having several great performances and conference qualifiers. We've got five weeks left to the Big Sky meet in Bozeman and today was just the beginning.”
The Bobcats return to the track in just a few days, when they host the Montana State Open April 5-7. April 5-6 feature the men's decathlon and women's heptathlon, with the remainder of the meet beginning on Saturday, April 7 at 11 a.m.
Big Sky Championship Video Recap
Tuesday, May 14
Bobcat Insider | Weese Tabbed Director of Track & Field
Thursday, August 16
Bobcat Insider | Dale Kennedy Interview
Monday, June 18
Big Sky Outdoor Championships Recap
Saturday, May 12
