Staying On Track

Friday, January 25

Bozeman, MT

4:30 PM

Montana State University

MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY OPEN

Heather Haug set a second program record in as many weeks of her 2013 indoor season

Photo by: R. Dean Hendrickson

1/25/2013 10:36:00 PM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field, Track & Field

Haug sets another program record at MSU Open

By: Leslie Masterpaul

Montana State saw continued success at the MSU Open on Friday night in Worthington Arena. With a variety of competition from in and around Montana, the Bobcats continued to push faster, further and stronger in hopes of preparing for the Big Sky Championships. Joining Montana State in Brick Breeden Fieldhouse were Carroll, Great Falls, MSU-Billings, University of Mary, Rocky Mountain, as well as Big Sky Conference member Eastern Washington. The Eagles, gave MSU a bit of a glimpse into some of conference talent in the sprints and jumps. (MSU Open Results)

In the first running event of the night, the Bobcats saw great things right out of the gate. Katie Niemeir won the event with a time of 8.21, with her second win in as many weeks of the hurdles. Carley McCutchen came in third in her first event of the night in 8.32 seconds. Kortnee Barrett placed 11th but did cross the line with a lifetime best time of 9.37.

Chelsea Bourque was the highest finisher, earning the bronze medal with 7.45. Chantel Jaeger came in fourth with a season best time of 7.54 seconds.

In the men's hurdles, Slater Powell notched his second win in a row, like Niemeir, placing first with a time of 7.80. Powell won the event at the MSU Dual Meet Invitational on Jan. 18, his first meet back after missing all of the outdoor season because of an Achilles' injury. Powhattan Williamson came in fourth in 7.84.

Chris Wilson took victory yet again in the 55, clocking in at 6.43 seconds, his fastest time this season. Wilson has won every 55 or 60 dash finals since his sixth place finish at the 2011 Big Sky Indoor Championships. Teammate Michael Tobin earned the bronze, crossing the finish line in 6.59. Shae Stein and Gage Pickering took fourth and fifth, respectively.

MSU swept the men's mile with a lifetime best performance of 4:16.77 from Grant Grosvenor. Teammate Trevor Polson came in second with a time of 4:20.93. Polson's time was also a lifetime best after the altitude adjustment. Michael Asay, Seth Garbett and Forrest Jarvi also had strong performances.

Heather Haug, again put on a big performance in Brick Breeden Fieldhouse. Her time of 2:09.37 won the event, with the next finisher four seconds behind her and with the altitude adjustment, set a new program record. This was Haug's second program record in two weeks after breaking the mile back on Jan. 18. The Livingston, Mont. native's record replaces Christy Otte's 2:09.13 set back in 1998. Her time was also good enough for the Big Sky Conference Championships taking place in Bozeman in February.

Lierin Flanagan won the 400 with a time of 58.25, marking her first win of the season and was the lone Bobcat representing in the race. Kevin Close medaled in the men's race, placing second in 50.23. Marcus Swan placed fourth , while Michael Nguyen came in sixth.

MSU earned two more medals in the 200, with three Bobcats in the top five. Niemeir placed second with a time of 25.80, followed by Chantel Jaeger in third in 25.94, a season-best. Chelsea Bourque's fifth place finish also posted a season best, as well, crossing the line in 26.03 seconds.

Wilson came in second place in the 200, with Nick Melone in fourth, Michael Tobin in sixth and Gage Pickering in seventh. Wilson's silver medal time clocked in at 22.12. Melone notched a season best with his 22.23 showing.

The final individual running event of the night was the 3,000 where the MSU women garnered two more medals on the night. Megan Beam placed second, besting her outdoor 3,000 time, finishing in 10:35.66 without the altitude adjustment. Her outdoor mark clocked in at 10:45.67. Rachel Sullivan finished in third place with a time of 10:48.46.

Cristian Soratos won his first indoor individual race in the 3,000 with a Big Sky Conference qualifying time of 8:27.77. Teammate Jacob Kirk placed second and his time of 8:35.54 with the altitude adjustment also gives him the Big Sky mark.
The quartet of McCutchen, Flanagan, Iris Hardarson and Niemeir earned the final gold of the night with a time of 3:49.71 in the 4x400 relay, putting them at the top of the Big Sky Rankings.

In the men's pole vault, Ryan Kropp placed second behind Carroll's Easton Padden with a height of 4.70m (15-05.00), matching his performance from week one of competition. MSU had five entries in the event. Rebekka Chambers took the lone medal, placing third with 3.60m (11-09.75). Libby Madison and Casey Teska tied for fourth, each launching herself to a height of 3.45m (11-03.75). Sami Risa, who placed eighth had a lifetime best performance of 3.30m (10-10.00).

The men's weight throw troupe continued their dominance, sweeping the top six spots, as they did just one week ago. David Phillips won the event with a season best distance of 19.63m (64-05.00), just 0.47m off a personal record for the Deer Lodge, Mont. native. Sean Ferriter, continuing a huge breakout year, placed second with a throw of 16.81m (55-02.00). In third place was freshman Calvin Root with a lifetime best hurl of 16.53m (54-02.75). Off the podium, Derek Marsh (15.60m/51-02.35), Zach Sharp (15.23m/49-11.75) and Eddie Stevenson (14.97m/49-01.50) rounded out fourth, fifth and sixth places.

In the shot put, Trevor Gilreath took the top spot with a Big Sky qualifying 15.80m (51-10.00). Phillips earned his second medal of the night coming in second place. His distance of 15.78m (51-09.25) was an improvement from last week's showing. Calvin Root's throw of 14.74m (48-04.50) got him a fourth place finish.

Mary Koppy had her best career finish in the weight throw, placing third with a distance of 14.43m (47-04.25). Madison Wills and Britnee Grimstad placed just behind her in fourth and fifth, respectively.

Adessa Durglo, who has slowly been climbing her way up from her freshman campaign; placed third in the triple jump with a leap of 11.00m (36-01.25). Her jump was just 0.02 meters off from a lifetime best and marked an indoor best for Durglo.
Montana State went one-two in the long jump when Jake Mushaben leapt to a season and indoor-best distance of 6.75m (22-01.75). Stein earned his second top-five finish of the night, jumping 6.54m (21-05.50).

Amber Amsbaugh won her second high jump in a row in 2013 in fine fashion, launching herself to a height of 1.75m (5-08.75). Her performance not only marked a lifetime best but moved her up to third all-time in the indoor high jump for Montanan State. Her jump could also put her at the top of the Big Sky rankings, pending the outcome of the competition over the weekend. Amsbaugh got support from Alisa Gilchrist who earned her Big Sky mark with a height of 1.65m (5-05.00) and placed third in the event. Durglo came in fourth just missing the needed height and finished at 1.60m (5-03.00)

Meanwhile, in Pullman, Wash., Jeff Mohl competed in the first day of the heptathlon at the Cougar Multis. At the end of day one, he sits in second place with 3,062 points behind Montana's Austin Emry. (Cougar Multis Results)

“While we didn't have a lot of new qualifiers tonight, we're seeing a lot of progress, a lot of season bests already,” said head coach Dale Kennedy. “As long as we're moving in the right direction, that will put us in a good position headed into the Mountain States Games- a meet that I really look forward to.”

Montana State will leave the comfort of their own home and travel to Pocatello, Idaho, for the Mountain States Games, hosted by Idaho State. The two-day meet begins Friday, Feb. 1, concluding the following day.