Montana State University
BIG SKY INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
Big Sky Track and Field Preview
2/20/2013 8:24:00 PM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field, Track & Field
Bobcats ready to rumble on their home turf
The time has come. It's what each runner, jumper, thrower and coach looks forward to as soon as the previous season ends- the next championship. All 43 Bobcats are prepped and ready to go in search of the coveted Big Sky Indoor Track & Field Championship title. Beginning Thursday, Feb. 21 and running until Saturday, Feb. 23, a full slate of the best indoor track and field in the Big Sky Conference will be in Worthington Arena at Brick Breeden Fieldhouse.
In a field of 11 teams and over 400 athletes, Montana State has enlisted their finest to compete at the top of the Big Sky.
MULTIS
One of the strongest groups in the program, the multi events will begin for MSU on Thursday. The women's pentathlon features three Bobcats who all possess the talent to finish on the podium. Carley McCutchen comes in with MSU's highest seed, ranking third in the conference with a score of 3,618, which she notched at the Mountain States Games earlier in February. McCutchen placed second at the outdoor championships last spring and has continued to see steady improvement over the course of the indoor slate.
Kortnee Barrett, in her final indoor season, will look for her first All-Big Sky nod. Barrett notched a personal best back in 2012 with 3,139 and hopes to break the 3,200 mark. In the outdoor heptathlon last season, she came in eighth place after a huge performance in the shot put, one of her specialties.
Competing in her first complete pentathlon of the year is perennial power Sarah McGree, also in her final season in blue and gold. After rehabilitating from a leg injury she suffered in the first meet of the year, assistant coach Tom Eitel has high expectations. The Butte, Mont. native placed third in the outdoor meet in 2012 and was the conference runner-up in the indoor meet in 2011.
One of the best rivalries in Big Sky Track and Field will be showcased in the men's heptathlon featuring reigning outdoor decathlon champion Jeff Mohl. Mohl ranks second headed into the event, behind rival Austin Emry of Montana. While Emry holds the high mark of 5,651 in the Big Sky list this season, Mohl defeated Emry at the season opening MSU Combined Events Invitational back on Jan. 7-8.
Powhattan Williamson sits in third before competition begins with a score of 4,809. Williamson has also seen continued and impressive improvement over the course of his sophomore season.
Expect to see all the multis athletes in action over the course of all three days in addition to their opening day appearances.
SPRINTS/HURDLES
With only one blemish on his resume since his 2011 championship debut sixth place performance, Chris Wilson leads the way in the men's sprints for MSU. Wilson has placed lower than first place only one time since then, earning the silver medal at the Mountain States Games this season. He enters the meet with a fourth seed, only .11 behind conference leader Shaun Murray of Southern Utah. Wilson will be joined by transfer Michael Tobin who earned his way into his first conference meet by way of automatic qualifier.
Wilson and Tobin will team up again in the 200 with their work cut out for them. Wilson is seeded 14th, while Tobin is just behind him in 16th. Last year, Wilson came in sixth in the 200.
Nick Melone, whose best Big Sky finish was fifth place in the 400 hurdles at the 2012 outdoor meet, will look to best his previous performance with hopes of an all-conference honor among the top-three finishers.
Mohl will return in the 55 hurdles along with Williamson, as well. Joining the dynamic duo is Slater Powell, who suffered a season-ending injury at last year's indoor meet. Mohl came in third at last year's indoor meet.
In the women's hurdles, MSU has three registered to compete, as well. Katie Niemeir, who came in sixth last year, will go after her first individual title in the event. McCutchen will join Niemeir along with Chelsea Bourque in the hurdles. Bourque competed in last year's indoor championships in the 200 but did not advance out of the preliminary races.
While the women do not have entries in the 55 or the 200, their depth truly begins to show beginning with the 400. With three Bobcats entered and all three seeing huge drops over the course of the season, fast races are expected for Niemeir, and sophomores Sonia Antar and Chantel Jaeger.
MIDDLE DISTANCE/DISTANCE
Traditionally, the middle distance and distance events have always been a successful feat for Montana State. Beginning with the 800, MSU has seen serious success in the event in the last year and in the short amount of time 2013 has offered.
MSU returns 2012 indoor and outdoor champion Grant Grosvenor for the 800 and despite a third seed, the Mill Creek, Wash. native, who has dropped time in each appearance in the race, will look to earn a third title in only his sophomore year. Three other Bobcats will chase after points in the race when Matthew Tex, Forrest Jarvi and freshman Marcus Swan compete.
Standout transfer Cristian Soratos, in his first indoor season, has also had huge strides, literally and figuratively on the track. He comes into his debut Big Sky meet with a third seed in the mile in 4:02.27 behind one sub-four minute performer and another just on the brink of the barrier. Jacob Kirk, a steady presence in the distance group, along with Michael Asay are also rostered in the event and could certainly vie for high and fast finishes.
Soratos and Kirk will strategize with Trevor Polson and Seth Garbett in the 3,000 and race for their Blue and Gold pride against the top distance runners in the conference. Polson and Garbett are slated to run in the 5,000, as well.
Lierin Flanagan represents the Bobcat women in the 800 with a ninth seed and plenty of room for faster times and a shot at an individual Big Sky honor for the second time.
One of the pillars of Montana State Track and Field will begin her final Big Sky appearance in the mile run. Heather Haug set records in the 800 and mile in the first two weeks of the season and holds a hefty lead as the top entry in the middle distance race by nearly ten seconds. After a rough go at the outdoor meet in May, Haug is ready for her first Big Sky title since the 2010 spring season. Haug will also race in the 3,000, as the second seed. She'll be joined by Heather Demorest and Megan Beam. Demorest is coming off her first Big Sky Athlete of the Week award following a huge drop in time and lifetime best in the race at the Bobcat Open on Feb. 15.
JUMPS
Many of the multis athletes are slated to make a run in the jumping events. Both McGree and McCutchen will continue their quest in the long jump on their home turf. In the men's edition, Mohl and Williamson will be accompanied by first time Big Sky competitors Shae Stein and Jake Mushaben and hope to capitalize on their depth and desire for that Big Sky title.
Mohl is also slated to compete in the high jump and the pole vault. Outdoor conference runner-up Ryan Kropp who is seeded sixth chases a new lifetime best and a possible title in the vault, too.
Three MSU women rank in the top ten in the pole vault including consistent competitor Rebekka Chambers. Chambers, a senior, has competed in the conference meet in each season, with her highest finish occurring last spring when she came in fourth, just missing the all-conference cutoff. Casey Teska, in her first season at MSU and Libby Madison are seeded eighth and ninth, respectively.
2012 Outdoor Champion Amber Amsbaugh will go after her second consecutive title after leading the conference for nearly all of the indoor season. Her last non-first place finish dates back to May 4, 2013 when she came in third in the high jump at the Tom Gage Classic. McCutchen and freshman Alisa Gilchrist will be right there with Amsbaugh, as they hurl themselves over the bar.
In the triple jump, Adessa Durglo, ranked fifth, will hunt after a potential all-conference nod as the only Bobcat in the event. Kevin Close is the lone men's representative in the event.
THROWS
This group of student-athletes has been the backbone of the field events and not just this season. A group of very experience upperclassmen and immensely talented underclassmen present a bright future for the group and not just this coming weekend.
In the shot put, Trevor Gilreath holds a second seed behind another Big Sky powerhouse, Zach Coniglio of Sacramento State. Gilreath has only placed first for all of the 2013 indoor season and hopes to keep it that way along with a potential second Big Sky title in the shot.
David Phillips is also slated to compete in the shot, but his sights may be set on something else- the weight throw. After unleashing a lifetime best toss of 20.38m, ranking him 18th in the nation, he was named the Big Sky Athlete of the Week heading into the conference championships. Like Gilreath, he enters the meet with an unblemished record in his top event. The Deer Lodge, Mont. native won the hammer throw at the 2011 outdoor meet and both the shot put and weight throw in indoor that same year. Phillips will be joined by Sean Ferriter in his first conference meet. Ferriter is in the midst of a breakout season, improving nearly every outing.
The sole women's thrower representing the Bobcats is Kristi VandeBergh in the shot put. VandeBergh is seeded fifth with a lifetime best distance of 14.40m.
“Of course this is the highlight of the indoor season,” said head coach Dale Kennedy. “We've continued to have some huge improvements over the course of the last five weeks and that helps build the excitement as we go into the weekend. We have to maintain the balance of energy, motivation and smart competition, which, as a group, not just the athletes, we are all working together to do.”
The pentathlon kicks off the three-day spectacle at 9 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 21, followed by the first day of the heptathlon at 9:30. For a complete schedule and additional information go to www.msubobcats.com/bigskytf.
