Track and Field Kicks It Up At Big Sky Championships
2/22/2013 10:14:00 PM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field, Track & Field
Men in first place after big second day; women in fourth
With a great morning in the heptathlon, the Montana State Bobcats kept that excitement alive on the full day of competition at the Big Sky Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships in Brick Breeden Fieldhouse on Friday night. (Day 2 Results)
After two days of competition, the women of Idaho State lead in the team scoring with 40 points, while MSU is in fourth with 31. In the men's race, MSU sits in the lead with 55 points with Northern Arizona on their heels with 43.5.
Sarah McGree, who came in third in the pentathlon just one day earlier and Carley McCutchen, who placed fourth in the multis, returned to competition in the long jump to open up the night for Montana State. McCutchen was the highest finisher coming in 11th place overall but did catapult herself to a lifetime best distance of 5.50m (18-00.50). She finally bested her previous launch of 5.46m which she set in 2012 at the Montana State Open.
McGree finished in 14th with a distance of 5.38m (17-08.00).
In the 55 hurdles preliminary race, hepathlon champion and runner-up Jeff Mohl and Powhattan Williamson, who had been competing, not only yesterday, but since 9 a.m. Friday morning, were joined by Slater Powell in hopes of some fast times. Williamson placed eighth in prelims with a time of 7.69, just 0.01 slower than his time to kick off the day. His time was enough to give him one more day of competing when he'll appear in the finals on Saturday.
Mohl clocked in at 7.74 and came in 10th, while Powell crossed in 7.85 and both failed to advance to Saturday's final.
In the women's hurdles, Katie Niemeir advanced on to the finals after placing seventh in preliminary race with a time of 8.04 seconds, which marks a lifetime best for the senior from Florence, Mont. McCutchen clocked in 10th place in 8.34 while Chelsea Bourque rounded out the MSU hurdlers in 15th place (8.53).
Niemeir earned her second finals-worthy performance in the 400 after picking up the final spot in prelims with a time of 56.84. Teammates Chantel Jaeger and Sonia Antar got tangled up on the final stretch resulting in a last place finish for Jaeger and a disqualification for Antar.
In the men's 55 dash, Chris Wilson qualified for his third consecutive final in the short sprint. Wilson won the event in 2012 and placed sixth in the 2011. Wilson is seeded third going into the final with a time of 6.40, four-hundredths of a second off his lifetime best. Transfer Michael Tobin also competed in the 55 but placed 10th in 6.56 and did not advance.
Wilson and Tobin also competed in the 200 and placed ninth and 11th respectively. Wilson crossed the line in 22.09, a season best, while Tobin finished with 22.10, a best for him this season, as well.
Nick Melone will represent the Bobcats in the 400 final on Saturday, after a seventh place preliminary final with a lifetime best time of 48.66. Melone is only .54 behind the top seed headed into tomorrow's race.
2012 indoor and outdoor champion in the 800, Grant Grosvenor put himself in a similar position in the opening edition of the 2013 race. The Mill Creek, Wash. native came from the middle of the pack in the second heat of the 800 to take first overall with a time of 1:52.34. Two other Bobcats also competed with one also taking the next step into Saturday's final. Matt Tex came in fifth overall in 1:53.75. Forrest Jarvi, who ran a strong race in the first heat ended up in 10th with a time of 1:54.68.
Lierin Flanagan was the long Blue and Gold in the women's 800 where she came in 10th overall with a time of 2:15.57.
In the women's pole vault, which featured three Bobcats, Montana State had a night of lifetime bests and even a Big Sky medal. Casey Teska and Libby Madison both tied for sixth place tying their lifetime best heights of 3.60m (11-09.75). Rebekka Chambers, in her final indoor meet of her collegiate career, finished a career-high second place for her first All-Conference nod. She also launched herself to a personal best height of 3.90m (12-09.50).
In the 5,000, Trevor Polson held the lead for the first mile but eventually fell back, coming in 13th in the field of 18. Seth Garbett was the highest finisher, working his way up to fifth place with a time of 15:05.25. Polson clocked in at 15:40.63.
Megan Beam donned the Blue and Gold in the women's 5k and came in 15th with a time of 18:50.06.
MSU had four representatives in the long jump allowing for plenty of point opportunities. Mohl, while simultaneously competing in the high jump, placed fourth overall with a distance of 7.03m (23-00.75). Jake Mushaben, in his first Big Sky Indoor meet finished with an impressive lifetime best of 6.96m (22-10.00), improving from 6.82m and came in sixth overall, earning three points for Montana State.
Williamson, also at the end of a very busy day, came in tenth and mustered up some serious energy to get a lifetime best just of 6.79m (22.03.50). Shae Stein, also in his first Big Sky meet, came in 14th with 6.49m (21-03.50).
In the high jump, Mohl simply ran out of steam and came up in fifth in 2.00m (6-06.75), still earning points for MSU.
Both Bobcats in the shot put notched lifetimes bests. Trevor Gilreath, who had yet to place lower than second in the event this season, finally broke his streak with a second-place finish behind Sac State's Zach Coniglio's throw of 17.93m (58-10.00). He still earned all-conference status with a PR throw of 17.39m (57-00.75). David Phillips came in fifth, also with a personal best, finishing with 17.10m (56-01.25).
The Distance Medley Relays belonged to the 'Cats. The men took off first with a huge come from behind win, led by Cristian Soratos in the final leg of the relay. Soratos followed a lead off from Michael Asay, Michael Tobin and Jacob Kirk, combining for a time of 9:59.62.
The women also worked their way back up to the top after Heather Demorest, Chantel Jaeger, Iris Hardarson and Heather Haug collaborated for their team effort win. Their time of 11:59.11 finished over 10 seconds ahead of second place.
“It sounds cliché for me but it has been a solid first two days,” said head coach Dale Kennedy. “It all started with the multis, they stepped up, got us going and everyone else certainly kept up that momentum, as well. I'm pleased that we scored in places we didn't expect to but on the flip side, there were some places where we need to keep our focus and do what we're capable of doing. We're ready to come roaring back tomorrow and keep fighting off each challenge.”
The final day of the Big Sky Championships begins tomorrow, Saturday, Feb. 23, beginning at 11 a.m. with field events and the finals of the running events at 2:25 p.m.
