Montana State University
AL MANUEL INVITATIONAL
Springing Open
3/30/2013 7:50:00 PM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field, Track & Field
Track and Field has big day at Al Manuel Invite
Spring generally takes its sweet time to come around in the state of Montana but the Al Manuel Invitational provided one of the best opening days in recent history for the Montana State Track and Field team. The weather was great and the performances were even better at Dornblaser Field. (Men's Results | Women's Results)
The meet began on Friday night with the men's and women's hammer throw which set the tone for the Bobcats right out of the gate. David Phillips placed second in the event, earning the first Big Sky qualifying mark of the season with a throw of 61.42m (201-06). Teammates Derek Marsh (55.36m), Zach Sharp (52.48m) and Sean Ferriter (55.88m) also earned qualifying distances and also notably, all measured lifetime best throws the first time out in 2013.
On Saturday, the running events featured several great performances, showing that the Bobcats could pick up right where they left off. Chris Wilson the 100 dash, with Big Sky Championship times of 21.78.
In the women's short sprints, Chantel Jaeger finally broke out in her sophomore season with wins in the both the 100 and the 200. She posted times of 12.38 and 24.45, respectively. Her time in the 24.45 earns her a berth to the Big Sky Championships, which will take place in early May in Forest Grove, Ore.
Powhattan Williamson, who is coming off a big sophomore indoor season, placed fourth in the 110 hurdles, punching his ticket with a time of 14.85, also a lifetime best for the Billings, Mont. native. Slater Powell came in right behind him, in fifth, in 15.20, just missing the conference cut-off.
In the long hurdles, Nick Melone had a trifects performance, with a first place finish, lifetime best and conference qualifying time of 53.37.
Katie Niemeir came in third in the 100 hurdles with a Big Sky mark of 14.15. Maddy Fuchs broke out in her final season of competition with a second place finish in the 400 hurdles, crossing the finish line in 1:02.04, to give her another go at the Big Sky title later in May.
Sonia Antar earned her first win of the outdoor slate with a time of 56.08 in the 400, and also tacked on a qualifying performance.
The Bobcats picked up two more medals in the 800 when Kaylee Schmitz came in first with a time of 2:17.12, followed by Iris Hardarson in second in 2:18.31. The men's 800 produced similar results, with Matt Tex taking first place in 1:52.96, marking a lifetime best and a Big Sky mark. Marcus Swan, who has fit himself in pretty comfortably with Bobcat middle distance, took second place in 1:55.81.
Grant Grosvenor, who won the outdoor 800 at the conference meet in 2012, won the 1500 in fine fashion with a time of 3:53.14.
After redshirting indoor season, Zach Kughn came out firing on all cylinders to earn a Big Sky qualifying time in the 5,000 with a time of 14:51.20, after being paced by assistant coach Lyle Weese, who won the event.
In the field events, Adessa Durlgo came in second in the high jump with a new outdoor best, tying her overall PR with a height of 1.60m (5-03.00). Kristi VandeBergh took the shot put with a distance of 13.79m (45-03.00), with marks a good enough performance for the Big Sky meet.
Kevin Close picked up a huge lifetime time after placing second in the triple jump launching himself to 14.47m (47-05.75). His previous best measured at 13.92m and today's performance also gave him the automatic qualifier.
“We've seen some good days over my 31 years here but today was certainly one of the best,” said head coach Dale Kennedy. “We came out with here with set goals, looking to get wins, lifetime bests and automatic qualifiers. Today was nothing short of success on our terms.”
Montana State returns to action beginning on Thursday, Apr. 4, when they host the MSU Open. The multis athletes will get a shot an early shot at earning their Big Sky marks on Thursday and Friday, followed by a full slate of track and field events on Saturday.
