Montana State University
MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY OPEN
Track and Field Faces Elements at MSU Open
4/6/2013 5:16:00 PM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field, Track & Field
Bobcats face blustery conditions but still shine
Spring showed her rigid side at the Montana State Open on Saturday, with blustery conditions, but her fickleness didn't stop the competitors at the Bobcat Track and Field Complex. On the day, Montana State won 18 events, with 45 finishes among the top three. With the Big Sky Championships always on their mind, the Bobcats picked up more automatic qualifiers for the meet which will take place in Forest Grove, Ore. in early May. (Results)
In the first field event of the day, Montana State picked up two medals, following a one-two punch from Tanner Gambill and Conner Kelly. Gambill finished with a distance of 60.32m (197-11) to win the event, followed by a season best throw for Kelly with 57.38m (188-03). Both had previously qualified for the Big Sky meet.
In the other throwing events, the Bobcats put on one of their typical performances in the hammer throw, taking the top five places. David Phillips won the event with a throw of 60.58m (198-09.00), while Derek Marsh came in second (55.24m). Sean Ferriter earned the bronze medal with 54.88m (180-01.00). Eddie Stevenson came in fourth with 53.60m and Calvin Root in fifth with 53.32m. Stevenson and Root picked up their automatic qualifiers, joining Phillips, Marsh and Ferriter for the conference meet.
Also keeping status quo was Trevor Gilreath's win in the shot put, throwing 16.27m (53-04.00) to earn his automatic mark.
In the 10K, Seth Garbett came in second in 32:21.87, followed by Zach Kughn in third in 32:51.11. With the altitude adjustment, Garbett should earn an automatic qualifying time in the race.
Following the 10K, the 4x100 relays took off, literally and figuratively. The quartet of Michael Tobin, Nick Melone, Gage Pickering and Chris Wilson sped their way to a time of 41.52, improving on their previous time of 41.69 from one week earlier.
While the women did not win in their 4x100 race, they did improve their time. Katie Niemeir, Chantel Jaeger, Chelsea Bourque and Paige Squire clocked in with a time of 47.96.
In the 1500, Matt Tex won the race with a time of 4:01.24, missing the conference mark, following a breakout season opener last weekend in the 800. MSU swept both the men's and women's race, when Heather Demorest earned the come-from-behind win with a time of 4:44.97. Her unadjusted time, eclipsed her previous best of 4:51.99 set back in 2011.
The Bobcats earned one medal in the long jump, when Powhattan Williamson came in second place with a leap of 6.74m (22-01.50). James Andrews, who was a member of the Bobcat Football team, came in fourth in the first meet of his career, with a jump of 6.44m (21-01.50).
In the short hurdles, Slater Powell took third place overall with a season best time of 15.0 to earn the automatic time for the Big Sky meet. Katie Niemeir literally ran away with the race in the 100 hurdles with a winning time of 14.2, best her time from last week and improving on her Big Sky mark. Also of note, the Bobcats swept the event with Chelsea Bourque coming in second with 15.4 and Paige Squire in third in 15.5.
Niemeir earned her Big Sky mark in the 400 hurdles, coming in second place with a time of 1:02.89. Madeline Fuchs earned the bronze medal with 1:03.15. Fuchs punched her ticket in the event at the season-opener on March 30.
Chris Wilson won the 100 with a commanding performance, clocking in at 10.6. Teammate Michael Tobin came in second in 11.0 seconds. In the women's race, Chelsea Bourque picked up another second place finish, clocking in at 12.6, with Sadie McMillan just behind her in third in 12.7.
Bourque also came in second in the 200, clocking in at 25.6 seconds.
Wilson won his second individual event in the 200, just as he did last week at the Al Manuel Invitational. He crossed the line in 21.3 seconds. Michael Tobin came in third in 21.9
Chantel Jaeger, who, like Wilson, is coming off a great first week, maintained that momentum and took a win in the 400, finishing almost one second ahead of the next place. Jaeger clocked in with 56.03 to earn her second individual Big Sky mark. Iris Hardarson came in third in the race with 57.30.
Freshman Marcus Swan had a great day in the 800, earning a hard-fought win in the final meters, clocking in with an unadjusted time of 1:57.79. Lierin Flanagan and Sonia Antar, finished first and second, respectively in the women's race but did not meet the conference standard.
Picking up her second win in the shot put in as many weeks, was Kristi VandeBergh who hurled to a distance of 14.02m (46-00.00). Her throw marks a season best and was just shy of an outdoor best distance. VandeBergh also had a big day in the discus. She placed second with a season-best distance of 41.14m (135-00). Britnee Grimstad also earned a medal in the discus, coming in just behind VandeBergh with 39.74m (130-04), also a season best.
Adessa Durglo's performance in the triple jumped showed her ever-increasing progress as a jumper when she launched herself to a second place finish in 11.70m (38-04.75). With the wind, it marks a lifetime best from her previous 11.49m.
Amber Amsbaugh punched her ticket to the Big Sky meet when she launched herself to a height of 1.70m (5-07.00) in the high jump, placing third overall.
“I think even despite the crazy weather today, everyone put forth a solid effort,” said head coach Dale Kennedy. “We're still working towards the goals of getting those qualifiers and improving each week and that's where we need to be. Looking forward, we need to step it up next week in California and keep pushing forward to get everyone to the conference meet.”
Montana State will travel to Sacramento, Calif. for the Mondo Invitational, hosted by Sacramento State on April 11-13.
