Montana State University
MONTANA STATE OPEN
Open Season
1/17/2014 11:09:00 PM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field, Track & Field
Track and Field officially opens the 2014 season at the Montana State Open
The night kicked off with the women's 55 meter hurdles where MSU's highest finishers were Paige Squire and Chelsea Bourque, who finished fourth and fifth respectively. However in the 55 dash, the Bobcats swept four of the top five spots (not including Carley McCutchen's third place finish while competing unattached). Chantel Jaeger won the race in 7.33, followed closely by Bourque in 7.36. Danielle Muri, in her first season as a Bobcat placed fourth in 7.46, with Josephine Petruska in fifth in 7.51.
Jaeger's night was just beginning. Her time of 24.98 gave her a Big Sky auto-qualifier and her second individual win of the night. But she still wasn't finished. Running the third spot of the 4x400, she put teammate Sonia Antar in a position to retain the lead into the anchor leg. Antar faced off with the dominant Kourtney Danreuther from Montana in a thrilling neck-and-neck race when Antar was finally able to pull away at the final curve to secure the win for MSU.
Squire had a night similar to Jaeger after placing second in the 200, with yet another lifetime best of 26.01.
Always a powerhouse, Chris Wilson won the 55, the eight victory of his career in the event, in 6.48 seconds, picking up the first Big Sky qualifier of the night. Following Jeff Mohl's second place finish, also redshirting the season, the Bobcats took over third, fourth and fifth places. Michael Tobin missed his conference mark by just .09 seconds with a time of 6.60, followed by Rory Bauer in fourth in 6.64. Senior veteran Nick Melone rounded out the top five in 6.67.
Wilson picked up his second win and qualifier of the night in the 200 with a time of 22.06, followed by Tobin in 22.52.
The men's weight throw kicked off the field events and in true Montana State fashion, the top two places on the podium belonged to the 'Cats. Zach Sharp earned his first career win when he launched a throw of 58-04.75 (17.80m), not only eclipsing his previous best of 54-06.75 but also a Big Sky qualifier for his first indoor championship. Derek Marsh came in second with a throw of 53-08.25 (16.36m).
In the women's weight throw, Mary Koppy finished second in the field of 15 with a lifetime best throw of 48-11.75 (14.93m). Brittnee Grimstad got a lifetime best, as well with a throw of 44-07.00 (13.59m).
Ryan Kropp earned a third place finish in the pole vault, his first competition since early last outdoor season before sustaining an injury. He launched himself to 14-11.00 (4.55m). Casey Teska won her first of the year in the pole vault and a Big Sky qualifier with a height of 12-03.50 (3.75m), only two inches from a lifetime best.
In the women's mile, Kaylee Schmitz broke out of her competitive shell to come from way behind and take second overall with a time of 5:10.05. In the men's race, coming off a huge cross country season, Trevor Polson retained his momentum and won with a lifetime best time of 4:14.32. Seth Garbett came in fourth place, also with a PR time of 4:21.01.
Bauer closed out his individual races with a big finish in the 400, with a time of 49.28, just off the conference mark. Nick Melone and Aaron Johnston also added depth, placing fourth and fifth, respectively. Bauer, a transfer from MSU-Billings sought out one more win but fell just short at the finish line after a great race in the 4x400 along with Nick Melone, Tobin and Aaron Johnston, sprinting his team to second place.
The women's 400 was lucrative, too, with a Sonia Antar win in 57.26, and a third place finish from freshman Jessica Chrisp (59.57).
Iris Hardarson added to the long list of lifetime bests in Worthington Arena after crossing the finish line in 2:13.61, good enough for third place. Teammate Christie Schiel also picked up a personal record with her fourth place time of 2:14.36.
The distance races displayed the payoff for great off season work when freshman Jenette Northey crushed the competition finishing in 10:19.57, almost 20 seconds ahead of second place. Rachel Sullivan took bronze with a PR time of 10:41.41.
Jacob Kirk and Michael Asay teamed up for another 1-2 finish on the night. His time of 8:28.20 will become a lifetime best once the altitude adjustment comes into play. Asay's time of 8:36.75 far surpassed his previous top performance by nearly 15 seconds.
"All in all, this was a good start," said head coach Dale Kennedy. "We had a lot of lifetime bests tonight and a few solid qualifiers but our work is really just beginning. Our next time out, we need to really step it up and get those conference marks and be a little more dominant out there."
MSU won't have to wait too long to get back on the track as they host the first of two double dual meets, on Jan. 24 when Montana and Idaho State come to town. The meet is slated for a 4:30 p.m. start.
