Montana State University
MSU DOUBLE DUAL II
Tracking Success
2/14/2014 9:56:00 PM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field, Track & Field
Women sweep, men split at MSU Double Duals
The MSU Double Dual was the test Montana State Track and Field needed in Worthington Arena on Friday, Feb. 14. The Bobcats faced off with Big Sky Conference rivals, Montana and Weber State in the scored meet.
At the last set duals back on Jan. 24, the men earned the double sweep but this time the night was in favor of the Bobcat women. MSU picked up a 75-71 victory over Weber State and also got their revenge from last time out against the Griz, defeating Montana, 73.5-68.5. The men split on the night, edging out the Wildcats, 69-64 and just fell short to rival Montana, 74.5-67.5
Beginning with the throws, the men's weight throw swept the podium for the third time this season, all coming in the comfort of their home facilities. Sean Ferriter notched another season best with a throw of 59-04.25 (18.09m) and was followed by Zach Sharp with a personal best 57-07.00 (17.55m). Derek Marsh picked up the bronze with 54-04.00 (16.56m).
MSU also won the men's shot put with Trevor Gilreath's season's best throw of 54-05.25 (16.59m). Teammate Riley Sampson came in second, tying his best finish with a throw of 48-02.50 (14.69m)
The first jumping event of the night kicked off with Ryan Kropp's first place finish in the pole vault. Not only did grab his first win of the season, he launched himself to a lifetime best height of 16-02.75 (4.95m), improving his Big Sky qualifying time.
Casey Teska picked up another win in her pole vault appearance but with a height of 12-03.50 (3.75m) after a huge showing just one week before. Libby Madison took second with 11-03.75 (3.45m) and Samantha Mohl rounded things out in third with 10-04.00 (3.15m).
Amber Amsbaugh kept her high jump streak alive with another win, her fourth this season. She lifted herself to a height of 5-07.00 (1.70m). Teammate Alisa Gilchrist earned the silver medal tying her season best height of 5-05.00 (1.65m).
The short sprints began with a third place finish from Paige Squire in the 55 hurdles, with a season-best 8.36 seconds. In the 55, MSU finished second and third, following Chantel Jaeger's time of 7.31 and Danielle Muri's 7.51.
Michael Tobin placed second in the 60 in 6.57. The senior sprinter has not placed lower than third in the event all year. Absent from the sprints tonight was Chris Wilson who placed fourth in a field of 30 in the 200 at the prestigious Husky Classic in Seattle. He'll compete in the 60 on Saturday.
The Women's Mile was another moment of Jenette Northey's freshman season that has immediately made her an impact player in the Big Sky Conference. The Anchorage, Alaska native came in third with an unadjusted time of 5:05.74 giving her another automatic qualifier for her first Big Sky Championship. She has already qualified in the 3,000 and the 5,000
Michael Asay, who already punched his ticket in the mile, won the event tonight with a commanding three second lead with a time of 4:13.65. Many of Asay's distance comrades are with Wilson in Seattle, and Asay certainly helped keep Montana State in the meet, along with Cristian Soratos, making his indoor debut.
Soratos earned a second place finish in the 800. Despite holding the lead until the final 100 meters, he still managed a time of 1:53.81 and a Big Sky-worthy mark in his first meet of the season.
Already qualified in the women's 800, Iris Hardarson picked up her second qualifier after placing second in the 400 with a time of 56.51
The duo of Chantel Jaeger and Paige Squire teamed up in the 200 for the 1-2 finish. Jaeger crossed the line in 24.22, while Squire clocked a 25.55. In the men's edition, Nick Melone was MSU's highest finisher, coming in second with a time of 22.17. Tobin, keeping true to his consistent top-three finishes, placed third with 22.30.
Seth Garbett, Jacob Kirk, Trevor Polson and Matt Tex are competing in a variety of distance events at the Husky Classic. Garbett ran the 5,000 at the Husky Classic on Friday, placing eighth in his heat in 14:28.71 and 11th overall.
While the above listed runners, may not have been in Bozeman on Friday night, Zachary Kughn picked up his first career win, when he crossed the finish line in 8:33.85 in the 3,000, also marking a lifetime best and a Big Sky qualifier for the sophomore.
The women's running events closed out with a very impressive 4x400 relay. The quartet led off by Chantel Jaeger, then Paige Squire, Iris Hardarson and Sonia Antar on the anchor recorded a time of 3:45.87, potentially the top time in the league and confirmed, the second best time in program history. The current MSU record is 3:44.56 set back in 2001.
Overall, it was a strong night for the Blue and Gold as they picked up a heavy number of scoring victories, lifetime bests and the most important at this point of the season, Big Sky qualifying marks.
MSU will have one final chance to get to the championship meet, on Friday, Feb. 21 when they host their last indoor meet of the year at the Bobcat Open. The meet is scheduled to start at 4:30 p.m.
