Montana State University
BIG SKY INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
Track and Field Finishes Seventh at Big Sky Championships
3/1/2014 5:13:00 PM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field, Track & Field
Tex, Wilson earn gold medals in final day of competition
Montana State finished out the 2014 Big Sky Indoor Track and Field Championships in Pocatello, Idaho, on Saturday. The Bobcat men placed seventh with 56 points, while the women also came in seventh place but with 55 total points.
Northern Arizona men won another team title, and shared the excitement with the female Lumberjack counterpart, who completed the sweep for NAU.
The day began with the women's weight throw and men's triple jump in the field events. In the weight throw, Madison Wills and Mary Koppy represented MSU. Wills placed 17th with a throw of 49-10.00 (15.19m), while Koppy came in 19th at 48-11.50 (14.92m).
Kyler Felton and Tanner Burgard teamed up in the triple jump. Felton was MSU's higher finisher, leaping to a distance of 43-03.75 (13.20m), coming in ninth place. Burgard notched a 12th place finish with 41-11.50 (12.79m).
Casey Teska has her best Big Sky finish to date, as the conference runner-up in the pole vault. The sophomore set a new PR with a height of 13-01.75 (4.01m).
Last year's Big Sky runner-up, Trevor Gilreath dropped down to seventh place in the shot put with 53-01 (16.18m). Riley Sampson and Jarek Jensen also competed.
In the mile, Jacob Kirk placed fourth, just missing an All-Big Sky Conference performance. He crossed the finish line in 4:11.30. Cristian Soratos, who was part of the first place distance medley relay the night before, placed 14th, with Michael Asay in 16th.
Although finishing seventh and eighth, respectively, Iris Hardarson and Sonia Antar scored more points for the Bobcats in the 400. Hardarson placed seventh with another season-best time of 56.09. Antar finished in 56.31.
The 800m like the night, before had Blue and Gold all over it. In her first indoor season, Kaylee Schmitz garnered her first all-Big Sky finish by placing second in the 800. The current program record holder crossed the finish line in 2:11.62, two seconds faster than her prelim time. Christie Schiel came in fifth in 2:13.58.
Matt Tex was the first of two Big Sky Conference champions in the final day of competition when he won his 800 race. After winning the outdoor 800 title in 2013, he picked up a second consecutive title in the indoor, clocking in at 1:52.30. Kirk also added support with a fifth place performance time of 1:54.39.
Chantel Jaeger's 200 race may not have resulted in her first individual conference title but she did record an All-Big Sky finish placing third. Her lifetime best time of 24.13 was .04 off a new program best and now ranks third in Bobcat history.
Chris Wilson ran two finals on Saturday, beginning with the 60 meter dash. The Great Falls, Mont. native placed fourth with 6.89, one one-hundredth of a second outside of the podium. The men's 200 was all Wilson. He took to the track and picked up the lead right away and never looked back. Setting a new program record with his time of 21.27, he won the third individual title of his collegiate career, his first since 2012.
The distance races closed the individual races down again. Jenette Northey placed eighth in 17:57.22 in the 5,000, while Michelle Cline, in her first championship meet came in 10th with 17:59.33. Rachel Atwood, who held on to the lead for a large portion of the race rounded out MSU's competitors, placing 18th with a time of 18:06.76. Zachary Kughn placed a career-best sixth place in the men's 3,000, clocking in with 8:36.30. Trevor Polson and Kirk finished 15th and 17th, respectively.
The women's 4x400 comprised of Jaeger, Paige Squire, Hardarson and Antar boasted another all-conference finish, with a second place finish time of 3:43.61, marking a new program record, besting the previous time of 3:44.56 set back in 2001.
Nick Melone, Chris Wilson, John Daubert and Aaron Johnstone ran the men's 4x400 for an eighth place spot time of 3:20.38.
There were some really good things that happened this weekend but it just didn't get the points we hoped for," said head coach Dale Kennedy. "Will we be motivated or pushed down? I'd like to think we will focus on what did go our way and use that as the momentum for outdoor season. It's our choice how to handle this."
The Big Sky meet marks the close of the 2014 indoor season. While MSU will keep training, outdoor competition begins March 28 at the Al Manuel Invitational in Missoula, Mont.
