Friday, January 13
BOZEMAN
3:30 p.m.
Montana State University
vs
Montana State University Invitational
Matthew Gotta
Photo by: Kelly Gorham
Track & Field Set to Host MSU Invite Inside Worthington Arena Friday
1/11/2017 1:45:00 PM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field
Multiple universities in the state converge on Bozeman to compete at Brick Breeden Fieldhouse to begin 2017 indoor slate
Several track and field teams converge on the Montana State campus Friday for the MSU Invitational which starts at 3:30 p.m. inside of the Brick Breeden Fieldhouse. The event will be the first as a full team for the Bobcats after the opening Multis Meet which took place in Bozeman on Monday and Tuesday.
"This is our opportunity to get our season started and we're looking forward to it," Montana State head coach Dale Kennedy said. "We know in some of the training sessions there's been some pretty phenomenal things happening and we're hoping to see those things show up on Friday night."
Montana State is set to host multiple universities from the state of Montana to begin the 2017 indoor campaign. The University of Montana, Carroll College, MSU Billings and select athletes from Rocky Mountain College, Great Falls and Montana Western are scheduled to compete on the Mondo Super X surface in Worthington Arena.
"It'll be nice to get some other teams in here in a training environment," Kennedy said. "We see Montana quite a bit since they're here for most indoor meets we host, but it will be good to see some other uniforms out there besides blue and gold and crimson and gray."
Both the men's and women's teams make their debuts with different storylines for each.
The MSU men's team finished fifth at last year's Big Sky Indoor Conference Championship in Bozeman with just five seniors on the roster. The squad saw minimal turnover and returns 34 of the 50 individual points it achieved at the 2016 conference meet to the 2017 indoor roster. The Bobcats also return seven of their eight relay participants and will look to have balance across the sprints, hurdles, jumps and throws.
The women's team, meanwhile, will be looking to replace key figures that scored high-point totals a year ago at the Big Sky Championship. Gone from the indoor lineup are 2016 Big Sky champions Kaylee Schmitz and Casey Teska, along with then-senior point earners Leah Cook and Danielle Rider. Seniors Jessica Chrisp and Carter Theade, junior Layne Oliver and sophomore Alyssa Snyder return to the lineup after picking up points at the 2016 conference meet.
Plenty of opportunities will be available to underclassmen on the women's side – which includes a freshman class of 14 – to step up during the season and make an impact by the end of February.
"Ultimately, we'll have to pick a team of 26 men and 26 women to go to the indoor championships in Pocatello," Kennedy said. "How we'll probably pick that is on the basis of ranking on the descending order list and the make up of our roster. This is still the beginning of the selection process to get on to the team for the Big Sky Conference Championships, which we'll be evaluating as the weeks unfold."
The men's weight throw and high jump signify the start of the Montana State Invite at 3:30 p.m. Field events will run throughout the day while track events start at 5 p.m. with the women's and men's distance medley relay. A free live stream will be available for fans to keep up with the action on watchbigsky.com or on the Watch Big Sky app.
"Several of our event groups are just antsy (to compete)," Kennedy said. "They've been training since the end of August and they've only had the Blue and Gold meet to have some sort of test and competitive environment. I know they're really looking forward to (the meet)."
"This is our opportunity to get our season started and we're looking forward to it," Montana State head coach Dale Kennedy said. "We know in some of the training sessions there's been some pretty phenomenal things happening and we're hoping to see those things show up on Friday night."
Montana State is set to host multiple universities from the state of Montana to begin the 2017 indoor campaign. The University of Montana, Carroll College, MSU Billings and select athletes from Rocky Mountain College, Great Falls and Montana Western are scheduled to compete on the Mondo Super X surface in Worthington Arena.
"It'll be nice to get some other teams in here in a training environment," Kennedy said. "We see Montana quite a bit since they're here for most indoor meets we host, but it will be good to see some other uniforms out there besides blue and gold and crimson and gray."
Both the men's and women's teams make their debuts with different storylines for each.
The MSU men's team finished fifth at last year's Big Sky Indoor Conference Championship in Bozeman with just five seniors on the roster. The squad saw minimal turnover and returns 34 of the 50 individual points it achieved at the 2016 conference meet to the 2017 indoor roster. The Bobcats also return seven of their eight relay participants and will look to have balance across the sprints, hurdles, jumps and throws.
The women's team, meanwhile, will be looking to replace key figures that scored high-point totals a year ago at the Big Sky Championship. Gone from the indoor lineup are 2016 Big Sky champions Kaylee Schmitz and Casey Teska, along with then-senior point earners Leah Cook and Danielle Rider. Seniors Jessica Chrisp and Carter Theade, junior Layne Oliver and sophomore Alyssa Snyder return to the lineup after picking up points at the 2016 conference meet.
Plenty of opportunities will be available to underclassmen on the women's side – which includes a freshman class of 14 – to step up during the season and make an impact by the end of February.
"Ultimately, we'll have to pick a team of 26 men and 26 women to go to the indoor championships in Pocatello," Kennedy said. "How we'll probably pick that is on the basis of ranking on the descending order list and the make up of our roster. This is still the beginning of the selection process to get on to the team for the Big Sky Conference Championships, which we'll be evaluating as the weeks unfold."
The men's weight throw and high jump signify the start of the Montana State Invite at 3:30 p.m. Field events will run throughout the day while track events start at 5 p.m. with the women's and men's distance medley relay. A free live stream will be available for fans to keep up with the action on watchbigsky.com or on the Watch Big Sky app.
"Several of our event groups are just antsy (to compete)," Kennedy said. "They've been training since the end of August and they've only had the Blue and Gold meet to have some sort of test and competitive environment. I know they're really looking forward to (the meet)."
Players Mentioned
Multis
/ Women's Track and Field
Jumps
/ Women's Track and Field
Distance
/ Women's Track and Field
Multis
/ Women's Track and Field
Distance
/ Women's Track and Field
Distance
/ Women's Track and Field
Jumps
/ Women's Track and Field
Jumps
/ Women's Track and FieldBig Sky Preview
Friday, February 11
Track and Field Big Sky Championships
Monday, February 18
Coach Kennedy - Feb. 11, 2013
Tuesday, February 12
Coach Kennedy - Feb. 4, 2013
Tuesday, February 05
