Big Sky Championship on Tap for Bobcat Track & Field

Thursday, February 23

Pocatello, ID

11 a.m.

Montana State University

Big Sky Indoor Championship - Day One

Christopher Lange

Photo by: Kelly Gorham

2/21/2017 10:07:00 AM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

Meet Information Meet Information Meet Schedule Meet Schedule Live Stream Live Stream Big Sky Performance List Big Sky Performance List

The Montana State track and field team looks to contend in several events for conference titles as the Bobcats begin their pursuit for a Big Sky Championship Thursday

By: Andrew Pedersen

The Montana State track and field teams head to Pocatello, Idaho, for the 2017 Big Sky Men's and Women's Indoor Track and Field Championships which begin Thursday, Feb. 23.

The first day of action starts at 11 a.m. and consists of the women's pentathlon and the first four events of the men's heptathlon inside of Idaho State's Holt Arena. The final three events of the heptathlon begin at 10 a.m. Friday with the start of individual events taking place at 1:30 p.m. Saturday's slate starts at 10 a.m. and continues to the end of championship events at approximately 4 p.m.

"This (championship) looks like it will be a lot of fun going in," Montana State head coach Dale Kennedy said. "We have some kids that are going to vie for conference championships. We have a lot of kids that could legitimately make a run at all-conference teams, which is a finish in the top three. I think there are several kids that are ranked in the top three or four, and any kid that is up there has a shot."

Both the men's and women's teams have several Bobcats that will be in contention to stand atop the podium in their respective events.

On the women's side, junior Amanda Jaynes owns top-five times on the Big Sky performance list in three events. Senior Christie Schiel and sophomore Alyssa Snyder have two top-four times apiece, with Schiel possessing the fastest time in the conference this year in the 800-meter run.

Freshman McKenna Ramsay currently sits in line for Big Sky honors heading into the meet with the third fastest mark in the 400, while senior Jessica Chrisp and sophomore Isabella Calabrese are fifth in the pentathlon and heptathlon, respectively.

Both of MSU's relays also have the quickest times at this point in the season.

The men's team has a strong group of contenders heading into the Big Sky meet.

Junior Diego Leon owns the fastest mark in the mile and is fourth on the Big Sky performance list in the 5,000. His mile time of 3:59.13 sits just outside of qualifying for the NCAA Division I Indoor Championships at 18th in the nation.

Sophomore Samuel Bloom and freshman Noah Martin have the top marks in the conference in the 800 and high jump, respectively.

Throwers Kyle Douglass and Calvin Root look to contend at the top of the shot put and weight throw, with both sitting in second place heading into this weekend.

Sophomore Jadin Casey and junior Alex Lewis are currently fourth in the 400 and long jump, while Mason Storm returns to the Big Sky meet after taking fifth in the heptathlon a year ago. MSU's men's 4x400 relay and distance medley relay are second among Big Sky members at this time.

"It's been a progression all season long for us and we've continued for the most part to get better every week of the season," Kennedy said. "Hopefully we can go up another level. Going in, you look at the number of kids that we had in the top 10 total between our men and women, we're combined one of the top three or four teams in the Big Sky going into this thing. I like those odds."

The Bobcats look to improve on last year's finishes at the Big Sky Indoor Championships after a season that saw both squads see major strides. The men's team took first in each dual-format meet it competed in, while the women's team finished first in one meet and runner-up in two more.

The women's squad returns three members that scored points at last season's indoor meet which excludes Schiel who's won the last two outdoor Big Sky titles in the 800. The men's team returns nine point scorers which includes Storm who also took first in the decathlon at the outdoor meet.

"We've power scored (the meet) along the way over the last couple of weeks and we had our men at third and our women at fourth," Kennedy said. "I think we're going to be somewhere in the upper third of the Big Sky conference if we just perform at the level that we're at right now. That is good if you consider we had a team that finished eighth and fifth a year ago. We're moving our way back up to the top end of the Big Sky Conference and that's certainly a mission that we're on."

Montana State will bring all 52 combined it's allowed to travel to Pocatello for the conference championship. The Bobcats will look to see who can make a run to score points that may not be expected, with a deeper roster thanks to qualifying standards not being in the mix.

"More than anything, it's really all about us," Kennedy said. "What can we do collectively, that's sort of been our thing all year. Being all in has been our team mantra.

"I think our event coaches have done a great job preparing their kids for the championship. This is always fun to bring the whole family together and get after it and see what we can accomplish as a team."

Follow Along
A live stream will be provided for individual events for two days of the Big Sky Conference Championships. Viewers can begin watching the championships online at 1 p.m. Friday, with individual events beginning at 1:30 p.m. that day, through the final event of action. The stream will pick back up at 10 a.m. Saturday and run through the conclusion of championship events.

In the Polls
The United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association announced its fourth week of regional rankings on Monday, Feb. 13, and the Bobcats remain high in both the men's and women's Mountain Region polls.

The men's team has a regional index score of 101.41 for ninth in the region, improving a spot from a week ago. The Bobcats have the second highest ranking in the region, trailing eighth-place Northern Arizona.

The women's team sits in 11th in the regional poll, dropping one spot from last week's release. The Bobcats are third among Big Sky schools in the Mountain Region, with Montana (sixth) and Northern Arizona (seventh) ahead in the poll.

MSU Record Book Update
Fourteen Montana State student-athletes have forced updates to the program record book during the 2017 indoor campaign

Noah Martin made his first appearance during his opening campaign in the MSU record book. His 4,810 points in the heptathlon at the MSU Multis Meet on Jan. 10 puts him at eighth all time in the event. Martin also became the first Bobcat to join the MSU all-time top 10 list in the high jump in 20 years during the Last Chance Qualifier on Feb. 17. His first-place jump of 06-11 placed him in a tie for fourth in the event in Bobcat history with Tom Clymore's 1992 mark.

Amanda Jaynes jumped into a tie for ninth on the MSU all-time performance list in the 60 hurdles at the MSU Invitational on Jan. 13, and has now topped her best on two occasions. Recently, she completed a time of 8.71 for a tie for fifth in the event all-time at the Bozeman Running Co. meet on Feb. 4. Jaynes also joined the top-10 standings in the 200 at ninth earlier in the season, then earned another personal best of 24.50 at the Last Chance Qualifier for the fifth best time in the event.

Kyle Douglass improved his personal-best mark to 58-04.50 in the shot put at the MSU Invite on Jan. 13, but remained fifth on the all-time list behind Dennis Black's 59-07 throw in 1994.

Two distance runners also made an impact on the men's 5,000 run all-time list. Matthew Gotta's altitude-adjusted first-place time of 14:07.47 at the MSU Invitational moved him to fifth in program history just behind assistant coach Lyle Weese. Diego Leon also sits now at sixth with his time of 14:10.12 set during the MSU Invite in the 5,000.

Leon has made two jumps in the mile top 10 list. Leon improved from 4:04.99 to 3:59.13 (altitude and track converted marks) in two consecutive meets, going from seventh to third in the event on Feb. 4. Leon became just the third Bobcat ever to eclipse the four-minute mark, joining the likes of Patrick Casey (2011) and Cristian Soratos (2015).

Christie Schiel has had two performances alter the Bobcat record book. Schiel improved her MSU all-time fourth place mark in the 800 during the Jan. 20 meet to 2:09.15, then earned the seventh best time in program history in the mile by crossing the line in 5:00.37 for a converted 4:51.01.

Senior Daryan Box improved her all-time ranking in the 60 dash in the Jan. 20 meet in Worthington Arena, then broke it again at the Last Chance Qualifier. Her altitude adjusted time of 7.72 beat her previous time of 7.83, moving her up from ninth to fifth on the Bobcat indoor record list.

Kendra Larson also joined the MSU record book this season. Larson completed a lifetime best 2:12.95 finish in the 800 at the Powder River Dual Jan. 28, the ninth fastest time in program history, edging current Bobcat Taylor Buschy by .02 seconds.

Calvin Root altered the record book when he took first in the weight throw with a mark of 61-07.50 (18.78m) at the Powder River Dual. His throw moved him up from 10th to fifth in the event in program history, with his new mark outdistancing his previous one by over a foot.

Two newcomers joined the list during the Feb. 4 Dual Meet at Worthington Arena. Samuel Bloom earned a lifetime-best finish of 1:52.85, which converts to 1:50.65 and propels him to sixth in program history. McKenna Ramsay won the 400 with a time of 56.72, which converted to 56.09 puts her ninth all-time in the MSU record book.

Sophomore Alyssa Snyder wrapped up a solid 17:08.16 altitude-adjusted time in the 5,000 at the Mountain States Games on Feb. 4. That mark put her third all-time on the list ahead of the Big Sky Championships. Also in the same meet, Isabella Calabrese and Carter Theade both earned vaults of 12-05.50. That mark put them in a tie in the record book at eighth.

Another mark to not overlook is the performance MSU's distance medley relay squad put together at the MSU Invite. The MSU squad of Kendra Larson, McKenna Ramsay, Kimberly Parsell and Christie Schiel completed an altitude-adjusted time of 11:45.63, the second fastest ever in the event by a Bobcat relay team.

Big Sky Performance List Update
Men's Rankings
200m – Jadin Casey 11th (22.11)
400m – Jadin Casey 4th (48.42), Christopher Lange 10th (49.07), Bill Yeager 20th (49.98)
800m – Samuel Bloom 1st (1:50.65), Frankie Hoerner 6th (1:52.28), Diego Leon 16th (1:54.20)
Mile – Diego Leon 1st (3:59.13), Zach Kughn 9th (4:08.39), Martin Ponce 13th (4:10.39), Andrew Vandine 19th (4:14.35)
3,000m – Zach Kughn 9th (8:20.14), Ty Mogan 12th (8:23.93), Diego Leon 14th (8:25.71)
5,000m –Diego Leon 4th (14:10.12), Ty Mogan 8th (14:21.29), Zach Kughn 11th (14:43.40), Adam Wollant 16th (14:59.68)
60m Hurdles – Mason Storm 15th (8.45), Christopher Lange T19th (8.57)
4x400 Relay – MSU A 2nd (3:16.71)
DMR – MSU A 2nd (10:02.02)
High Jump – Noah Martin 1st (06-11), Aidan Pedersen 7th (06-07)
Pole Vault – Luke Middelstadt T6th (15-07), Graham Reid T6th (15-07), Austin Decker T9th (15-05.50), Branygen Andersen T13th (15-01), Jake Bradford T13th (15-01), Knox Semenza T13th (15-01), Noah Martin 17th (14-07.25),
Long Jump – Alex Lewis 4th (23-04.50), Caleb Neth 5th (23-04), Mason Storm 10th (22-09.75), Trevor Simanski 15th (22-03.75)
Triple Jump – Trevor Simanski 10th (46-04.75), Alex Lewis 12th (45-11.75)
Shot Put – Kyle Douglass 2nd (58-04.50), Alex Nehring T10th (53-01.50), Calvin Root 13th (51-03)
Weight Throw – Calvin Root 2nd (61-07.50), Alec Nehring 16th (50-04.50)
Heptathlon – Noah Martin 4th (4,835), Caleb Neth T8th (4,639)

Women's Rankings
60m – Daryan Box 8th (7.72), Truanne Roginske T16th (7.85)
200m – Amanda Jaynes 4th (24.50), Daryan Box 8th (25.06), Taylor Buschy T15th (25.42)
400m – McKenna Ramsay 3rd (56.09), Amanda Jaynes 5th (56.29), Taylor Buschy 10th (56.75), Elisabeth Krieger 18th (58.06), Hailey Phillips 19th (58.14)
800m – Christie Schiel 1st (2:09.15), Kimberly Parsell 7th (2:12.30), Kendra Larson 9th (2:12.95), McKenna Ramsay 11th (2:13.32)
Mile – Christie Schiel 4th (4:51.01), Louisa Serpe 9th (4:56.50), Madison Liechty 18th (5:01.39), Sierra Tucker 20th (5:03.34)
3000m – Alyssa Snyder 4th (9:46.52), Louisa Serpe 11th (9:58.44), Sierra Tucker 19th (10:09.50)
5000m – Alyssa Snyder 4th (17:08.16), Morgan Jones 17th (17:56.64)
60m Hurdles – Amanda Jaynes 4th (8.70), Jessica Chrisp 18th (9.08)
4x400 Relay – MSU A 1st (3:47.84)
DMR – MSU A 1st (11:45.63)
High Jump – Jessica Chrisp 6th (05-06)
Pole Vault – Isabella Calabrese T5th (12-05-50), Carter Theade T5th (12-05.50)
Long Jump – Jessica Chrisp 19thth (18-02.25)
Triple Jump – Truanne Roginske 12th (36-10.25), Megan Ralstin 15th (36-04.00)
Shot Put – Lindsay Benson 16th (43-04.25)
Weight Throw – Jacqueline Verlanic 7th (56-04.75), Callen Crawford 13th (54-08), Cailyn Schroeder 20th (52-01.75)
Pentathlon – Jessica Chrisp 5th (3,405), Isabella Calabrese 20th (3,033)

Big Sky Athlete of the Week Tally
Three Bobcats have earned weekly honors from the Big Sky Conference after four opportunities.

Diego Leon is MSU's most recent weekly award winner, earning the Big Sky honors Monday for his sub-four minute mile at the Bozeman Running Co. Dual Meet Invite Saturday, Feb. 4. The junior crossed the line in 4:07.52, which converted to 3:59.13. It propelled Leon to the top of the Big Sky performance list and jumped him to 11th in the nation in the event.

Christie Schiel was named the Big Sky Women's Track Athlete of the Week on Jan. 23 by topping a previous lifetime best at MSU's dual meet on Jan. 20. Schiel placed first in the 800 with a time of 2.11.37. Her altitude and track size converted time of 2:09.15 sat her atop the conference and 21st in the nation. She also served as the third leg of MSU's top 4x400 relay team that finished in a time of 3:54.42.

Kyle Douglass earned the best shot put of his collegiate career by throwing 58-04.50 (17.79m) at the MSU Invite Jan. 13 to earn Big Sky Men's Field Athlete of the Week recognition on Jan. 17. The throw was the only one over 17 meters and just one of two over 16 meters at the Invite. His shot put also placed him atop the early Big Sky Conference performance chart, leading the field at the time by over six inches.

Bobcats Selected Fourth, Eighth in Big Sky Coaches' Preseason Poll
The Big Sky Conference released its 2017 Indoor Track and Field coaches' preseason polls Wednesday, Jan. 18, with the Montana State men's team selected fourth and the women's squad eighth.

MSU has found success in recent history during the indoor season. The Bobcat men earned runner-up finishes in 2012 and 2013 and also completed a third-place performance in 2015. The MSU women's team has also had solid showings at the Big Sky meet, taking runner-up during the 2012 and 2015 campaigns while finishing third in 2014.