Montana State Cruises to Double Dual Victory at Bozeman Running Co. Invite

Friday, February 3

BOZEMAN

2 p.m.

Montana State University

Bozeman Running Co. Dual Meet Invite (Multis)

Samuel Bloom

Photo by: Kelly Gorham

Montana State Cruises to Double Dual Victory at Bozeman Running Co. Invite

2/4/2017 6:41:00 PM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

Final Results Team Scores

The Bobcats crush several notable times on the program's all-time top 10 list en route to sweeps over Idaho State and Weber State Saturday

By: Andrew Pedersen

BOZEMAN, Mont. – The Montana State track and field teams continued to hit their stride and had several notable performances as the Bobcats earned sweeps over Idaho State and Weber State Saturday, Feb. 4, at the Bozeman Running Company Dual Meet Invite inside of Worthington Arena.

The Bobcats' men's squad dominated the opposition, posting a 100-36 win over the Bengals and 91.50-52.50 victory against the Wildcats. The women's squad earned some key event first-place finishes at the end to top Weber State 77-70, while the Bobcats also netted a 93.50-44.50 defeat over Idaho State.

"This was our best meet of the year so far," Montana State head coach Dale Kennedy said. "Every week we've continued to get better and this was like a whole other level. There were so many lifetime best marks and just as many season-best marks as well. It's really a great indication of the direction we're going. We just have to continue to embrace the process and be all in."

The MSU record book saw plenty of updates following the conclusion of the meet Saturday

Diego Leon put on one of the top showings of the day with his mile run.

The junior earned a first-place finish by crossing the line in 4:07.52, which converted with altitude and track size to a sub-four minute mark of 3:59.13. Leon became just the third Bobcat to ever eclipse the mark, joining the likes of Patrick Casey (2011) and Cristian Soratos (2015). It also is the seventh best time in NCAA Division I track and field this season.

"The mile was one where I looked at my stopwatch and thought 'oh my gosh, what a performance,'" Kennedy said. "Theres a big meet in Seattle (going on) that will have a multiple number of runners under four minutes. But, when they see this kid ran what he did in Bozeman, they're going to be surprised."

Junior Amanda Jaynes also continued her assault on the MSU record book by again moving up the charts. Her personal-best time of 8.69 in the 60-meter hurdles puts her fifth in the event in program history. Senior Christie Schiel also forced another update to the Bobcat all-time top 10 list. She earned a victory in the mile in 5:00.37, which converted to 4:51.01 gives her the seventh best time in the event at MSU.

Newcomers to the all-time top 10 list are Samuel Bloom and McKenna Ramsay.

Bloom earned a lifetime-best 1:52.85 finish in 800. That time, converted to 1:50.65, propelled him to sixth in MSU history and to the top of the Big Sky Conference performance list this season. Ramsay picked up a victory in the 400 in 56.72. Her converted mark of 56.09 puts her ninth all-time in the MSU record book and second this year in the conference.

In all, the Bobcats earned 17 event victories while accumulating over 35 personal bests during the Invitational.

Daryan Box (60), Kendra Larson (800) each finished first in their respective events for the Bobcats on the women's side. Isabella Calabrese earned one of MSU's last victories, earning a jump-off win and clearing a personal-high 12-05.50 (3.80m) in the pole vault. MSU's Taylor Buschy, Box, Hailey Phillips and Ramsey also won the 4x400 relay with a season-best time of 3:53.22.

A running list of Bobcats that achieved personal bests during the meet includes Jessica Chrisp, Courtney Stromme, Truanne Roginske, Kimberly Parsell, Ellen Brooks, Louisa Serpe, Madison Liecthy, Megan Ralstin, Sierra Tucker, Jacqueline Verlanic, Tiffany Finley, Buschy and Phillips.

Chrisp, Jaynes and Ralstin each finished in the top three in two events while Buschy, Parsell, Serpe, Verlanic, Lindsay Benson and Carter Theade each did in one event.

Jadin Casey (200), Ty Mogan (5,000), Noah Martin (high jump), Luke Middelstadt (pole vault), Alex Lewis (long jump), Trevor Simanski (triple jump), Kyle Douglass (shot put) and Calvin Root (weight throw) all earned first-place finishes on the men' side.

MSU's 4x400 relay team of Christopher Lange, Tyler McQueen, Bill Yeager and Casey also took first in the event with a season-best 3:19.40 finish, which is the best time in the Big Sky this year.

The Bobcats' running list of personal bests achieved includes Mcqueen, Justin Paige, Yeager, Frankie Hoerner, Gannon Chamberlain, Brock Sandry, Branygen Andersen, Graham Reid, Noah Martin and Alec Nehring. Zach Kughn led the way with two lifetime marks during the Invite.

Lewis led the way for MSU in top-three finishes with three while McQueen, Paige, Lange, Hoerner, Kughn, Nehring, Martin Ponce, Aidan Pedersen, Austin Decker and Caleb Neth all completed third-place showings in their respective events.

The Bobcats travel to the site of the Big Sky Conference Indoor Championships next for the Mountain States Games. Montana State will be competing at the home of Idaho State in Pocatello from Feb. 10-11.

"Going to Pocatello this weekend is going to be something we really need to do," Kennedy said. "We have very few kids that have ever been to Pocatello on that track. Indoor track is so different with the types and configurations, so I think this is going to be really important to see how we adjust."