Montana State, Montana Square Off in Annual Cat-Griz Dual in Missoula Saturday

Saturday, April 22

Missoula, MT

TBA

Montana State University

Cat-Griz Dual

Frankie Hoerner and Sam Bloom

Photo by: Kelly Gorham

Montana State, Montana Square Off in Annual Cat-Griz Dual in Missoula Saturday

4/20/2017 12:09:00 PM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

Meet Schedule Cat-Griz Dual Records Big Sky Notes

"The meet is steeped in tradition and I’ve encouraged our kids to treat it with their upmost respect and honor it with their very best performance and that was my ammunition to the team" - Dale Kennedy

By: Andrew Pedersen

A meet steeped in tradition is on the horizon for the Montana State track and field teams when the Bobcats travel to Missoula to renew a rivalry matchup that began 111 years ago.

The 'Cats and Griz square off in the annual Cat-Griz Dual at Dornblaser Field Saturday with field events starting at 11:15 a.m. and track events beginning at 12 p.m. The women's and men's hammer throw will be the lone events on Friday and start at 3 p.m.

Montana State has won the previous three duals on both the men's and women's sides. The men's team trails Montana 55-28 in the all-time series, while the Bobcat women hold an 18-16 edge.

"This meet has a tendency to be pretty close every year if you look at the scores," Montana State head coach Dale Kennedy said. "I think one of the things that is a focus for us this week is that, 'yes we're an individual sport,' but we're also a team sport. This is one of those times when team takes on a little more meaning."

Last season, the Bobcats swept the Griz by a 100.50-93.50 score in the men's dual and a 104-96 total in the women's dual. The MSU women captured first place in 10 of 19 events, while the Bobcat men won just eight events, but went 1-2 in seven outings to distance themselves for the win.

"I encouraged the kids to look at the dual meet records and realize what sort of performances have occurred at this meet," Kennedy said. "There are some incredible marks, some that are national-level marks that would still be competitive today in the NCAA Championships.

"I expect that this weekend has the potential to be a close meet and I think that we're going to see some great performances. In some cases, I think some of the meet records will be challenged if not broken. It should be a great, competitive meet."

A majority of the Bobcats return to action after a group of roughly 20 student-athletes traveled to California for a four-day swing through the state. MSU competed in four separate meets with several Bobcats finishing with solid showings.

MSU accumulated two school records, 13 personal-best marks and 12 season bests over the four-meet span. That group of athletes will try to recover from the long trip of action while the remaining Bobcats look to get back in the swing of things ahead of the conference meet.

"We're three weeks out from the Big Sky meet and we're closing in on it," Kennedy said. "People are starting to get to that level they'll be at or close to it by the end of the season.

"When I look at our California trip, it kind of tells me we haven't leveled off yet, that we're still getting better. Again, there's a lot of kids that didn't get to go down there that probably would have had the same personal performance, but the tragedy is we couldn't take everybody to it. But, this week we can and we have an opportunity to continue to grow."

In the Polls/Rankings
The United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association announced the third edition of the Mountain Regional rankings on Monday. The MSU men's team came in at 14th for the second consecutive week with an index score of 221.96. The Bobcat women jumped four spots up in the Mountain Region Rankings to 11th with an index score of 247.71.

Multiple Bobcats also have times that rank among the best to be in contention for the NCAA Division I West Preliminary Rounds.

Division I West Region Rankings
Kyle Douglass – 13th, Discus (184-04) | 38th, Shot Put (57-07)
Amanda Jaynes – 26th, 400 Hurdles (59.65)
Noah Martin – T29th, High Jump (06-10.75)
Jacqueline Verlanic – 46th, Hammer Throw (183-07)
Alyssa Snyder – 9th, 10,000m (33:45.87)
Carley VonHeeder – 33rd, Javelin (150-05)
Leslie Gappa – 48th, Javelin (142-08)
Calvin Root – 42nd, Hammer Throw (195-06)
Mason Storm – 46th, Decathlon (6,327)
Christie Schiel – 28th, 800m (2:07.89)
Jessica Chrisp – 45th, Heptathlon (4,942)

MSU Record Book Update
A total of 16 Bobcats have forced updates to the Montana State track and field all-time top-10 list during the 2017 outdoor season. At six heading into the four-day California swing, 10 new Bobcats found their way on to the program history charts with their performances among the best in the nation from April 12-15.

Men's Top 10 Updates (During 2017 Season)
Samuel Bloom: 800m, 1:52.04, 9th (Set April 14)
Cameron Carroll: 800m, 1:52.06, 10th (Set April 15)
Diego Leon: 1500m, 14:13.20, 9th (Set April 13)
Noah Martin: High Jump, 6-10.75, 5th (Set April 1)
Alex Lewis: Long Jump, 24-01.75 3rd (Set April 15)
Kyle Douglass: Shot Put, 57-05, 8th (Set April 7) | Discus, 184-04, 2nd (Set April 14)
Calvin Root: Hammer, 195-06, T10th (Set April 15)

Women's Top 10 Updates (During 2017 Season, *School Record*)
McKenna Ramsay: 400m, 55:19, 8th (Set April 15)
Christie Schiel: *800m, 2:07.89, 1st (Set April 14)* | 1500m, 4:30.89, 8th (Set April 1)
Alyssa Snyder: 5000m, 16:45.46, 6th (Set April 7) | *10000m, 33:45.87, 1st (Set April 13)*
Amanda Jaynes: 400m Hurdles, 59.65, 3rd (Set April 13)
Truanne Roginske: Triple Jump, 37-09.50, 10th (Set April 1)
Jacqueline Verlanic: Hammer, 183-07, 5th (Set April 14)
Callen Crawford: Hammer, 180-07, 8th (Set April 13)
Carley VonHeeder: Javelin, 150-05, 7th (Set April 14)
Jessica Chrisp: Heptathlon, 4942 points, 8th (Set April 13)

Big Sky Athlete of the Week Tally
Junior Kyle Douglass earned Montana State's first athlete of the week honor from the Big Sky Conference during the outdoor season on Monday, April 17.

He was named the Big Sky Men's Field Athlete of the Week for his solid showing across four separate meets in three days for the Bobcats in California from April 13-15. He jumped to the top of the Big Sky performance list in the discus with his throw of 184-04 during the trip. His throw also put him 13th in the West Region and 28th nationally in the event.

Big Sky Performance List Update
Men's Rankings
100m – Mitch Horning 13th (10.76)
200m – Mitchel Horning 19th (22.03)
400m – Jadin Casey 8th (48.64),
800m – Samuel Bloom 5th (1:52.04), Cameron Carroll 5=6th (1:52.06)
1,500m – Diego Leon 17th (3:54.75), Cameron Carroll 19th (3:55.70), Zach Kughn 20th (3:55.85),
3,000m Steeplechase – Zach Kughn 6th (9:21.95), Anthony Schmalz 19th (9:50.27)
5,000m – Diego Leon 7th (14:13.20), Ty Mogan 17th (14:57.77), Adam Wollant 18th (14:57.88)
10,000m – Ty Mogan 4th (30:31.79),
110m Hurdles – Mason Storm 10th (15.11), Christopher Lange 19th (15.52)
400m Hurdles – Christopher Lange 9th (54.87), Caleb Neth 14th (55.96), Jared Schwend 20th (56.94)
4x100m Relay – 42.79 (10th)
4x400m Relay – 3:18.70 (6th)
High Jump – Noah Martin T1st (6-10.75), Aidan Pedersen T13th (6-04.75)
Pole Vault – Graham Reid T3rd (15-01), Austin Decker T3rd (15-01), Jake Bradford T10th (14-07.25), Branygen Andersen T10th (14-07.25), Knox Semenza T15th (14-03.25), Noah Martin T15th (14-03.25)
Long Jump – Alex Lewis 6th (24-01.75), Caleb Neth 20th (22-05.75)
Triple Jump – Alex Lewis 14th (44-06), Trevor Simanski 20th (40-07)
Shot Put – Kyle Douglass 3rd (57-07), Alec Nehring T8th (53-06.50), Calvin Root 14th (49-05), Mason Storm 17th (45-04.25)
Discus – Kyle Douglass 1st (184-04), Alec Nehring 9th (157-09), Calvin Root 13th (150-07)
Hammer Throw – Calvin Root 2nd (195-06), Alec Nehring 15th (158-07)
Javelin – Ty Bermes 14th (170-11)
Decathlon – Mason Storm 4th (6,327), Dalen Hargett 7th (6,202)

Women's Rankings
100m – Truanne Roginske 10th (12.08)
200m – McKenna Ramsay 6th (24.98), Jessica Chrisp 17th (25.39)
400m – McKenna Ramsay 3rd (55.19)
800m – Christie Schiel 2nd (2:07.89), McKenna Ramsay 9th (2:13.00)
1,500m – Christie Schiel 7th (4:30.89), Alyssa Snyder 8th (4:32.63)
3,000m Steeplechase – Madison Liechty 11th (11:14.33), Kendra Larson 14th (11:37.03)
5,000m – Alyssa Snyder 4th (16:45.46)
10,000m – Alyssa Snyder 1st (33:45.87)
100 Hurdles – Amanda Jaynes T10th (14.53)
400 Hurdles - Amanda Jaynes 2nd (59.65), Hailey Phillips 11th (1:03.36)
4x100m Relay – 47.91 (7th)
4x400m Relay – 3:56.09 (7th)
High Jump – Jessica Chrisp T7th (5-05.25), Carlie Haeffner T19th (5-03), Shey Hannum T19th (5-03)
Pole Vault – Casey Teska T4th (12-09.50), Isabella Calabrese T7th (12-00), Tiffani Finley T15th (11-06.25), Aubrey Kessel T19th (11-00.25)
Long Jump – Megan Ralstin 18th (18-03), Jessica Chrisp T19th (18-01.75)
Triple Jump – Truanne Roginske 9th (37-09.50)
Shot Put – Lindsay Benson 12th (43-08.50)
Hammer Throw – Jacqueline Verlanic 4th (183-07), Callen Crawford 7th (180-07), Cailyn Schroeder 16th (161-00)
Javelin – Carley VonHeeder 1st (150-05), Leslie Gappa 5th (142-08), Tiffany Shearman 15th (128-04)
Heptathlon – Jessica Chrisp 5th (4,942)

Bobcat Teams Selected Among Contenders Big Sky Coaches' Preseason Poll
Both the men's and women's teams were listed among the top contenders in the 2017 Big Sky Conference Outdoor Track and Field coaches' preseason poll, which was announced by the league on March 21.

The Montana State men's team was selected third by the Big Sky coaches with 113 points. Northern Arizona was a unanimous choice to win its sixth straight title outdoors with the maximum 144 points, while Southern Utah was the runner-up with 129 points. Those three schools separated themselves from the remaining nine in the preseason poll, with Sacramento State (99) and Montana (97) also high on the list.

The MSU women's squad topped expectations during the indoor slate and will again look to do so heading into the outdoor season. The Bobcats were picked fourth by their peers in the preseason poll and accumulated 100 points. The Lumberjacks are predicted to finish in first by their peers and earned 140 points behind eight first-place votes. Montana was picked by four to finish first but was runner-up on the list with 129. Sacramento State follows the Griz on the list with 118 points.

Montana State has seen success on both sides in recent years. The men's team has finished in the top five at the conference meet in each of the last six years, with runner-up finishes in 2012 and 2014. The women's team finished as runner-up at the Big Sky Championships in 2012 and 2015. Last season, the men's and women's squads took fifth and eighth, respectively.