Bobcats Make Final Road Trip of Regular Season to Compete in Montana Open

Saturday, April 29

Missoula, MT

TBA

Montana State University

Montana Open/Payton Jordan Invitational

Tiffani Finley

Photo by: Kelly Gorham

Bobcats Make Final Road Trip of Regular Season to Compete in Montana Open

4/27/2017 10:42:00 AM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

Meet Schedule Big Sky Notes

The regular season is winding down and the Montana State track and field teams make their final road trip ahead of the conference meet this weekend

By: Andrew Pedersen

The regular season is winding down and the Montana State track and field teams make their final road trip ahead of the conference meet this weekend. The Bobcats head to Missoula for the Montana Open at Dornblaser Field with a majority of events starting at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, April 29, while the women's and men's hammer throws take place Friday.

The open meet features nine universities with most coming from the NAIA Frontier Conference. Several teams will be in action Thursday during the multi-events portion of the meet.

"Obviously we know that we're competitive with Montana, but Carroll College comes into the mix and they have a really good track and field program," Montana State head coach Dale Kennedy said. "They'll be really competitive with both of our teams. MSU-Billings, Rocky and Great Falls will be in it so the field will be larger, there will be more heats and maybe less head to head competition between us and Montana. I think the meet will probably provide enough competition to produce some outstanding performances."

MSU comes off a split at the Cat-Griz Dual in Missoula where both team competitions were within six-point margins. Junior Kyle Douglass broke the dual shot put record with his toss of 59-08.25 while six marks during the meet forced updates to the Bobcat top-10 program list. The men earned a victory for the fourth straight year behind 10 first-place finishes and the women narrowly fell to the Griz despite earning seven event wins.

"For us, we just need to keep climbing," Kennedy said. "We've gotten better every week and we need to continue on that path this weekend. We need to come out of this meet as kind of a launching pad into the final tune up with the Tom Gage meet."

The Big Sky Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships take place in Sacramento this season from May 10-13. MSU hosts the Tom Gage Classic on Friday, May 5, at the Bobcat Track and Field Complex. That meet will serve as Senior Day for multiple Bobcats as graduation takes place the following day inside of Brick Breeden Fieldhouse.

With the outdoor season nearing its conclusion, MSU's coaching staff has its focus set on postseason events already and will be gearing its athletes up for the home stretch of the 2017 campaign.

"At this point in time, a lot of the training is tune-up like training and using races as part of that tune up," Kennedy said. "I think the thing you'll see this meet that will be different than last week is the doubling and tripling (of events) where kids were trying to score points. They may just run one or two events, doubling won't occur as often in this meet.

"Some of our kids may be running races more for development. For other kids, it may be different. I think there's a variable in emphasis in each of our event groups. It just depends on what the coaches and the athletes see as important at this point."

In the Polls/Rankings
The United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association announced the fourth edition of the Mountain Regional rankings on Monday. The MSU men's team came in at 13th with an index score of 226.44. The Bobcat women jumped four spots up in the Mountain Region Rankings to 11th following the third edition, and moved up to 10th this Monday with an index score of 263.55.

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 – 11th, Discus (186-00) | 25th, Shot Put (59-08.25)
Amanda Jaynes – 27th, 400 Hurdles (59.62)
Noah Martin – T31st, High Jump (06-10.75)
Jacqueline Verlanic – 36th, Hammer Throw (191-04)
Alyssa Snyder – 9th, 10,000m (33:45.87)
Carley VonHeeder – 35th, Javelin (150-05)
Calvin Root – 49th, Hammer Throw (195-06)
Christie Schiel – 37th, 800m (2:07.89)
Jessica Chrisp – 45th, Heptathlon (4,942)
Casey Teska – 29th, Pole Vault (12-11.50)
Leslie Gappa – 47th, Javelin (146-11)

MSU Record Book Update
A total of 18 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, 59-08.25, 4th (Set April 22) | Discus, 186-00, 2nd (Set April 22)
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, 59.62, 3rd (Set April 22)
Truanne Roginske: Triple Jump, 38-05.50, 6th (Set April 22)
Jacqueline Verlanic: Hammer, 191-04, 4th (Set April 22)
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)
Leslie Gappa: Javelin, 146-11, 8th (Set April 22)
Madison Liechty: 3,000 Steeplechase, 9th (Set April 22)

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 (48.60),
800m – Samuel Bloom 6th (1:52.04), Cameron Carroll 7th (1:52.06)
1,500m – Diego Leon 17th (3:53.34), Cameron Carroll 20th (3:55.70)
3,000m Steeplechase – Zach Kughn 6th (9:21.95), Anthony Schmalz 12th (9:30.49)
5,000m – Diego Leon 9th (14:13.20), Ty Mogan 20th (14:57.77)
10,000m – Ty Mogan 4th (30:31.79),
110m Hurdles – Mason Storm 10th (15.11), Christopher Lange 18th (15.39)
400m Hurdles – Christopher Lange 8th (54.14), Caleb Neth 14th (55.91), Jared Schwend 20th (55.94)
4x100m Relay – 42.76 (10th)
4x400m Relay – 3:18.70 (7th)
High Jump – Noah Martin T1st (6-10.75), Aidan Pedersen T14th (6-04.75)
Pole Vault – Graham Reid T4th (15-01), Austin Decker T4th (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 15th (22-11.75)
Triple Jump – Trevor Simanski 13th (46-00), Alex Lewis 14th (44-06)
Shot Put – Kyle Douglass 3rd (59-08.25), Alec Nehring T9th (53-06.50), Calvin Root 14th (49-05), Mason Storm 18th (45-04.25)
Discus – Kyle Douglass 1st (186-00), Alec Nehring 9th (160-02), Calvin Root 14th (154-04)
Hammer Throw – Calvin Root 2nd (195-06), Alec Nehring 17th (158-07)
Javelin – Ty Bermes 4th (201-04)
Decathlon – Mason Storm 4th (6,327), Dalen Hargett 7th (6,202)

Women's Rankings
100m – Truanne Roginske 10th (12.08)
200m – McKenna Ramsay 6th (24.96), Jessica Chrisp 17th (25.39)
400m – McKenna Ramsay 3rd (55.19)
800m – Christie Schiel 2nd (2:07.89), Kendra Larson 11th (2:12.45), McKenna Ramsay 14th (2:13.00)
1,500m – Christie Schiel 8th (4:30.89), Alyssa Snyder 9th (4:32.63)
3,000m Steeplechase – Madison Liechty 10th (11:10.14), Kendra Larson 14th (11:37.03), Sierra Tucker 19th (11:51.88)
5,000m – Alyssa Snyder 4th (16:45.46)
10,000m – Alyssa Snyder 1st (33:45.87)
100 Hurdles – Amanda Jaynes 9th (14.47)
400 Hurdles - Amanda Jaynes 2nd (59.62), Hailey Phillips 13th (1:03.36)
4x100m Relay – 47.46 (6th)
4x400m Relay – 3:46.68 (3rd)
High Jump – Jessica Chrisp T8th (5-05.25), Carlie Haeffner T20th (5-03), Shey Hannum T20th (5-03)
Pole Vault – Casey Teska 4th (12-11.50), Isabella Calabrese T7th (12-00), Tiffani Finley T16th (11-06.25), Aubrey Kessel T20th (11-00.25)
Long Jump – Megan Ralstin 18th (18-03), Jessica Chrisp 19th (18-01.75)
Triple Jump – Truanne Roginske 7th (38-05.50), Megan Ralstin 13th (36-10.50)
Shot Put – Lindsay Benson 14th (43-08.50)
Hammer Throw – Jacqueline Verlanic 4th (191-04), Callen Crawford 7th (180-07), Cailyn Schroeder 18th (163-02)
Javelin – Carley VonHeeder 1st (150-05), Leslie Gappa 5th (146-11), Tiffany Shearman 10th (137-02)
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.