Friday, March 30
Missoula, MT
4:45 p.m.
Montana State University
at
Al Manuel Northwest Dual Meet Invitational - Day One
Photo by: Big Sky Conference
Montana State Opens Outdoor Track Slate at Al Manuel Dual Invitational
3/28/2018 2:25:00 PM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field
The 2018 outdoor track and field season opens this weekend for Montana State when the Bobcats travel to Missoula for the Al Manuel Northwest Dual Invitational hosted by Montana
The 2018 outdoor track and field season opens this weekend for Montana State when the Bobcats travel to Missoula for the Al Manuel Northwest Dual Invitational hosted by Montana. The men's and women's hammer throw take place on Friday afternoon, while the remaining events begin at 10 a.m. on Saturday at Dornblaser Field.
"It's a re-start for our kids," Montana State head coach Dale Kennedy said. "We've been away from competition for five weeks now and any special types of training. We're kind of entering this in more of a preparation mode compared to a peaking time of the season. We just hope to get better every week during the season."
The Bobcats will make their first competitive appearance of 2018 since wrapping up the Big Sky Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships in Flagstaff, Ariz., from Feb. 22-24. The MSU men's and women's squads wrapped up the conference meet with third- and fifth-place showings, respectively. Nine individuals captured either a silver or bronze medal and all four Bobcat relays earned podium finishes.
MSU flips the seasons from the indoor to the outdoor slate with several athletes looking to stand out in different events. The outdoor schedule introduces the hammer throw, javelin, discus, steeplechase, to go along with longer distance races, to add new elements to a fresh campaign.
"I think the throwers have really made the transition to the outdoor implements like the discus and hammer versus the weight throw indoors," Kennedy said. "The javelin throwers are particularly looking to open up this weekend. I think everybody else will be a bit rusty but looks forward to the opportunity to compete."
The Bobcats' track and field teams get an early indicator of where they're at to start the outdoor season with a variety of Big Sky institutions participating at the Al Manuel Northwest Dual Invitational. MSU will compete against Eastern Washington, Idaho, Portland State and host Montana. MSU's men were ranked the highest in the Big Sky Preseason Poll among the attending schools at fourth, while EWU's women were fourth in the rankings, with the Bobcats selected fifth by the league's head coaches.
"What's interesting this year at the Al Manuel meet is it has a different flavor with five Big Sky teams going head-to-head in a scoring format. It's a season opener for a couple teams while a couple have already competed. Some teams may be a little bit more prepared than we are. But, we're really looking forward to getting started and getting a benchmark for the outdoor season."
MSU is scheduled to have athletes represented in eight meets in preparation for the Big Sky Conference Outdoor Championships from May 8-11 in Moscow, Idaho. The Bobcats travel to Missoula four times this spring, making visits to Dornblaser Field on April 14, April 28 and May 4 as well.
"We'll take everybody to Missoula this week to compete because we'll pair down the travel squad after this," Kennedy said. "There will be competition for seats on the bus, and some of that will have been decided during the indoor season, but there are some slots that can be competed for as the season goes on."
The majority of the meet takes place on Saturday with the women's javelin opening the field event portion at 10 a.m. Running events start at 12 p.m. with the women's steeplechase. A schedule of events can be found online or on the track and field schedule page at msubobcats.com.
"It's a re-start for our kids," Montana State head coach Dale Kennedy said. "We've been away from competition for five weeks now and any special types of training. We're kind of entering this in more of a preparation mode compared to a peaking time of the season. We just hope to get better every week during the season."
The Bobcats will make their first competitive appearance of 2018 since wrapping up the Big Sky Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships in Flagstaff, Ariz., from Feb. 22-24. The MSU men's and women's squads wrapped up the conference meet with third- and fifth-place showings, respectively. Nine individuals captured either a silver or bronze medal and all four Bobcat relays earned podium finishes.
MSU flips the seasons from the indoor to the outdoor slate with several athletes looking to stand out in different events. The outdoor schedule introduces the hammer throw, javelin, discus, steeplechase, to go along with longer distance races, to add new elements to a fresh campaign.
"I think the throwers have really made the transition to the outdoor implements like the discus and hammer versus the weight throw indoors," Kennedy said. "The javelin throwers are particularly looking to open up this weekend. I think everybody else will be a bit rusty but looks forward to the opportunity to compete."
The Bobcats' track and field teams get an early indicator of where they're at to start the outdoor season with a variety of Big Sky institutions participating at the Al Manuel Northwest Dual Invitational. MSU will compete against Eastern Washington, Idaho, Portland State and host Montana. MSU's men were ranked the highest in the Big Sky Preseason Poll among the attending schools at fourth, while EWU's women were fourth in the rankings, with the Bobcats selected fifth by the league's head coaches.
"What's interesting this year at the Al Manuel meet is it has a different flavor with five Big Sky teams going head-to-head in a scoring format. It's a season opener for a couple teams while a couple have already competed. Some teams may be a little bit more prepared than we are. But, we're really looking forward to getting started and getting a benchmark for the outdoor season."
MSU is scheduled to have athletes represented in eight meets in preparation for the Big Sky Conference Outdoor Championships from May 8-11 in Moscow, Idaho. The Bobcats travel to Missoula four times this spring, making visits to Dornblaser Field on April 14, April 28 and May 4 as well.
"We'll take everybody to Missoula this week to compete because we'll pair down the travel squad after this," Kennedy said. "There will be competition for seats on the bus, and some of that will have been decided during the indoor season, but there are some slots that can be competed for as the season goes on."
The majority of the meet takes place on Saturday with the women's javelin opening the field event portion at 10 a.m. Running events start at 12 p.m. with the women's steeplechase. A schedule of events can be found online or on the track and field schedule page at msubobcats.com.
Big 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
