Saturday, April 28
Missoula, MT
10 a.m.
Montana State University
at
Cat-Griz Dual Meet
Photo by: Sam Bloom
Montana State Looks to Continue Momentum at Cat-Griz Dual Saturday
4/27/2018 12:14:00 PM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field
The Montana State track and field teams are gearing up for their trips to the 2018 Big Sky Outdoor Championships with the final two meets of the regular season. Their first event will be one with a historical aspect, as MSU and Montana compete at Dornblaser Field on Saturday, April 28
The Montana State track and field teams are gearing up for their trips to the 2018 Big Sky Outdoor Championships with the final two meets of the regular season. Their first event will be one with a historical aspect, as MSU and Montana compete at Dornblaser Field on Saturday, April 28, in the Cat-Griz Dual.
The track and field edition of the Cat-Griz Dual got its start in 1906. The Montana State men's team has earned dual victories against Montana the last four times they've met, including a 102-96 dual win a year ago in Missoula, but the Griz own a 55-29 lead in the series. The women's competition has been a much closer battle. Montana improved its series lead to 19-16 by defeating MSU 102-98 at the 2017 dual, but the Bobcats had won the three previous races against the Griz.
"Certainly one of the things we really want to do is treat this meet with some honor and respect," Montana State head coach Dale Kennedy said. "The Grizzly men have a significant dual meet win record, but the women have been pretty close. We'd like to reduce the number on the women's side and get a win on the men's side."
The Bobcats wrapped up their final appearance in California last weekend with visits to the Pacific Coast Intercollegiate, Mt. SAC Relays and Beach Invitational. Over the course of the three meets, 13 new program all-time top 10 marks were set. That included a school-record 5,000-meter run time by Diego Leon, along with top-three all-time marks by Kyle Douglass, Trisha Carlson, Kelsi Lasota and Anna French.
"We're coming off of two California trips where our kids saw high levels of competition," Kennedy said. "This meet will be competitive, but it won't be at the level that we've had the last two weeks. We have some kids that haven't had a meet during that time that are looking forward to this opportunity."
The Bobcats' final two regular season meets both take place in Missoula. MSU's men and women are ranked seventh and 11th, respectively, in the USTFCCCA Mountain Region Rankings.
While preparation for the 2018 Big Sky Championships are important to the MSU squads, several individuals will also try to improve marks to have the opportunity to qualify for the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds in Sacramento from May 24-26. Currently, eight Bobcats are in contention for qualifying spots to the NCAA preliminaries, with Douglass and Leon both among the top 48 West Region qualifiers in two events.
But, Kennedy said his squad will put an emphasis on this Saturday's meet against the Griz.
"The real focus is trying to win the two meets," Kennedy said of MSU's matchup against Montana. "Strange things have happened at this meet where somebody was supposed to win hands down and then it came out the other way. Anything can happen, so we won't take anything for granted."
Field events begin on Montana's Dornblaser Field at 10 a.m. Saturday. Track events are set to start at 12 p.m.
The track and field edition of the Cat-Griz Dual got its start in 1906. The Montana State men's team has earned dual victories against Montana the last four times they've met, including a 102-96 dual win a year ago in Missoula, but the Griz own a 55-29 lead in the series. The women's competition has been a much closer battle. Montana improved its series lead to 19-16 by defeating MSU 102-98 at the 2017 dual, but the Bobcats had won the three previous races against the Griz.
"Certainly one of the things we really want to do is treat this meet with some honor and respect," Montana State head coach Dale Kennedy said. "The Grizzly men have a significant dual meet win record, but the women have been pretty close. We'd like to reduce the number on the women's side and get a win on the men's side."
The Bobcats wrapped up their final appearance in California last weekend with visits to the Pacific Coast Intercollegiate, Mt. SAC Relays and Beach Invitational. Over the course of the three meets, 13 new program all-time top 10 marks were set. That included a school-record 5,000-meter run time by Diego Leon, along with top-three all-time marks by Kyle Douglass, Trisha Carlson, Kelsi Lasota and Anna French.
"We're coming off of two California trips where our kids saw high levels of competition," Kennedy said. "This meet will be competitive, but it won't be at the level that we've had the last two weeks. We have some kids that haven't had a meet during that time that are looking forward to this opportunity."
The Bobcats' final two regular season meets both take place in Missoula. MSU's men and women are ranked seventh and 11th, respectively, in the USTFCCCA Mountain Region Rankings.
While preparation for the 2018 Big Sky Championships are important to the MSU squads, several individuals will also try to improve marks to have the opportunity to qualify for the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds in Sacramento from May 24-26. Currently, eight Bobcats are in contention for qualifying spots to the NCAA preliminaries, with Douglass and Leon both among the top 48 West Region qualifiers in two events.
But, Kennedy said his squad will put an emphasis on this Saturday's meet against the Griz.
"The real focus is trying to win the two meets," Kennedy said of MSU's matchup against Montana. "Strange things have happened at this meet where somebody was supposed to win hands down and then it came out the other way. Anything can happen, so we won't take anything for granted."
Field events begin on Montana's Dornblaser Field at 10 a.m. Saturday. Track events are set to start at 12 p.m.
Players Mentioned
Distance
/ Women's Track and Field
Throws
/ Men's Track and Field
Distance
/ Women's Track and Field
Distance
/ Women's Track and Field
Distance
/ Men's Track and Field2022 Big Sky Outdoor Championships
Monday, May 16
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
