Photo by: Garrett Becker
Athletic Experiences Lead MSU’s Yeager to Future Career
4/1/2020 4:28:00 PM | Men's Track and Field
The Twin Bridges native nearly didn't attend Montana State. But Bill Yeager's experience as a Bobcat has paved the way toward his post-athletic ambitions.
BOZEMAN, Mont. – Sola Yeager, or commonly referred to as Bill Yeager depending on who you talk to, has had plenty of twists during his athletic career. How he found his way on to the Montana State men's track and field team, the event that allowed him to even compete as a senior and the unexpected end to his collegiate career, have all played roles in his post-athletic career ambitions.
Future goals that will keep him around sports for a while longer.
Yeager grew up a Bobcat fan in Twin Bridges, Montana. His family had a connection to former Bobcat football player and recent Philadelphia Eagles linebacker, Alex Singleton, with the pair's fathers growing up as friends in Thousand Oaks, California. When Singleton's parents couldn't make it to Bozeman for games, the Yeagers often had the opportunity to go utilizing the complimentary tickets reserved for the Singletons.
"That's how I got introduced to Bobcat Athletics," Yeager said. "Ever since, I've just been a huge fan."
His aspirations initially were focused on the football field. After rushing for nearly 3,000 yards over a two-year span for Twin Bridges High School in football, which included an all-state selection as a senior, Yeager committed to Montana Tech in the sport he'd loved since he was a child. He had just got into track as a sophomore at Twin Bridges, so he was unsure of what his potential was in the sport.
A call a week after his football commitment from former Bobcat track and field coach Dale Kennedy changed his mindset. Yeager said that while a scholarship wasn't initially on the table in a decision to go to MSU, a walk on spot – with the opportunity to earn scholarship money – from Kennedy enticed him to reconsider his options. He decided to flip a quarter to help sway his decision between his two options. The quarter wound up landing heads, the side that would have pushed his athletic aims to football in college.
"I felt disappointed that I got heads," Yeager said of the result, "so at that moment, I really knew I was going to go to MSU."
Yeager eventually completed his prep career with three personal-best times at the MSHA Class C Championships as a senior. While he placed third in the 200 and fourth in the 100, he also took second in the 400-meter run crossing the finish line in 48.99 seconds, his first mark under 50 seconds in his specialty event at the time. A conversation with Kennedy following the race, and the Twin Bridges native adding a scholarship to MSU to his resume, helped seal the decision he'd made.
"I immediately called Dale to try telling him, but he told me that he was watching and already knew," Yeager said after he'd finished his 400 race. "That was like the happiest moment of my life. I knew I was going to go to MSU already, but hitting that (time) I knew that I was good enough to compete in the Big Sky."
That senior year at Twin Bridges for Yeager also served as the first step for him towards his academic interests he would pursue at Montana State.
Yeager found out he had partially torn his hamstring during football which led to extra sessions following the season with the school's athletic trainer at the time, Chris Brown. Yeager found himself asking Brown questions about his hamstring which evolved into questions about concussions, ACLs and other athletic injuries. The introduction to athletic training while preparing for his senior track and field campaign at Twin Bridges helped guide Yeager as he began school in Bozeman.
Yeager's freshman season at Montana State started out with the new Bobcat on top of a Big Sky Conference podium. At the 2017 Big Sky Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships in Pocatello, Idaho, Yeager helped MSU's distance medley relay squad earn a gold medal in the event. Their final time of 9:53.24 was the ninth fastest in program history. It took another two years, but Yeager was able to again win gold as a member of the distance medley relay. The relay which consisted of Sam Bloom, Yeager, Chris Bianchini and Cameron Carroll completed a time of 9:52.67 – the eighth fastest all-time at MSU – at the 2019 meet held in Worthington Arena.
The two years between gold medals helped Yeager realize the magnitude of winning a conference title has in any event at the Division I level.
"My freshman year when we won it, I didn't know how big of a deal that was," Yeager said. "Coming fresh from an outdoor season in high school where I won a ton of medals and I set a ton of new personal records, to my first year as a Bobcat, I didn't realize how much it meant to win a conference title. How hard people work and how people go their entire careers without seeing a gold medal.
"For me to walk in as a freshman and win one indoors right away, I don't think I truly appreciated how special that was. When we won my junior season indoors when we had the meet here in Bozeman, I realized how incredible of an accomplishment it is."
While focusing on developing athletically at MSU, Yeager also kept his attention on the academic side by staying on top of what he needed to do to be in the best position to attend graduate school in athletic training. He tailored his classes starting as a freshman to fit the requirements needed for graduate programs and was able to intern with the Athletic training room during the football team's recent fall camp. Yeager got to see how the training staff operates with a different athletic team than he's accustomed to and he also got to stay involved when the Bobcats opened their 2019 season.
"During the season I'd be on the sidelines to help the trainers out on our side or stand on the visiting team sidelines and serve as an in-between for their staff and our staff," Yeager said. "That was an eye-opening experience. I got to see what they do pregame, in game and after the game. I saw the measures they use with injuries, so that was a great experience for me. That really solidified to me that it's what I want to do."
As Yeager prepared for his final college season at MSU, his entire senior year was nearly completely lost. On a Sunday morning roughly a week after feeling discomfort during a routine workout, Yeager woke up with one of his knees swollen, stiff and difficult to move. He visited the team's athletic trainer, Justin Halvorson, who said he tested positive for a torn meniscus.
An MRI the next morning confirmed the meniscus tear and by the following day, Yeager was being prepped for surgery on his knee. The MSU senior was told two things could occur during the surgery; he either would have it completely repaired and be out for sixth months – missing MSU's full track and field schedule – or the surgeon would snip just torn parts of the knee because they're unrepairable, which would result in six weeks of rehab even though it may cause lasting knee problems.
"I was praying he would just snip it because I wanted to get back on the track for my last year," Yeager said. "I woke up from surgery and I asked which one (the surgeon) did, and (the nurse) told me they had to snip my meniscus and 50 percent of it was removed. I was pretty stoked."
Yeager was able to participate in three meets during the past indoor season including the Big Sky Indoor Championships. His ability to get back for those three meets weren't lost on the upcoming MSU graduate with the outdoor season being canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
"It was almost for nothing," Yeager said. "At least I got to run indoors."
His desire to get back on to the track in 2020 was boosted with his acceptance into graduate school. With letters of recommendation from Halvorson and Rob Higgs – MSU Athletics' head athletic trainer – as well as a strong GRE score, Yeager set his sights on the University of Montana's Athletic Training Program. He was chosen as a finalist and five hours after a web interview with the Program's board, they had offered him a spot in their master's program.
"I have really enjoyed working with Sola over the last four years," Halvorson said. "I've been able to see his initial interest in athletic training and to see his general knowledge base grow alongside his growing desire to be an athletic trainer. We've had many days where we just talked shop especially about his own injury and recovery. Sola will make a great athletic trainer."
The opportunity to stay close to family and friends helped push Yeager to Montana. He said as of now he'd be taking classes on June 29. While he's joining a great master's program in Missoula, he said what he'll miss most about his time at MSU is the family atmosphere the track and field program provided. Following his acceptance into graduate school, he received countless texts from nearly every person on the team congratulating him. He also said a great coaching staff at MSU helped make his time in Bozeman feel genuine.
"I think a lot of college coaches get caught up in that they have to win, and our coaches understand that too, but they take time outside of that to make sure we're doing what we need to do in the classroom, that we're mentally and physically healthy, and that everything is good at home," Yeager said. "I think it's really awesome that they have a personal connection to each of us and that they're invested."
Yeager said he looked back and wanted to be another Class C kid from Twin Bridges to prove they could compete in the Big Sky Conference. He listed Peyton Ferris as the one who blazed the trail and showed that it could be possible. Now he gets to continue the athletic journey not as an athlete going forward, but as somebody who will help those similar to the situations he's been through.
"I didn't think I'd make it here," Yeager said. "I always wanted to be a 'Cat and finally being able to put on a Blue and Gold jersey has been crazy honestly. Being a Bobcat the last four years has been the greatest experience of my life."
Future goals that will keep him around sports for a while longer.
Yeager grew up a Bobcat fan in Twin Bridges, Montana. His family had a connection to former Bobcat football player and recent Philadelphia Eagles linebacker, Alex Singleton, with the pair's fathers growing up as friends in Thousand Oaks, California. When Singleton's parents couldn't make it to Bozeman for games, the Yeagers often had the opportunity to go utilizing the complimentary tickets reserved for the Singletons.
"That's how I got introduced to Bobcat Athletics," Yeager said. "Ever since, I've just been a huge fan."
His aspirations initially were focused on the football field. After rushing for nearly 3,000 yards over a two-year span for Twin Bridges High School in football, which included an all-state selection as a senior, Yeager committed to Montana Tech in the sport he'd loved since he was a child. He had just got into track as a sophomore at Twin Bridges, so he was unsure of what his potential was in the sport.
A call a week after his football commitment from former Bobcat track and field coach Dale Kennedy changed his mindset. Yeager said that while a scholarship wasn't initially on the table in a decision to go to MSU, a walk on spot – with the opportunity to earn scholarship money – from Kennedy enticed him to reconsider his options. He decided to flip a quarter to help sway his decision between his two options. The quarter wound up landing heads, the side that would have pushed his athletic aims to football in college.
"I felt disappointed that I got heads," Yeager said of the result, "so at that moment, I really knew I was going to go to MSU."
Yeager eventually completed his prep career with three personal-best times at the MSHA Class C Championships as a senior. While he placed third in the 200 and fourth in the 100, he also took second in the 400-meter run crossing the finish line in 48.99 seconds, his first mark under 50 seconds in his specialty event at the time. A conversation with Kennedy following the race, and the Twin Bridges native adding a scholarship to MSU to his resume, helped seal the decision he'd made.
"I immediately called Dale to try telling him, but he told me that he was watching and already knew," Yeager said after he'd finished his 400 race. "That was like the happiest moment of my life. I knew I was going to go to MSU already, but hitting that (time) I knew that I was good enough to compete in the Big Sky."
That senior year at Twin Bridges for Yeager also served as the first step for him towards his academic interests he would pursue at Montana State.
Yeager found out he had partially torn his hamstring during football which led to extra sessions following the season with the school's athletic trainer at the time, Chris Brown. Yeager found himself asking Brown questions about his hamstring which evolved into questions about concussions, ACLs and other athletic injuries. The introduction to athletic training while preparing for his senior track and field campaign at Twin Bridges helped guide Yeager as he began school in Bozeman.
Yeager's freshman season at Montana State started out with the new Bobcat on top of a Big Sky Conference podium. At the 2017 Big Sky Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships in Pocatello, Idaho, Yeager helped MSU's distance medley relay squad earn a gold medal in the event. Their final time of 9:53.24 was the ninth fastest in program history. It took another two years, but Yeager was able to again win gold as a member of the distance medley relay. The relay which consisted of Sam Bloom, Yeager, Chris Bianchini and Cameron Carroll completed a time of 9:52.67 – the eighth fastest all-time at MSU – at the 2019 meet held in Worthington Arena.
The two years between gold medals helped Yeager realize the magnitude of winning a conference title has in any event at the Division I level.
"My freshman year when we won it, I didn't know how big of a deal that was," Yeager said. "Coming fresh from an outdoor season in high school where I won a ton of medals and I set a ton of new personal records, to my first year as a Bobcat, I didn't realize how much it meant to win a conference title. How hard people work and how people go their entire careers without seeing a gold medal.
"For me to walk in as a freshman and win one indoors right away, I don't think I truly appreciated how special that was. When we won my junior season indoors when we had the meet here in Bozeman, I realized how incredible of an accomplishment it is."
While focusing on developing athletically at MSU, Yeager also kept his attention on the academic side by staying on top of what he needed to do to be in the best position to attend graduate school in athletic training. He tailored his classes starting as a freshman to fit the requirements needed for graduate programs and was able to intern with the Athletic training room during the football team's recent fall camp. Yeager got to see how the training staff operates with a different athletic team than he's accustomed to and he also got to stay involved when the Bobcats opened their 2019 season.
"During the season I'd be on the sidelines to help the trainers out on our side or stand on the visiting team sidelines and serve as an in-between for their staff and our staff," Yeager said. "That was an eye-opening experience. I got to see what they do pregame, in game and after the game. I saw the measures they use with injuries, so that was a great experience for me. That really solidified to me that it's what I want to do."
As Yeager prepared for his final college season at MSU, his entire senior year was nearly completely lost. On a Sunday morning roughly a week after feeling discomfort during a routine workout, Yeager woke up with one of his knees swollen, stiff and difficult to move. He visited the team's athletic trainer, Justin Halvorson, who said he tested positive for a torn meniscus.
An MRI the next morning confirmed the meniscus tear and by the following day, Yeager was being prepped for surgery on his knee. The MSU senior was told two things could occur during the surgery; he either would have it completely repaired and be out for sixth months – missing MSU's full track and field schedule – or the surgeon would snip just torn parts of the knee because they're unrepairable, which would result in six weeks of rehab even though it may cause lasting knee problems.
"I was praying he would just snip it because I wanted to get back on the track for my last year," Yeager said. "I woke up from surgery and I asked which one (the surgeon) did, and (the nurse) told me they had to snip my meniscus and 50 percent of it was removed. I was pretty stoked."
Yeager was able to participate in three meets during the past indoor season including the Big Sky Indoor Championships. His ability to get back for those three meets weren't lost on the upcoming MSU graduate with the outdoor season being canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
"It was almost for nothing," Yeager said. "At least I got to run indoors."
His desire to get back on to the track in 2020 was boosted with his acceptance into graduate school. With letters of recommendation from Halvorson and Rob Higgs – MSU Athletics' head athletic trainer – as well as a strong GRE score, Yeager set his sights on the University of Montana's Athletic Training Program. He was chosen as a finalist and five hours after a web interview with the Program's board, they had offered him a spot in their master's program.
"I have really enjoyed working with Sola over the last four years," Halvorson said. "I've been able to see his initial interest in athletic training and to see his general knowledge base grow alongside his growing desire to be an athletic trainer. We've had many days where we just talked shop especially about his own injury and recovery. Sola will make a great athletic trainer."
The opportunity to stay close to family and friends helped push Yeager to Montana. He said as of now he'd be taking classes on June 29. While he's joining a great master's program in Missoula, he said what he'll miss most about his time at MSU is the family atmosphere the track and field program provided. Following his acceptance into graduate school, he received countless texts from nearly every person on the team congratulating him. He also said a great coaching staff at MSU helped make his time in Bozeman feel genuine.
"I think a lot of college coaches get caught up in that they have to win, and our coaches understand that too, but they take time outside of that to make sure we're doing what we need to do in the classroom, that we're mentally and physically healthy, and that everything is good at home," Yeager said. "I think it's really awesome that they have a personal connection to each of us and that they're invested."
Yeager said he looked back and wanted to be another Class C kid from Twin Bridges to prove they could compete in the Big Sky Conference. He listed Peyton Ferris as the one who blazed the trail and showed that it could be possible. Now he gets to continue the athletic journey not as an athlete going forward, but as somebody who will help those similar to the situations he's been through.
"I didn't think I'd make it here," Yeager said. "I always wanted to be a 'Cat and finally being able to put on a Blue and Gold jersey has been crazy honestly. Being a Bobcat the last four years has been the greatest experience of my life."
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