MSU Track & Field Off to Strong Start at Bengal Invitational

Photo by: Jack Murrey

MSU Track & Field Off to Strong Start at Bengal Invitational

4/16/2021 8:44:00 PM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

Five different Bobcats completed marks or times that made updates to Montana State track and field’s all-time top 10 charts to highlight the opening day of the Bengal Invitational at Davis Field on Friday

By: Andrew Pedersen

POCATELLO, Idaho – Five different Bobcats completed marks or times that made updates to Montana State track and field's all-time top 10 charts to highlight the opening day of the Bengal Invitational at Davis Field on Friday.

Drake Schneider continued his impressive outdoor season by taking first in the 400-meter hurdle trials with a time of 51.23 seconds. His mark advanced him to Saturday's finals race and his school-record time has now been improved multiple times.

The Bobcat men's team also had Derrick Olsen move up from fourth to third in the 110 hurdles on MSU's all-time top 10 list. His time of 14.14 seconds was first in the trials race and advanced him to Saturday's finals heat.

Duncan Hamilton and Levi Taylor took the top two spots in the men's 1500 finals. Hamilton crossed the line in 3 minutes, 47.33 seconds, and his converted mark due to altitude will sit among the top five in program history. Taylor finished in 3:51.71 which enters him on to the Bobcats' all-time list for the first time.

Five other Bobcats advanced to finals race appearances with their efforts on Friday. Henry Adams placed fourth overall in the 110 hurdles coming in at 14.71. Damien Nelson placed first in his heat, and second overall, in the 200 preliminaries. Will Anderson (49.06) and Alex Hershey (50.73) took second and seventh, respectively in the 400. Jared Schwend finished fifth in the 400 hurdles, as well as first in the opening heat, with a time of 54.67.

Caleb Neth narrowly missed the 400 finals by taking 10th overall behind a time of 51.37 seconds. Also competing for the MSU men were Cantor Coverdell and Cooper Hoffman. The Bobcat javelin throwers finished third and fourth, respectively, in their event.

The Bobcat women had two standout efforts in the field events.

Carley VonHeeder improved on her lifetime best and third best program mark in the javelin throw. She placed first in the event with a toss of 159 feet, 4 inches (48.58m). Celestia Hammond and Kylie Christiansen joined her in the event with the two taking fifth and 13th overall.

Elena Carter completed a mark of 18-10.75 (5.76m) in the long jump to finish first. That jump was the seventh best in program history. Evelyn Adams followed her in the event by taking fourth with a leap of 18-03.75 (5.58m). A'lena Chaney finished ninth, Lindsay McGree took 11th and Hannah Hicks placed 16th in the long jump as well.

Morgan Evans and Macy White each advanced to two Saturday finals races with their performances on Friday.

Evans had the fourth fastest time in the 100 hurdles (14.15) and sixth fastest in the 100 (12.26). White had the second quickest mark in the 100 (12.02) and fifth best in the 200 (24.84). MSU will provide a strong contingent in the 100 hurdles as Carter and Adams also qualified for the finals with respective times of 14.31 and 14.39 in the trials.

Several other MSU women's performance had strong efforts. Mya Dube finished fourth in the 1,500 with a time of 4:44.36. Zoe Waddell placed seventh in the hammer throw with a toss of 159-09.25 (48.7m), while Adeline Richardson took 11th in the event behind a mark of 153-05.75 (46.81m). Three Bobcat pole vaulters – Kendall Stark, Maisee Brown and Alex Hellenberg – finished in the top eight of the individual standings of the event.

The Bengal Invitational continues on Saturday with the remainder of the events beginning at 11 a.m. at Davis Field. Fans can watch the meet on Pluto TV (channel 1061) with live results provided on AthleticLive.