Lifetime Bests Abound as MSU Completes Bobcat Challenge

Friday, January 14

BOZEMAN

1:00 p.m.

Montana State University

Bobcat Challenge

Men's Milers

Photo by: Sam Bloom

1/14/2022 7:37:00 PM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

Final Results - Bobcat Challenge

Multiple individuals registered personal-best marks to highlight the Montana State effort at the Bobcat Challenge on Friday, Jan. 14, inside Worthington Arena

By: Andrew Pedersen

BOZEMAN, Mont. – Multiple individuals registered personal-best marks to highlight the Montana State effort at the Bobcat Challenge on Friday, Jan. 14, inside Worthington Arena. MSU's first indoor track and field meet of 2022 featured the Bobcats competing against a variety of Montana colleges in their home facility.

MSU's Elena Carter continued her strong 2021-22 season on Friday by completing two strong performances. She placed first in the long jump to open the meet with a leap of 19 feet, 2.5 inches (5.85m). That mark moved her from sixth to fourth all-time in program history in the event. She also took first in the 60 hurdles with her time of 8.55 seconds which was two-hundredths off her lifetime best.

Duncan Hamilton provided a standout time in the men's mile as he crossed the finish line in 4:05.20. His converted time of 3:56.89, due to altitude and track size, was an improvement on his personal by half a second and moved him atop the current NCAA Division I performance list. He was followed by Ben Perrin whose converted time of 4:01.84 placed him sixth all-time among Bobcats. Levi Taylor placed third with a personal-best time of 4:18.71.

Macy White registered two first-place showings for the Bobcat women's sprints group. Her converted time of 7.57 in the 60 dash moved her into a tie for second all-time in the event. She also crossed the line in 25.13 in the 200.

The men's 400 featured a 1-2 MSU finish with Drake Schneider taking first in 48.69. He was followed by Julian Hazen who recorded his personal best as a Bobcat with a time of 50.02. Another standout effort came from Colby Wilson who vaulted over 17 feet for the second time this season in the men's pole vault as he topped 17-00.25 (5.20m).

"Macy and Elena were just off our school records so that's exciting to see them start the season like that," said Lyle Weese, Montana State's Dale Kenendy Director of Track and Field. "Drake and Colby had another consistent, solid meet. They've reached that next level which is great.

"I was surprised about how the men's mile went from top to bottom. We've started out significantly ahead of where we have in previous years. We've done a little less training going into this, so I think that shows how hard they worked in the fall. Duncan coming out by himself with a time that would qualify him for the NCAA meet last year is super exciting. Seeing Ben and all of our guys compete well shows we're off to a solid start."

Earning first-place finishes over the course of the Bobcat Challenge were Morgan Hanson (women's 400), Alex Hellenberg (women's pole vault), Jordan Fink (women's shot put), Zoe Johnson (women's long jump), Will Anderson (men's 60), Chris Bianchini (men's 800), Hunter Bear Cloud (men's 200), Ian Fosdick (men's long jump) and Carter Slade (men's shot put). Hanson ran a personal-best time of 1:01.88 in her 400, Hellenberg's 12-10 (3.91m) would have been the sixth best mark by a Bobcat had she been competing attached, while Fink's 45-01.75 (13.76m) in the shot put was a lifetime best.

Mya Dube (5:05.58) and Kendra Lusk (5:17.66) took two of the top three spots in the women's mile behind their best times of their college careers in the event. Zoe Waddell (51-11.75) and Anna Schander (50-06) completed similar feats in the women's weight throw. Matt Furdyk took second in both the weight throw (49-11.25) and the shot put (51-04.25), with his mark in the shot put his Bobcat best effort.

Earning top three-finishes for Montana State on Friday were Noah Majerus (men's 800), Morgan Evans (women's 60 hurdles), Evelyn Adams (women's 60 hurdles), Hannah Fish (women's 200), Elena Vandersloot (women's 3000), Hannah Hicks (women's long jump) and Madi Arneson (women's shot put).

The multi's portion of the meet featured two Bobcats competing in their respective events. Zach Russell took third in the heptathlon with 4,115 points. Anna Trudnowski finished fourth in the pentathlon with 2,988 points.

The Montana State track and field program returns next week to Worthington Arena when it hosts the Bobcat Performance Meet. Expected to participate in the meet against MSU are Idaho State, Montana and Utah State.

"Next week's meet will be great to have because we'll have some really good teams in here," Weese said. "We'll have a week of training heading into it, which after this meet, will be nice to have after getting back from break. Everybody is just kind of settling back in, so I think people will be more in the flow next week and we could see some more solid performances."