Bobcat Men Claim Third, Women Finish Fourth at Big Sky Indoor Championships

Saturday, February 26

BOZEMAN

10:30 a.m.

Montana State University

BSC Indoor Championships - Day Three

Bobcat Men Claim Third, Women Finish Fourth at Big Sky Indoor Championships

2/26/2022 6:31:00 PM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

Final Results

Behind multiple all-conference performances, the Bobcat men’s team placed third and the women’s squad finished fourth in the Big Sky standings

By: Andrew Pedersen

BOZEMAN, Mont. – The Montana State men's and women's track and field teams wrapped up the 2022 Big Sky Conference Indoor Championships on Saturday, Feb. 26, inside Worthington Arena. Behind multiple all-conference performances, the Bobcat men's team placed third and the women's squad finished fourth in the Big Sky standings.

"I thought our teams came out and competed very well," said Lyle Weese, Montana State's Dale Kennedy Director of Track and Field. "Both teams did better than it looked like coming into the meet, so that was exciting that we out-performed what we were supposed to do. Our student-athletes I think did a great job."

MSU's Drake Schneider hauled in three medals for the Bobcats on Saturday. Schneider earned his first individual gold medal indoors of his career with his time of 47.96 in the 400. The 400 hurdles specialist outdoors, Schneider had to rally over the final 200 meters and used a home stretch to win the title in the event. He also picked up a runner-up finish in the 200 with a time of 21.98 to lead MSU in the event.

"Two years ago, the same thing happened to me but in reverse," Schneider said of previously getting overtaken in a 400 finals race. "I trusted my legs would be there and they showed up today and carried me through the finish line.

"It means a lot to get my first gold indoors by myself. I'm a 400 hurdler, so these open events aren't exactly my events. It's vindicating to come out here and steal a medal in an event I don't run all year round. It was rewarding for sure."

Schneider also played a big role as an anchor on MSU's 4x400 relay. The Bobcats' relay squad of Julian Hazen, Will Anderson, Chris Bianchini and Schneider put themselves into a podium position early. Schneider had to pick make up some ground in the event's final heat, but took the lead in the final 50 meters to help boost the 'Cats to a gold medal. Their time of 3:16.60 converted is the third fastest in program history.

"He was pretty spectacular this whole weekend," Weese said of Schneider. "He ran a great anchor leg on the 4x400. It was really an off the charts performance."

MSU had another gold medal winner on Saturday as Elena Carter earned the first Big Sky title of her college career. Carter advanced to the 60 hurdles finals and came in at a time of 8.45 seconds, tying her previous school-record mark.

"I hadn't been feeling the best the last couple of days, so I was a little worried," Carter said. "But I knew if I ran a clean race, which I kind of did, I knew I could get my way through it.

"I was excited," she said of her first-place finish. "I'm just glad I've been able to run a consistent time after being up and down to start the season."

Carter also took fourth in the long jump on Friday to wrap up a 15-point performance for Montana State.

"There's a little more pressure when you come in as the top ranked individual," Weese said of Carter. "She was so composed and ran her own race in both the prelims and finals. To see her come in as a favorite and be solid in both her events was great."

The MSU men's team's top scoring event as a group came in the 400 thanks to the efforts of Hazen and Anderson. Hazen finished just ahead of Anderson in their heat of the 400, with both recording times of 48.76 and 48.95, respectively. Hazen finished with a bronze medal in the event while Anderson took fourth overall. Their times are respectively the fifth and sixth fastest times on MSU's all-time top 10 chart.

Three other individuals on the men's side earned all-conference honors for the Bobcats Saturday. Duncan Hamilton improved on his personal best in the mile with his time of 4:04.69, but was out-kicked late by NAU's Abdihamed Nur who broke the Big Sky Championship record. Hamilton earned silver in the event. Ben Perrin improved on his lifetime best in the 3,000 by clocking an 8:15.48. He went on to earn a bronze medal while Hamilton followed in fourth at 8:18.59. Chris Bianchini claimed his first individual all-Big Sky effort in the 800 on Saturday. He registered a time of 1:56.07 to finish third overall.

The women's team saw one other all-conference performance Saturday. Camila Noe picked up her second silver medal on back-to-back days as she clocked a time of 9:42.78 in the 3,000 to finish second.

A variety of point scorers contributed to the team totals on the final day of the Big Sky meet.

Macy White had top-six finishes in the women's 60 and 200. Derrick Olsen had two top-seven efforts in the men's 60 and 60 hurdles. Evelyn Adams placed sixth in the women's 60 hurdles and Ian Fosdick also took sixth in the men's triple jump. Maisee Brown cleared 12 feet, 4 inches (3.76m) in the women's pole vault to take seventh overall. Mya Dube clocked a time of 5:03.21 in the women's mile and Carter Slade placed eighth in the men's shot put behind a toss of 52-02.75 (15.92m).

The top three finishing teams in the men's standings easily distanced themselves from the rest of the Big Sky field. Northern Arizona claimed the championship with 170 points. Idaho narrowly topped MSU as the two teams scored 110 and 107 points. Fourth-place Weber State recorded 64 points.

NAU earned the women's team title as well as the Lumberjacks scored 182 points. The next five positions in the team standings were highly contested. Idaho State finished runner-up with 72 points. The Bengals were followed by Idaho (69), MSU (67), Weber State (65) and Eastern Washington (57).

"It was a lot of work, but it's also a lot of fun hosting an event like this," Weese said. "It's great having the teams all through the conference be able to come here and compete. We have a great support staff, so we're lucky to have the ability to host a great meet."

Montana State now turns its attention to the NCAA Indoor Championships and the 2022 outdoor season.