Track and Field Releases 2023-2024 Schedule
10/16/2023 10:30:00 AM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field
Bobcats to host 2024 Big Sky Outdoor Championships in May for Sixth Time
BOZEMAN, Montana – The selection of Montana State as the host of the 2024 Big Sky Outdoor Track and Field Championships highlights the 2023-2024 Bobcat track and field schedule, released by head coach Lyle Weese on Monday.
On May 8-11, 2024, Bozeman will host the Big Sky Outdoor Championships at Bobcat Track and Field Complex for the first time since 2012. It will mark the sixth time since 1977 that the league's championship outdoor event brings all ten Big Sky programs to Bozeman.
"The team, coaching staff, and community are so excited for the opportunity to host the outdoor conference championships," Dale Kennedy Director of Track and Field Lyle Weese said. "We are so thankful for our athletic administration and the track and field community that provide the support necessary to host home events that match the elite level of performance of track and field student-athletes in the Big Sky Conference."
Montana State will also host four indoor meets at Worthington Arena during the 2023-2024 season, in addition to the outdoor Cat-Griz Dual meet in April.
Montana State's track and field programs have consistently been a contender in the Big Sky Conference under head coach Lyle Weese, with the men's teams accomplishing top-three showings in seven of eight possible championship appearances, and four coming in runner-up fashion (2019 indoor, 2021 outdoor, 2022 outdoor, and 2023 outdoor).
The Bobcat women's squad has totaled five top-three finishes under Weese with a runner-up showing at the 2019 indoor meet before second-place finishes at each of the last three conference championship competitions (2022 outdoor, 2023 indoor, and 2023 outdoor).
Last season, four men's indoor program records and two men's outdoor program records fell, in addition to three women's indoor records and two women's outdoor records.
"As a staff, we feel great about our indoor and outdoor track & field schedule," Weese said. "The schedule provides a combination of meets that provide an opportunity for a large number of athletes to compete which is necessary for the development of all of our team members, but at the same time gives our elite student-athletes multiple opportunities to go up against elite competition."
The 2023-2024 track and field season gets underway December 7 as Montana State hosts the Bobcat PReview.
After the return from Christmas break, the first of three trips during the indoor slate to Spokane, Washington, takes place January 12 as MSU competes at the Cougar Invite, hosted by Washington State at The Podium.
The Bobcats return to the same facility in the Evergreen State on February 2-3 and again on February 23-25 for the 2024 Big Sky Indoor Track and Field Championships, hosted by Eastern Washington.
In between, MSU will host the Bobcat Challenge (January 26), Bobcat Performance (February 9), and the Big Sky Tuner (February 16) at Worthington Arena.
The 2024 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships will take place in Boston, Massachusetts, from March 10-11.
The outdoor season kicks off March 22-23, as MSU makes the drive to Missoula for the annual Al Manuel Invitational, hosted by the University of Montana.
One week later, the Cats fly to California for the Stanford Invite, an early season measuring stick against some of the top programs in the West in Palo Alto on March 29-30.
Montana State will get to compete on their home track on April 6 when they host the Cat/Griz Dual meet at Bobcat Track and Field Complex. MSU has been dominant in the rivalry, with men having won ten of the last 12 dual meets, and MSU's women having won nine of the last 11.
On April 11-13, the squad will split and compete at two separate venues in California, with some Bobcats participating in the Pacific Coast and Beach Invite in Long Beach and some participating in the Brian Clay Invite in Azusa.
MSU heads back to Missoula for the Montana Open on April 19-20, then travels to Idaho State for the Bengal Invitational on April 26-27.
"This year's schedule also has a good flow with travel mixed throughout the season," Weese said. "This allows student-athletes to recover from travel and missed class. We are always working to avoid overloading the student-athletes in all areas and this includes our travel schedule in order to manage stress levels and allow for athletic and academic consistency."
One more trip to Missoula for the Tom Gage Invite wraps up the regular season on May 4 in a final tune-up before championship action begins.
The Big Sky Outdoor Track and Field Championships come to Bobcat Track and Field Complex in Bozeman from May 8-11, with the Cats hosting the premier event at one of the league's premier facilities. The men last won a Big Sky team championship in 2005, while the women last won in 2003.
NCAA West Region Championships will be hosted by the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas, on May 22-25, with qualifying athletes advancing to compete at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, held at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, from June 5-8.
Last season, five Bobcats competed at the 2023 NCAA Outdoor Championships in Austin, Texas, with program legend Duncan Hamilton earning NCAA runner-up honors in the 3,000-meter steeplechase for a second straight year.
Though Hamilton and fellow distance star Camila Noe have both graduated, the remaining three participants from last year's national meet—junior Rob McManus, redshirt junior Ben Perrin, and redshirt junior Levi Taylor—all return to compete in the blue and gold in 2023-2024.
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