Montana State University
Bobcat PReview
Cats Open 2023-2024 Track and Field Season at Home on Thursday
12/6/2023 6:43:00 PM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field
Bobcat PReview will be the first of four indoor meets hosted at Worthington Arena
BOZEMAN, Mont. -- The Montana State track and field teams open their 2023-2024 indoor season at home on Thursday, hosting the Bobcat PReview at Worthington Arena.
The meet will feature programs from around the Treasure State, giving the Bobcats a chance to get competition in before the winter holiday. Thursday will mark the first of four indoor meets that MSU will host in Bozeman this year, with additional home competitions scheduled for Jan. 26, Feb. 9, and Feb. 16.
A full schedule of Thursday's events can be found here.
Led by sixth year Dale Kennedy Director of Track & Field/Cross Country Lyle Weese, Montana State's track and field team brings back several Big Sky Conference medalists and school record holders from last year's historic campaign that saw the Bobcats qualify two for the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships and five for the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
The Cats lose multi-time NCAA qualifiers Lucy Corbett (high jump), Duncan Hamilton (distance), and Camila Noe (distance), but bring back the distance trio of Levi Taylor, Ben Perrin, and Rob McManus among those with NCAA Championships experience.
"This meet is such a great opportunity for our track and field student-athletes that have been working so hard since getting on campus in August," Weese said. "This meet is a highlight of the summer and fall training. We are excited to show the improvement of our returners and performance level of our newcomers."
Montana State's track and field programs have consistently been a contender in the Big Sky Conference under 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.
On the women's side, Bobcat indoor record-holders Macy White (60 meters) and Elena Carter (60-meter hurdles) return in the blue and gold to lead a group that will feature 16 new athletes. Carter is the two-time reigning Big Sky indoor champ in the 60-meter hurdles and is the reigning indoor long jump champ. The Bobcat men's team will feature ten newcomers, including impact transfers like jumper Destiny Nkeonye (Houston Christian), heptathlete Nico Paletti (Incarnate Word), and pole vaulter Carter Bartz (Lehigh).
In the jumps, Taylor Brisendine (triple jump) and Anna Trudnowski (high jump) both put their names in the top-10 marks list last winter. Ian Fosdick recorded the third-highest indoor triple jump in program history last season and comes back to head the jumps crew.
"The jumps squad has had a great preseason and is excited to compete for the team in every way they can," assistant coach Dustin Cichosz said. "Taylor Brisendine will look to help contribute in multiple events and lead the horizontal women with underclassman Hailey Coey. Lina Hommel is ready with her first full preseason of training and will compete with Shelby Schweyen in the Pent and Jayden Smith in the high jump. A healthy Ian Fosdick and Hunter Bear Cloud should look to compete well in the horizontals with the talented addition of Destiny Nkeonye."
In the throws group, Matt Furdyk placed fifth in the weight throw and ninth in the shot put at last year's Big Sky indoor championships and comes back to lead a young squad. Three freshmen will get their first taste of collegiate action on the women's side.
"We are only competing the three freshmen on the women's side but they are going to be fun to watch," assistant coach Jen Allen said. "We are very excited about the progress we have already seen this fall with them. The men have put in a ton of throwing reps over the summer and throughout this fall. They are in a great place right now and ready to put all that work into a competition."
In the distance events, transfers Kyla Christopher-Moody (Colorado) and Emma Tate (Purdue) will provide a big boost to the women's group on the heels of a successful cross country season that saw the Cats place second at the Big Sky Championships behind Northern Arizona. The men's distance group is also riding high after a historic cross country season that saw the Cats place 13th at the NCAA Championships on Nov. 18, with Matthew Richtman earning All-American honors for the second straight season. Joined by Perrin, McManus, Taylor, and others, that group boasts the most experience on paper of any Bobcat event group in 2023-2024.
"This group is excited to finish off their summer and fall training and make the transition to the track," Weese said. "It seems we can put a number of men and women into our all time top-10 list in the 5K, which will springboard us into the track season. On the mid-distance end, it will be great to see them get on the track and compete for the first time since last spring or in some cases the first time as a collegiate athlete."
Big Sky Conference indoor record-holder Colby Wilson will look to return to the top of the podium in the pole vault after placing first at the 2022 Big Sky Indoor Track and Field Championships and second at the 2023 Big Sky Indoor Track and Field Championships. Maisee Brown placed second in the pole vault at last season's indoor Big Sky championships and currently holds the fourth-highest mark in program history in the event.
"It's exciting to get back to indoor season and this group has impressed me all fall with both their technical improvements and work ethic," assistant coach Craig Hunter said. "The weeks leading into this meet have shown me everyone is ready to jump high (and run fast) and I don't think I've ever coached a group this ready to compete!"
In the sprints, returners Jaeden Wolff and Caroline Hawkes each posted top-10 program times in the 60 meters and 200 meters last year, respectively, with Hawkes also turning in strong performances in the 400 meters. For the men, Xavier Simpson and Stryder Todd-Fields both return after recording top-8 program marks in the 60 meters and 200 meters.
"Our team is excited to get the season started and I think we are in a great place with training to see what we can do with some competition," assistant coach Teague Peck said. "We have put in a lot of hard work and had a little bit of luck with the weather this fall. We are ready to kick off what I think will be a great season. The marks for this first meet aren't what is important. It's how we prepare and execute to create some good habits moving forward. We will set ourselves up for success if we can learn how to operate at a high level consistently"
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