Bobcat Trio’s Sub-4-Minute Miles Highlight Solid Big Sky Tuner Showing

Friday, February 17

BOZEMAN

10 a.m.

Montana State University

Big Sky Tuner

Duncan Hamilton

Photo by: Kyle Cajero

Bobcat Trio’s Sub-4-Minute Miles Highlight Solid Big Sky Tuner Showing

2/17/2023 9:53:00 PM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

Final Results

Duncan Hamilton, Levi Taylor and Ben Perrin broke four minutes in the mile to highlight the regular-season indoor track and field finale on Friday.

BOZEMAN, Montana — The first thing Montana State distance runner Duncan Hamilton noticed about his last lap of the mile was the noise.

Cheers from the crowd in Worthington Arena's stands, the coaches and teammates yelling from the boundaries of the 200-meter flat track and music from the PA system filled his ears as the fifth-year senior rounded into the final lap of the men's mile at the Big Sky Tuner on Friday. Somewhere behind him, the bell signaling the final lap clamored. Wind filled his ears and he could barely make out the voice of his head coach Lyle Weese urging him forward. The dark, navy blue walls of Brick Breeden Fieldhouse were a blur as he pressed onward, trying to run an outright, sub-four minute mile.

This was the last time Hamilton — a Bozeman High School grad, a six-time school record holder and a multi-time All-American — would run at his home track. Yet he had no time to think about those things as he whipped around the penultimate corner and bolted down the backstretch, focusing on having a finishing kick.

With 50 meters to go, Hamilton surged forward, outstretching both arms as he crossed the finish line with a post-converted time of 4:01.16. With track size and altitude conversions, his time converted down to a 3:52.99: shattering not only Patrick Casey's school record of 3:54.59, but also the 3:54.59 facility record set by Weber State's Joel Atwater.

"The mile gets really loud in The Brick," Hamilton said, recalling the end of his final collegiate home race. "During those last two laps, hearing all that noise and support was super awesome. All week, I've been trying to focus on having a kick. I gave it everything I could, but I think the legs are still a little bit tired. The finish wasn't quite what I wanted, but I have faith that it will come later."

?????? ????????.
?
Duncan Hamilton:
4:01.16 outright, 3:53.00 converted (SCHOOL RECORD)?

Levi Taylor:
4:04:63 outright, 3:56.34 converted?

Ben Perrin:
4:07.07 outright, 3:58.70 converted.?
?#GoCatsGo | @kate_brown547 pic.twitter.com/FX3sKdLUlr
— Montana State TF/XC (@MSUBobcatsTFXC) February 17, 2023

But the celebration wasn't over. Two more Bobcats would break sub-four in the mile and, in turn, rewrite the program's top-10 record book.

Several meters behind, Hamilton's teammates Levi Taylor and Ben Perrin fought to the finish. The duo had worked together throughout the mile several strides behind Hamilton and Zach Perrin (Ben's older brother, who paced Hamilton through the first 800 meters), and both of them would have a race worth remembering. Going into the Big Sky Tuner, both Perrin (4:01.35) and Taylor (4:04.38) had been excruciatingly close to breaking the fabled four-minute barrier.

Prior to Friday, Dale Kennedy Director of Track & Field/Cross Country Lyle Weese told Taylor that he'd surprise himself in the mile. At first, Taylor didn't believe it. Then when he toed the line and ran on Friday, Taylor noticed he felt good.

"I felt really good the whole time — it was really weird," Taylor said. "I remember coming through with one lap to go and hearing Lyle [Weese] scream, 'You're going to do it!' Then I knew I was going to break four, but I didn't know how far under I was going to break four. At that point, I wanted to see how far I could go."

In that last lap, Perrin took in the whole scene. He already knew he was running a fast time; in fact, he didn't look at the clock until the last two laps. Even with that time in mind, he threw the numbers out the window and gave the last lap everything he had.

"It was a fun last lap," Perrin recalled. "I was trying to be as present as possible and enjoy the last lap. With how loud it was in there, it was pretty cool. Everyone else ran really fast as well, so it was a fun race."

Taylor crossed the line in 4:04.63, Perrin in 4:07.07. Altitude and track conversions put the duo at 3:56.40 and 3:58.70, giving MSU two more members of the sub-four-minute mile club.

The post-race scene was euphoric as seven more of their teammates crossed the line. Freshman Sam Ells, who redshirted in the fall and watched the Bobcats have a historic cross-country season from afar, ran a post-converted 4:03.09 — good for ninth all-time at MSU. Running unattached, Rob McManus ran a personal best in 4:02.99. Nearly everyone in the heat PRed.

"It's inspiring," Hamilton said. "It's everything we want to see for this program. Especially being a fifth-year senior, knowing that this program is getting so much faster — and that faster times will keep coming — is super awesome to see."

With his last race in Bozeman in the books, Hamilton now has seven MSU school records (four indoor, three outdoor), three of which were set this year. His time is fifth in Division I, while Taylor's ranks 22nd going into the conference championship season.

"If we would've seen the results of this race two years ago, it would be mind-blowing," Perrin added.

Yet the men's milers weren't the only ones who saw major improvements at the Big Sky Tuner. Several minutes earlier, Mya Dube and Lindsey Paulson worked together — with help from Hannah Perrin, Ben and Zach's younger sister — pacing the duo halfway through the women's mile en route to two more top-10 times in MSU history. Dube's post-converted time of 4:43.46 is the second-fastest at MSU behind Heather Haug's 4:39.87, while Paulson's post-converted time of 4:45.19 is the fourth-fastest all-time at MSU. Before Friday, Paulson had only run the indoor mile once.

Although the meet did not have a team score, 19 Bobcats (10 women and nine men) won their respective events, while 11 new top-10 marks occurred. The latter mark is a single-meet best for the year.

Now, only time will tell if the Bobcats are peaking at the right time. The 2023 Big Sky Indoor Track & Field Championships next weekend from Feb. 23-25 will pit MSU against national powerhouse Northern Arizona on a 300-meter track, at Moscow, Idaho's elevation of 2,579 feet — more than 2,000 feet lower than Bozeman.

THE RUNDOWN

True freshmen Sam Ells and Lindsey Paulson also posted some of the fastest freshmen mile times in Montana State history. Ells, who made his mile debut on Friday, ran a 4:03.09 — good for ninth all-time — while Paulson was right behind Dube to stop the clock at 4:45.19, which is the fifth-fastest mile in program history.
Over in the weight throw, both Matt Furdyk and Leah Klein helped the Bobcat throwers have one of their best meets of the year. Furdyk's lifetime-best of 19.89m (65-3.25) improved the fourth-best mark in Montana State history, while in Leah Klein's last meet in Worthington Arena, the senior moved up to fifth all-time at MSU and third in the Big Sky Conference with a mark of 18.27m (59-11.25).
Speaking of the throwers, Jordan Fink (13.53m/44-4.75) and Carter Slade (16.60m/54-5.5) won the women's and men's shot put to sweep the throwing events.
MSU's sprinters swept the 60-meter dash thanks to Macy White's pre-converted time of 7.53 and Xavier Simpson picking up his first-ever collegiate win with a time of 6.90. Simpson and fellow freshman Stryder Todd-Fields are tied for sixth all-time at MSU in the event. Elsewhere in the women's 60-meters, Billings West alumna Jaeden Wolff broke into MSU's top-10 leaderboard with a 7.67 (T-5th).
Both 800-meter runners also posted top-10 marks: Chris Bianchini soloed a 1:49.60 to improve on his fourth-fastest time in program history, while Madison Smith shaved several seconds off her personal best with a 2:10.62 that ranks fifth in the conference and sixth all-time at Montana State.

MOVING ON UP
All the new top-10 marks in program history set at the meet

Men's mile: Duncan Hamilton, 3:52.99 — New school record
Men's mile: Levi Taylor, 3:56.34 — 4th all-time at MSU
Men's mile: Ben Perrin, 3:58.70 — 6th all-time at MSU
Men's mile: Sam Ells, 4:03.09 — 9th all-time at MSU
Women's mile: Mya Dube, 4:43.46 — 2nd all-time at MSU
Women's mile: Lindsey Paulson, 4:45.19 — 4th all-time at MSU
Men's 800 meters: Chris Bianchini, 1:49.60 — 4th all-time at MSU
Men's weight throw: Matt Furdyk, 19.89m ( 65-3.25) — 4th all-time at MSU
Women's weight throw: Leah Klein, 18.23m (59-9.75) — 5th all-time at MSU
Women's 60-meter dash: Jaeden Wolff, 7.67 — T-5th all-time at MSU
Men's 60-meter dash: Xavier Simpson, 6.90 — 6th all-time at MSU

UP NEXT: Montana State heads to Moscow, Idaho for the 2023 Big Sky Indoor Track and Field Championships, starting with the multi-events on Feb. 23 and ending on Feb. 25. All meet information can be found on the men's and women's track team's schedule pages at msubobcats.com.