Track and Field Releases 2024-25 Schedule
11/26/2024 1:30:00 PM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field
Four home meets highlight the indoor slate leading into a jam-packed spring on the track
BOZEMAN, Mont. -- Dale Kennedy Director of Track and Field Lyle Weese announced the Montana State track and field schedule on Tuesday, highlighted by five meets hosted by the Bobcats in Bozeman.
"We're always looking for the best opportunities for our student-athletes to compete, get good marks, get good experience, and prepare themselves for success in championship meets," Weese said. "We have a lot of similarities in our schedule during the regular season meets to prior years. A bit of a difference this year compared to last year is that the indoor conference championships are in Flagstaff and the outdoor conference championships are in Sacramento, so those will be significant travel meets to get to our conference championships. Other than that, we have a lot of similar meets."
A packed winter slate begins on Thursday, December 5, when the Cats host the Bobcat PReview meet at Worthington Arena. In a ceremony prior to the 4x400 relays, Montana State will unveil their 2024 Big Sky Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championship banner, won in thrilling fashion over an unforgettable week last May at Bobcat Track and Field Complex. The title was the first for the Cats since 2005.
Following the holiday break, the Cats return to action on January 17 for the Spokane Sports Showcase, the first of two indoor meets MSU will compete in at The Podium, a world-class facility in Spokane, Washington.
Back-to-back home meets on January 25 (Bobcat Challenge) and January 31 (Bobcat Performance) will give fans two more opportunities to see the Cats in action before the calendar turns to February. Admission to all four home indoor meets this season is free.
"It's great to have a home venue where you can host indoor meets," Weese said. "Between indoor and outdoor, I think it's especially important to have a number of competitions during the indoor season simply because it's first and it gives everyone the opportunity to get started and see where they're at and what they can work towards. We're very fortunate to have a place where we can host indoor meets."
MSU then returns to The Podium in Spokane on February 6-8 for the Riverfront Invite, and on February 14-15 will send split squads to Seattle (Husky Classic) and Albuquerque (Don Kirby Elite Invite).
The final meet of the indoor regular season will find the Bobcats back at home, as they host the Big Sky Tuner on February 20.
Montana State then flies down to Flagstaff, Arizona, for the 2025 Big Sky Indoor Track and Field Championships, hosted by Northern Arizona.
Last season, the Bobcat teams both finished runner-up at the conference's indoor championships while combining for 224 points—the second-most in program history and the most since 2004.
For any individuals that qualify, the 2025 NCAA Indoor Championships will be March 14-15 in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
The Cats' outdoor season begins with a bang at the annual Al Manual Invitational, hosted by the University of Montana on March 28-29.
The following week on April 4-5, MSU will again split the squad, sending a contingent to the UNLV Rebel Invite in Las Vegas, Nevada, and another group to the Stanford Invite in Palo Alto, California.
Those two weekends lead into the traditional Cat-Griz Dual on April 12, hosted by the University of Montana in Missoula. The Bobcat men have won 11 of the last 13 duals over the Griz, while the women have won ten of the last 12.
A big California trip awaits the MSU teams next, as the Cats will hit the Bryan Clay Invite in Azusa (April 16-18), the Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut (April 16-19), the Pacific Coast Invite in Long Beach (April 17), and the Beach Invite in Long Beach (April 18-19).
"A highlight of our season for all event groups during the regular season is the Azusa-Long Beach State-Mt. SAC weekend, so being that time of year and getting some typically really nice weather against high level competition from all over the country tends to be a highlight," Weese said.
Another trip to Palo Alto for select student-athletes on April 25 for the Payton Jordan Invite and another trip to Missoula on April 25-26 for the Montana Open comes next.
With the postseason chase heating up as Bobcat athletes look for qualifying marks to NCAA Regionals, MSU returns to the Bengal Invite in Pocatello, Idaho, on May 2-3.
The regular season concludes with the lone outdoor home meet hosted by Montana State next spring at the Bobcat Track and Field Complex, the Tom Gage Invite on May 9.
The 2025 Big Sky Outdoor Track and Field Championships will be hosted in Sacramento, California, on May 14-17.
The NCAA West Region Preliminary Rounds will be held May 28-31 in College Station, Texas.
The 2025 NCAA Outdoor Championships are scheduled for June 11-14 at historic Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.
"We have a good mix of home and away meets," Weese said. "Especially during the indoor season, we have a number of home meets. For outdoor we're traveling a little bit more, but still there's a good mix of meets here or in Missoula that we can give competition opportunities to a wide range of student-athletes. We have some other meets where we might take fewer people but can get them up against similar levels of competition."
Weese, in his seventh year as Director of Track and Field at Montana State, led the Bobcat men to their second-ever team title at the Big Sky Outdoor Championships in May, winning six events that included the 4×400 relay that gave them a one-point advantage over No. 11 Northern Arizona in the team standings after trailing by five points entering the final race.
The Lumberjack men had come to the conference meet in Bozeman having won three titles in a row and nine of the last 11, but were edged out by Montana State in thrilling fashion, 186-185.
Montana State qualified a program-record 23 athletes to the NCAA West First Rounds in Arkansas, advancing Rob McManus, Levi Taylor, and Owen Smith to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the steeplechase.
Weese was named the 2024 Big Sky Men's Outdoor Track and Field Coach of the Year in May, becoming the second Bobcat coach ever to earn that award along with his predecessor, Dale Kennedy (2005), and was named the 2024 USTFCCCA Mountain Region Coach of the Year in June.
Under Weese's direction, the MSU men's teams have recorded top three finishes in nine of 10 possible championship appearances, including four runner-up finishes, before breaking through with last year's championship. The MSU women's squad has totaled eight top-three finishes, including five runner-up showings.
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