Montana State University
Big Sky Indoor Track and Field Championships
Spokane Bound: Bobcat Track And Field Prepped for Big Sky Indoor Championships
2/21/2024 7:35:00 PM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field
Montana State ranked second in the conference on both the men’s and women’s sides heading into three-day meet at The Podium in Spokane beginning Thursday and continuing through Saturday
SPOKANE, Wash. — Montana State track and field heads to the Evergreen State this week for the 2024 Big Sky Indoor Track & Field Championships, held at The Podium powered by STCU in Spokane, Washington.
It marks the third trip for the Cats to The Podium facility this season, having competed there for the Spokane Sports Showcase on January 12 and the Riverfront Invitational on February 1-3.
Action begins with the women's pentathlon and men's heptathlon on Thursday morning at 10 a.m. PT/11 a.m. MT.
"The conference championships are always so special for our program," Dale Kennedy Director of Track and Field Lyle Weese said. "With track and field, throughout the season, there are so many individual aspects to meets—so when you get to a conference championship, it's really about a team being together and trying to score as well as they can. It's definitely the highlight of each season we have. We're really excited to get out there and compete and do the very best that we can."
The 2024 Big Sky Indoor Track & Field Championships will be streamed live on ESPN+ all three days, with coverage beginning at 9:30 a.m. PT/10:30 a.m. MT each morning.
Live results are available here. A full meet schedule can be found here, and the championship program can be viewed here.
The Bobcat women come into this week's meet having achieved second-place finishes at each of the last three conference championship competitions, earning runner-up at the 2022 outdoor meet, 2023 indoor meet, and 2023 outdoor meet. The Bobcat men took third last season and enter this year's championships rated second according to the USTFCCA Conference Track and Field Rating Index.
On both sides, the Bobcat teams are ranked second in the Big Sky behind Northern Arizona, who is ranked No. 1 nationally on the men's side and No. 31 on the women's side.
Shelby Schweyen and Nicola Paletti headline the Bobcat entries in the multi-event competitions that get underway Thursday. Schweyen, a senior from Missoula recorded the fifth-best score in the pentathlon in program history (3,785) at The Podium in January at the Riverfront Invitational, and Paletti, a junior from Bolzano, Italy, recorded the third-best score in the heptathlon in MSU history at the same meet (5,437). The conference championships will be the second meet that both will be able to compete in multis.
In the throws, freshman Sydney Brewster and sophomore Elijah Jackman will compete for podium spots. Brewster is first in the shot put this season thanks to a mark of 50-08.25 that currently ranks fifth in program history. Jackman is second in the weight throw after a throw of 66-05.75 last Friday in the Big Sky Tuner—that mark is third in program history.
The Bobcat sprints group has arguably been the most impressive event squad during the indoor season, setting multiple school records and top-ten marks under first-year sprints coach Teague Peck.
Jaeden Wolff and Noah Barbery each set school records in the 60 meters this winter, and headline a dangerous and deep group of sprinters heading into the conference meet. Barbery, a native of Spokane, will run in the same home facility in which he ran a record 6.80 in January.
Wolff, a Billings product, has burst onto the scene with a school record in the 60 meters (7.43) and the No. 2 time in MSU history in the 200 meters (24.00). Among Big Sky foes, the sophomore ranks third in the 60 and second in the 200 heading into the weekend.
In the relays, the women's 4x400 group has twice broken the school record this season—first at the Spokane Sports Showcase, held at The Podium on January 12, and then again at the Bobcat Performance meet two weeks ago in Bozeman.
The men's 4x400 relay team of Stryder Todd-Fields, Tyler Gilman, Michael Swan, and Jett Grundy, ran a blistering converted time of 3:13.11 at that same Bobcat Performance meet to rank No. 2 all-time in program history.
Grundy will also compete in the 400 meters. The Australian freshman owns the top time in the Big Sky this year, running a 47.01 in Spokane on February 3 to climb to No. 2 all-time in program history.
In the jumps, Destiny Nkeonye should compete for a medal in both the men's long and triple jump. The Italian holds the fifth-best mark in program history in the long jump (24-02.25) but has shown flashes of maybe being the record-holder as soon as this weekend. The junior is second in the Big Sky in the triple jump and fourth in the long jump this year.
Taylor Brisendine in the triple jump and Hailey Coey in the long and triple jump aim to be big point-earners for the Cats on the women's side. Brisendine is fourth in the Big Sky in the triple jump, while Coey is second in the long jump and fifth in the triple jump.
Colby Wilson remains the Big Sky Conference record-holder in the pole vault thanks to a mark from last season, and will be the favorite in the event heading into Friday's competition. The senior from Olympia, Washington, has cleared 5.42m (17-09.25) this season to lead the Big Sky and rank 19th nationally. Wilson will likely need to clear at least 5.50m to potentially qualify for a top-16 spot in the NCAA Championships.
Maisee Brown is coming off the best performance of her career in the women's pole vault last Friday. The senior from Billings broke her own personal best on three consecutive heights to secure No. 2 in the top-ten lists all-time and earn Big Sky Field Athlete of the Week honors. Brown ranks first in the Big Sky this year and 38th nationally.
Montana State's distance runners have built off a memorable cross country season and carried momentum into the winter on the track, setting multiple program top-ten marks.
The Bobcat men and women each placed second at the Big Sky Cross Country Championships, the first time since 1992 that both teams had finished that high in the same meet. The men went on to finish 13th at the NCAA Championships in November, the second-highest finish in program history.
Senior Kalispell native Ben Perrin set the indoor 5,000 meter school record on December 7 with a converted time of 13:29.15. His 3,000 meter time this season of 7:49.20 ranks second in school history.
Last Friday, six Bobcat men cracked the four-minute barrier with altitude and track-converted times in the same race—the first time that had happened in school history.
Australian freshman Harvey Cramb has been a weapon for the Cats in both the 800 meters and mile, ranking fifth and eighth in the Big Sky, respectively.
Other Bobcat men distance runners aiming for big points include Levi Taylor and Rob McManus.
On the women's side, Grace Gilbreth enters the conference meet as the most recent Big Sky Women's Track Athlete of the Week after running a converted time of 4:44.00 in the mile last Friday to move up to third all-time in school history.
Kyla Christopher-Moody, an all-conference cross country performer in the fall, is joined by Gilbreth, Kendra Lusk and Ava Weems as contenders in the women's 5,000 meter and 3,000 meter races.
"It just comes down to each individual preparing themselves the very best for their events," Weese said. "It comes down to being together as a team and then competing well in our individual events."
Live coverage on ESPN+ begins Thursday at 9:30 a.m. PT/10:30 a.m. MT.
#GoCatsGo
Players Mentioned
