Montana State University
Stanford Invite
Bobcat Track Opens Outdoor Action at Stanford Invitational This Weekend
3/28/2024 7:34:00 PM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field
Montana State participating in one of the marquee events on spring calendar with plenty of ranked competition in Palo Alto
PALO ALTO, Calif. – Montana State track and field begins their outdoor season in full force this weekend in the Golden State, starting competition at the prestigious Stanford Invitational on Friday in Palo Alto, California.
The two-day meet gets underway with the men's javelin throw at 9 a.m. PT/10 a.m. MT on Friday at Cobb Track and Angell Field.
Competition on Friday lasts from 9 a.m. PT until midnight and Saturday from 9 a.m. PT until 6 p.m. PT.
A full meet schedule can be viewed here, while live results can be accessed here.
The meet will be streamed live and is available to watch with a subscription to FloTrack.
Arkansas, Oregon, Northern Arizona, BYU, Stanford, Wake Forest, and Iowa will be among the teams with athletes competing at the prestigious meet that was first held in 1975. The event promises to be an important measuring stick for a Bobcat track and field program that enters the 2024 outdoor season with high expectations after a pair of runner-up finishes at the Big Sky Indoor Track & Field Championships.
The Cats sent a handful of competitors to the Al Manuel Invitational in Missoula last Friday to officially open the outdoor season, but the bulk of the athletes donning the uniform this weekend will be competing in their first outdoor meet of the season.
Montana State opened up the outdoor slate in Missoula with a pair of school records, as freshman Sydney Brewster broke the women's shot put record in her first collegiate outdoor meet, while sophomore Pat Vialva broke a men's javelin record that had stood since 1997.
Matt Furdyk (hammer throw), Clara Fox (javelin), and Emma Brensdal (discus) also set program top-ten marks at the meet, highlighting a big day from the throws group.
On the track, Levi Taylor and Rob McManus will get their first crack in 2024 at the 3,000-meter steeplechase after doing their part to help make Montana State "Steeple U" over the last few years.
Taylor, a senior from Laurel, Montana, placed 15th overall at the 2023 NCAA National Championships last spring and ninth overall at the 2022 NCAA National Championships in the event, while McManus, a junior from Cashmere, Washington, placed 16th overall at the 2023 NCAA National Championships. The men's steeplechase is scheduled for Friday at 6:03 p.m. PT/7:03 p.m. MT.
Montana State placed runner-up on both the men's and women's sides at the 2024 Big Sky Indoor Track & Field Championships in February, marking the second time in program history and the first time since 2019 that the men and women have both finished at least second in the same indoor championship meet. The 226 combined points for the two teams was the most since 2004 (235), and was the second-highest total in school history.
The Bobcat women secured their fourth straight runner-up finish at a conference competition, having now grabbed silver at each of the last two indoor championships and each of the last two outdoor championships.
The Bobcat men returned to second place on the podium at the Big Sky indoor meet for the first time since 2019. The Montana State men's team total of 119 points was the most for the team since 2013.
In addition to the main contingent at Stanford, a handful of Montana State athletes will also be competing nearby at the Mike Fanelli Track Classic, hosted by San Francisco State and Chabot College. Live results for that meet are available here.
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