Elena Carter (middle) on her way to a Big Sky Championship
Photo by: Bobcat Creative Services
'ONE OF A KIND': Elena Carter Caps Brilliant Career with Seventh Big Sky Title
5/12/2024 10:01:00 PM | Women's Track and Field
Bobcat senior enjoys experience in final conference meet
BOZEMAN, Montana – Elena Carter will always remember walking into the Bobcat Track and Field Complex on Saturday.
For the Montana State senior, it wasn't just Championship Saturday at the Big Sky Outdoor Track and Field Championships. It wasn't just her Senior Day. And it wasn't just her final competition at the complex she'd spent so many hours forging a legendary Bobcat career.
It was all those things, and a little more.
"I knew coming into today that it was going to be my last day," she said. "Walking into the stadium and knowing it would be my last four-by-one (relay) with everyone and my last big team experience, it's been bittersweet all day but I'm excited because everyone's doing super well."
On the list of MSU women's team members doing super well at the Big Sky Championships, Carter was at or near the top. She finished third in the long jump Friday, then scored a point in the women's 100 meters on Saturday. Above it all though, she set the school record in the 100 meter hurdles for the second time in less than 24 hours, with her 13.31 (altitude adjusting to 13.35) adding a seventh Big Sky Conference Gold Medal for one of Montana State's most decorated athletes. She is a 13-time all-conference athlete, as well.
The day started with a tad of doubt, the Helena product said, shading the positive vibes at dawn on Saturday. "I was really excited, she said. "I was a little worried coming in because I had a couple of weird things happen (Friday) with my foot in the long jump, but I really wanted to come away with at least one other Big Sky title and so I was mentally locked in. It went really well. I was super excited to PR again with a wind legal time. I was really, really excited. I saw 13.4 come up (Friday) and I was praying it would round down into 13.-whatever, and to see that come up that I ran 13.31, which is something I never really saw coming, at least for this week."
Like most athletes near the end of a season, physical maladies have hindered Carter at times. But one thing never fails.
"She's always a competitor, she's a perfectionist, she's a warrior," says MSU sprints and hurdles coach Teague Peck. "She's gone through a decent amount of adversity, but even through those things I have to control it a little bit because she wants to compete with herself. She's getting on that runway at five o'clock because she's a master's (degree) student and that's when she can come out to practice. It's just her, the runway and me, and a lot of cold wind, and she still gets the job done every single day."
Her competitiveness is innate, but the meaning of Bobcat Track and Field – and Montana State University – adds an extra dimension. "It's super important to me," she said of her time in the Blue and Gold. "With my dad being here (Lee Carter played football for the Cats) and my sister (Leigha) being on the track team and my brother (Tom) playing football (currently)."
Carter admits that "I was not the best hurdler" coming out of Helena Capital, but she always held great passion for the hurdles. "I was better at long jump, but I really loved hurdling. I used to be excited when I broke 14 (seconds) and to be able to run 13 low is kind of hard to believe thinking back to how I used ot be running track. It's just really exciting."
Peck said Carter's crowning moment, the hurdles championship on her home track, shows her true nature. "That race was a product of her hard work, fighting a lot of adversity," he said. "Broke her ankle a year ago. Her coming back and being better than ever just shows who she is. That girl is an incredible competitor. That hundred hurdle race, things just came together. She likes being in some fast fields. I'm always hoping it will be fast, because if it's fast she's going to be faster."
While reveling in the presence of her family throughout the season, Carter said the joy is rooted much deeper and it has bonded her to her alma mater. "One of the biggest reasons I stuck around here is that I met so many of my best friends on the track team and I couldn't – not that I ever wanted to leave – see myself ever being in a better community school-wise or team-wise. (The weekend is) super special, it's really, really fun. There's a whole bunch of former teammates that are here, my boyfriend Drake Schneider who has the school record in the 400 hurdles, there's people announcing that I ran with, and to be able to see the phases of the team that I was on when I was (younger) that have (graduated and moved on) and now the newer people, it's really cool."
While acknowledging Carter's athletic accomplishments, Peck says her impact reaches beyond that. "She brings a lot of confidence in that hurdle and long jump room," he said. "It's almost an unspoken leadership. Every girl in the jumps and hurdles room looks up to her."
Combining her achievements on the track and her presence in the program, Peck said, leads to an inevitable conclusion. "Elena Carter is one of a kind."
#GoCatsGo
For the Montana State senior, it wasn't just Championship Saturday at the Big Sky Outdoor Track and Field Championships. It wasn't just her Senior Day. And it wasn't just her final competition at the complex she'd spent so many hours forging a legendary Bobcat career.
It was all those things, and a little more.
"I knew coming into today that it was going to be my last day," she said. "Walking into the stadium and knowing it would be my last four-by-one (relay) with everyone and my last big team experience, it's been bittersweet all day but I'm excited because everyone's doing super well."
On the list of MSU women's team members doing super well at the Big Sky Championships, Carter was at or near the top. She finished third in the long jump Friday, then scored a point in the women's 100 meters on Saturday. Above it all though, she set the school record in the 100 meter hurdles for the second time in less than 24 hours, with her 13.31 (altitude adjusting to 13.35) adding a seventh Big Sky Conference Gold Medal for one of Montana State's most decorated athletes. She is a 13-time all-conference athlete, as well.
The day started with a tad of doubt, the Helena product said, shading the positive vibes at dawn on Saturday. "I was really excited, she said. "I was a little worried coming in because I had a couple of weird things happen (Friday) with my foot in the long jump, but I really wanted to come away with at least one other Big Sky title and so I was mentally locked in. It went really well. I was super excited to PR again with a wind legal time. I was really, really excited. I saw 13.4 come up (Friday) and I was praying it would round down into 13.-whatever, and to see that come up that I ran 13.31, which is something I never really saw coming, at least for this week."
Like most athletes near the end of a season, physical maladies have hindered Carter at times. But one thing never fails.
"She's always a competitor, she's a perfectionist, she's a warrior," says MSU sprints and hurdles coach Teague Peck. "She's gone through a decent amount of adversity, but even through those things I have to control it a little bit because she wants to compete with herself. She's getting on that runway at five o'clock because she's a master's (degree) student and that's when she can come out to practice. It's just her, the runway and me, and a lot of cold wind, and she still gets the job done every single day."
Her competitiveness is innate, but the meaning of Bobcat Track and Field – and Montana State University – adds an extra dimension. "It's super important to me," she said of her time in the Blue and Gold. "With my dad being here (Lee Carter played football for the Cats) and my sister (Leigha) being on the track team and my brother (Tom) playing football (currently)."
Carter admits that "I was not the best hurdler" coming out of Helena Capital, but she always held great passion for the hurdles. "I was better at long jump, but I really loved hurdling. I used to be excited when I broke 14 (seconds) and to be able to run 13 low is kind of hard to believe thinking back to how I used ot be running track. It's just really exciting."
Peck said Carter's crowning moment, the hurdles championship on her home track, shows her true nature. "That race was a product of her hard work, fighting a lot of adversity," he said. "Broke her ankle a year ago. Her coming back and being better than ever just shows who she is. That girl is an incredible competitor. That hundred hurdle race, things just came together. She likes being in some fast fields. I'm always hoping it will be fast, because if it's fast she's going to be faster."
While reveling in the presence of her family throughout the season, Carter said the joy is rooted much deeper and it has bonded her to her alma mater. "One of the biggest reasons I stuck around here is that I met so many of my best friends on the track team and I couldn't – not that I ever wanted to leave – see myself ever being in a better community school-wise or team-wise. (The weekend is) super special, it's really, really fun. There's a whole bunch of former teammates that are here, my boyfriend Drake Schneider who has the school record in the 400 hurdles, there's people announcing that I ran with, and to be able to see the phases of the team that I was on when I was (younger) that have (graduated and moved on) and now the newer people, it's really cool."
While acknowledging Carter's athletic accomplishments, Peck says her impact reaches beyond that. "She brings a lot of confidence in that hurdle and long jump room," he said. "It's almost an unspoken leadership. Every girl in the jumps and hurdles room looks up to her."
Combining her achievements on the track and her presence in the program, Peck said, leads to an inevitable conclusion. "Elena Carter is one of a kind."
#GoCatsGo
Players Mentioned
Jumps/Hurdles
/ Women's Track and Field2022 Big Sky Outdoor Championships
Monday, May 16
Track and Field Big Sky Championships
Monday, February 18
Coach Kennedy - Feb. 11, 2013
Tuesday, February 12
Coach Kennedy - Feb. 4, 2013
Tuesday, February 05
