Montana State University
Don Kirby Elite Invitational
Cats Take Off for Albuquerque and Seattle
2/13/2025 1:22:00 PM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field
Montana State track and field splits the squad up for pair of high-level indoor meets this weekend
BOZEMAN, Mont. -- Montana State track and field will send split squads to compete in two prestigious indoor meets this weekend, with groups of Bobcats heading to both the Don Kirby Elite Invitational in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and the Husky Classic in Seattle, Washington.
Both meets begin Friday and continue through Saturday.
A meet schedule for the Don Kirby Elite Invitational can be viewed here, with live results available here. The meet will be streamed on FloTrack.
A meet schedule for the Husky Classic can be viewed here, with live results available here. The meet will be streamed on RunnerSpace.
Montana State will send a select group of sprinters and jumpers to Albuquerque, with a squad of distance runners and throwers going to Seattle.
Competing at elevation inside the Albuquerque Convention Center, the women's 4x400 meter relay team will take aim at a school record, Hailey Coey will look to build on one of the great seasons by a jumper in program history, and Colby Wilson will look for an NCAA Championships qualifying mark in the pole vault, among other highlights.
"The jumpers always love the elevated runways and especially the runways at the facility in Albuquerque," head coach Lyle Weese said. "So many of the great jumps—long jump, triple jump, high jump, and pole vault—so many of the great marks in those events come from that facility. It's great to have them go get to compete in a facility like that up against high-level competition. Those individuals in the jumps events have been doing some great things and it's going to be exciting to see them on fast runways and see how they can do. We're really excited about the opportunity to go down there and run some sprints as well. It's a fast track with a fast straightaway."
Further north in the Emerald City, Montana State's distance runners are looking forward to competing at sea level at the Demspey Indoor Center on the campus of the University of Washington.
Two-time outdoor All-American Rob McManus leads the men, with two-time All-Big Sky cross country pick Kyla Christopher-Moody spearheading the charge on the women's side.
"The distance races at the Husky Classic are always really strong," Weese said. "It's a great opportunity for both of our men's and women's distance runners to go over there and put up some good marks in the mile and 3,000 meters especially. Being at sea level for the distance runners is a bit of relief for them. We compete a lot of times and have adjustments for equivalent performances at sea level, but it doesn't feel the same as going to sea level and just being able to race and have the mark be the mark. They are all really excited about that."
Bobcat throwers will also be making the trip to Seattle, with new shot put school record-holder Sydney Brewster helping lead a group that has made big strides over the past few weeks.
"The throws at the meet in Seattle are particularly strong this year, so it looks like there's going to be some really high-level weight throwers and shot putters," Weese said. "It's another opportunity for the throws crew to get over there into a different environment on a 300-meter track as opposed to smaller arenas with a 200-meter track. In that way, it'll be a little similar to the conference championships at the Walkup Skydome."
The Montana State women's team was slotted fifth in the Week 3 USTFCCCA Mountain Region Rankings released on Tuesday, while the men's team was ranked tenth.
In USTFCCCA's Event Squad Rankings, MSU men's weight throw was rated the 15th-best group in NCAA Division I, while men's pole vault was ranked No. 17.
The men's mile was ranked No. 20, and the shot put was ranked No. 23.
On the women's side, the pole vault was ranked No. 19, with the high jump ranked No. 26 and the triple jump ranked No. 28.
Montana State will be back home on Thursday, Feb. 20, for the Big Sky Tuner at Worthington Arena, the last regular season meet of the year ahead of the 2025 Big Sky Indoor Track & Field Championships in Flagstaff, Arizona, from Feb. 27 to March 1.
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