Women’s Track & Field Claims First Big Sky Outdoor Title Since 2003

Saturday, May 16

Gresham, Ore.

11 a.m.

Montana State University

Big Sky Outdoor Championships - Day 4

Photo by: Brian Morse

Women’s Track & Field Claims First Big Sky Outdoor Title Since 2003

5/16/2026 10:43:00 PM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

Final Results

Bobcat women tally 181 points to take home second-ever outdoor championship

By: Pershelle Rohrer

GRESHAM, Ore. --- The Montana State women's track & field team secured its second-ever Big Sky outdoor title in dominant fashion on Saturday, tallying 181 points to defeat second-place Northern Arizona (128) by 53 points at Earl L. Klapstein Stadium.

Over the course of the four-day meet, the Bobcat women earned six individual titles; 12 All-Big Sky honors, given to those who finish in the top three in their respective events; and 29 total scoring performances to earn their victory. Tilde Bjerager swept the Big Sky Women's Freshman of the Year, Most Outstanding Performer, and Most Valuable Athlete awards after collecting two gold medals (400-meter hurdles, 4x400m relay), one silver medal (high jump), and one fourth-place finish (100m hurdles) en route to a contribution of 25.5 points for the Bobcats.

On the men's side, Montana State tallied 105 points to finish fourth in a field that finished with the second-, third-, and fourth-place teams separated by just five points. Rob McManus was named the Big Sky Men's Most Outstanding Performer thanks to his victory in the 3,000m steeplechase on Friday.

Tilde Bjerager obliterated her own school record while resetting the meet and overall conference records in the 400m hurdles to take home gold in Gresham. Bjerager crossed the finish line in 55.84 to post the 10^th-fastest time in the NCAA this season, shaving 1.28 seconds off the school record and breaking the meet record of 57.66 and the overall conference record of 56.64, both set by Cal State Northridge's Frances Santin in 2001. The time earned her the meet's Women's Most Outstanding Performer award with the top performance of the meet. Giulia Gandolfi joined Bjerager on the podium with a second-place time of 58.12, and Olivia Lewis posted a fifth-place result with a time of 59.83 as the Bobcats tallied 22 points in the event.

Three Bobcats scored in the women's shot put to bring in 20 points for the Bobcat women to open the day. Sydney Brewster completed a sweep of the 2026 indoor and outdoor shot put titles, recording a throw of 17.07 meters/56 feet, 0 inches on her fifth attempt to earn the victory by over seven feet. The mark broke the Big Sky Outdoor Championship record, which stood since 1988, and earned her All-Big Sky honors in the outdoor shot put for the second-straight year. Emma Brensdal also earned all-conference honors with a bronze medal in the event, posting a mark of 14.82m/48-7.50. Maggie Hillis rounded out the trio of Bobcat scorers with a sixth-place mark of 14.00m/45-11.25.

Brewster also took gold in the discus with a winning mark of 46.15m/151-5 to earn her second event win of the day. The mark came on her fifth attempt to give her her second-straight all-conference honor in the event and her first Big Sky discus title. Brensdal tallied a point for the Bobcats, recording a mark of 43.45m/142-6 to place eighth in the event.

Easton Hatleberg helped the Cats sweep the men's and women's shot put titles with a victory in school record-breaking fashion on Saturday. He moved into the lead on his sixth and final attempt with a throw of 18.71m/61-4.75, taking home his second Big Sky shot put title overall and his first outdoors. Two other Bobcats scored in the event, with Talon Holmquist taking fifth with a mark of 17.23m/56-6.50 and Matt Furdyk recording a mark of 16.57m/54-4.50 to place seventh.

Libby Hansen and Tatum Richards became co-champions in the pole vault with marks of 3.99m/13-1.00, both clearing the bar on their first attempt to accumulate 18 points for the Bobcats. Hansen entered the competition at 3.54m/11-7.25, and Richards cleared her first bar at 3.69m/12-1.25, with neither vaulter missing a bar over the course of the competition. Richards earned her third-straight Big Sky pole vault title between the indoor and outdoor seasons dating back to the 2025 Big Sky Outdoor Championships, while Hansen claimed her first.

Caroline Hawkes crossed the finish line just three hundredths of a second shy of her own school record in the 400m, clocking a 52.67 to take home gold in Oregon. She completed a sweep of the indoor and outdoor titles in the event this season to tally 10 points for the Bobcats.

Hawkes led a group of four scorers for the Bobcats in the women's 200m. Hawkes crossed the line in 23.77 to claim silver, Brooke Reuter posted a time of 24.31 to improve her own No. 10 time in school history to take fifth, Jaeden Wolff clocked a 24.49 for sixth place, and Peyton Garrison crossed the line in 24.76 to finish eighth.

Jadyn VanDyken, Bjerager, Gandolfi, and Hawkes clocked the No. 3 women's 4x400m relay in program history with a time of 3:35.76 to become Big Sky champions. The event marked the final women's event of the Bobcats' record-setting weekend to cement their status as Big Sky champions.

Nash Coley claimed silver in the 400m hurdles, shaving 0.34 seconds off his personal best with a time of 51.37. That time helped him move from fourth to third all-time in Montana State history as Coley earned All-Big Sky honors.

Garrison, Hawkes, Reuter, and Wolff combined for a time of 45.40 in the women's 4x100m relay to secure third place for All-Big Sky honors in the first running event of the day. They beat out Sacramento State by three hundredths of a second to earn to earn their podium spot.

Jett Grundy crossed the finish line third in the men's 400m, clocking a time of 47.19. He tallied six points for the Bobcat men with his time, which marked his second career all-conference honor in the event outdoors.

Madi Siana became the fifth-fastest performer in Montana State history in the 5,000m, clocking a time of 16:25.77 to place third and earn All-Big Sky honors. Claire Rutherford finished behind Siana in fourth place with a time of 34:38.35 as the two Bobcats combined for 11 points in the event.

Annie Kaul clocked a personal-best time of 4:24.11 in the 1,500m, passing a pair of Lumberjacks down the final straightaway to secure fourth place and five points for Montana State. Her time moved her to sixth in program history in the event as she collected valuable points for the Bobcats.

Later in the day, Kaul added another fourth-place finish in the 800m with a time of 2:08.51, while Kalei Moravitz added a point with an eighth-place result, clocking a time of 2:19.21.

Bjerager and Millie Hubbell each tallied scoring times in the 100m hurdles. Bjerager clocked a time of 13.71 for fourth place, and Hubbell posted a 13.98 for seventh overall.

The men's 4x100m team of Noah Barbery, Xavier Simpson, Drake Wilkes, and Malikye Simpson crossed the finish line in 40.88 to place fourth overall and tally five points for the Bobcats.

The men's 4x400m team of Noah Barbery, Peyton Nelson, Coley, and Grundy added a fourth-place finish to conclude the day with a time of 3:11.25.

Harvey Cramb and Blaise Snow each collected points in the men's 1,500m, with Cramb crossing the line fifth and Snow picking up the final points-paying position in eighth. Cramb clocked a time of 3:46.38, and Snow posted a time of 3:50.48.

Cramb added another fifth-place finish in the 800m later in the afternoon, crossing the finish line with a time of 1:49.49.

Matt Furdyk tallied three points for the Bobcats in the discus, posting a mark of 50.42m/165-5 to place sixth in Gresham. The mark came on his fifth attempt and gave him his second career scoring mark in the discus.

Wolff and Reuter finished sixth and eighth, respectively, in the 100m to bring in four points for the Bobcats. Wolff crossed the finish line in 11.80, and Reuter clocked an 11.92 in Gresham.

The Bobcats also placed sixth and eighth in the men's 5,000m. Rob McManus clocked a time of 14:07.40 to earn three points for the Bobcats, and Ryan Harrington added one point with his time of 14:11.67.

Full results from the Big Sky Outdoor Championships are available here.

The Bobcats who conclude championship weekend with top 48 marks in the NCAA West Region will advance to the NCAA West Regionals in Fayetteville, Ark., on May 27-30. Those qualifiers will be announced on Thursday, May 21.

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