MSU Hosts Final Tune-Up Ahead of Big Sky Championships Friday

Friday, February 17

BOZEMAN

12 p.m.

Montana State University

Bobcat Open - Last Chance Qualifier

Photo by: Kelly Gorham

MSU Hosts Final Tune-Up Ahead of Big Sky Championships Friday

2/15/2017 10:32:00 AM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

Meet Schedule Big Sky Notes

The Bobcats host the Last Chance Qualifier as MSU's student-athletes gear up for the conference meet which begins in Pocatello on Feb. 23

By: Andrew Pedersen

Montana State begins its final preparations for the Big Sky Indoor Championships by holding the Last Chance Qualifier inside of Worthington Arena Friday, Feb. 17, with field events set to begin at 12 p.m. and track events to start at approximately 12:30 p.m.

The traditional qualifying standards needed to compete at the conference meet were nullified ahead of this year's campaign, allowing each team to bring 26 women and 26 men to participate at the 2017 Big Sky Championships in Pocatello beginning on Feb. 23.

That makes the final tune-up for the MSU squad at home still valuable, with several Bobcats trying to make their case to represent the Bobcats in Idaho State's Holt Arena.

"The Last Chance Qualifer is certainly a misnomer," Montana State head coach Dale Kennedy said. "But in another way, it's not, because it's the last opportunity our kids have to show the coaching staff they should be on that travel team of 26 kids that gets to go to the Big Sky meet."

MSU continued its progression throughout the indoor campaign with another successful appearance last weekend, this time at the Mountain States Games, the site of the Big Sky meet this year.

The Bobcat men's squad finished in first place among four teams to complete a slate that saw MSU finish atop every scoring meet it competed in this season. The MSU women's team finished second out of five teams in the event. The Bobcats took first in the Bozeman Running Co. Dual Meet Invite on Feb. 4 and placed second in its three other meets that were scored as a team.

Several individual performances stood out during MSU's brief showing in Holt Arena on both days of competition. Multiple adjustments were needed to the program record book following the Games, which included newcomers and those that had previously been on the list.

Following the meet, MSU ranks third in the conference with a combined 38 top-10 marks, trailing Northern Arizona (43) and Montana (40).

The focus for the MSU coaching staff heading into the final regular season meet will be adding depth to the traveling squad that features standouts at the top of the conference performance list.

"If some kids move up into the (conference) top 20 list they're probably going to get a seat on the bus for sure," Kennedy said. "We don't have 26 kids on each side inside the top 20 at this point in time … What it's looking like is that we're really competitive. We're progressing real nicely and I thought we had a great meet at the Mountain States Games. It's a good thing we got down there because those kids are a lot more comfortable after we left there on Saturday afternoon."

Friday's schedule features seven different track events and six throwing events. Members of the MSU track and field teams, along with Montana's men's and women's squads, will be participating in the final tune up at Brick Breeden Fieldhouse.

In the Polls
The United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association announced its third week of regional rankings on Monday, Feb. 13, and the Bobcats remain high in both the men's and women's Mountain Region polls.

The men's team has a regional index score of 101.44 for 10th in the region, falling two spots from a week ago. The Bobcats have the second highest ranking in the region, trailing eighth-place Northern Arizona.

The women's team sits in 10th in the regional poll, rising two spots from last week's release. The Bobcats are third among Big Sky schools in the Mountain Region, with Montana (sixth) and Northern Arizona (eighth) ahead in the poll.

MSU Record Book Update
Fourteen Montana State student-athletes have forced updates to the program record book during the 2017 indoor campaign.

Noah Martin made his first appearance during his opening campaign in the MSU record book. His 4,810 points in the heptathlon at the MSU Multis Meet on Jan. 10 puts him at eighth all time in the event.

Amanda Jaynes jumped into a tie for ninth on the MSU all-time performance list in the 60 hurdles at the MSU Invitational on Jan. 13, and has now topped her best on two occasions. Recently, she completed a time of 8.71 for a tie for fifth in the event all-time at the Bozeman Running Co. meet on Feb. 4. Jaynes also joined the top-10 standings in the 200 at ninth earlier in the season, then earned another personal best of 24.52 at the Mountain States Games Feb. 4 for the fifth best time in the event.

Kyle Douglass improved his personal-best mark to 58-04.50 in the shot put at the MSU Invite on Jan. 13, but remained fifth on the all-time list behind Dennis Black's 59-07 throw in 1994.

Two distance runners also made an impact on the men's 5,000 run all-time list. Matthew Gotta's altitude-adjusted first-place time of 14:07.47 at the MSU Invitational moved him to fifth in program history just behind assistant coach Lyle Weese. Diego Leon also sits now at sixth with his time of 14:10.12 set during the MSU Invite in the 5,000.

Leon has made two jumps in the mile top 10 list. Leon improved from 4:04.99 to 3:59.13 (altitude and track converted marks) in two consecutive meets, going from seventh to third in the event on Feb. 4. Leon became just the third Bobcat ever to eclipse the four-minute mark, joining the likes of Patrick Casey (2011) and Cristian Soratos (2015).

Christie Schiel has had two performances alter the Bobcat record book. Schiel improved her MSU all-time fourth place mark in the 800 during the Jan. 20 meet to 2:09.15, then earned the seventh best time in program history in the mile by crossing the line in 5:00.37 for a converted 4:51.01.

Senior Daryan Box improved her all-time ranking in the 60 dash in the Jan. 20 meet in Worthington Arena. Her altitude adjusted time of 7.79 beat her previous time of 7.83, moving her up from ninth to seventh on the Bobcat indoor record list.

Kendra Larson also joined the MSU record book this season. Larson completed a lifetime best 2:12.95 finish in the 800 at the Powder River Dual Jan. 28, the ninth fastest time in program history, edging current Bobcat Taylor Buschy by .02 seconds.

Calvin Root altered the record book when he took first in the weight throw with a mark of 61-07.50 (18.78m) at the Powder River Dual. His throw moved him up from 10th to fifth in the event in program history, with his new mark outdistancing his previous one by over a foot.

Two newcomers joined the list during the Feb. 4 Dual Meet at Worthington Arena. Samuel Bloom earned a lifetime-best finish of 1:52.85, that converts to 1:50.65 and propels him to sixth in program history. McKenna Ramsay won the 400 with a time of 56.72, which converted to 56.09 puts her ninth all-time in the MSU record book.

Sophomore Alyssa Snyder wrapped up a solid 17:08.16 altitude-adjusted time in the 5,000 at the Mountain States Games on Feb. 4. That mark put her third all-time on the list ahead of the Big Sky Championships. Also in the same meet, Isabella Calabrese and Carter Theade both earned vaults of 12-05.50. That mark put them in a tie in the record book at eighth.

Another mark to not overlook is the performance MSU's distance medley relay squad put together at the MSU Invite. The MSU squad of Kendra Larson, McKenna Ramsay, Kimberly Parsell and Christie Schiel completed an altitude-adjusted time of 11:45.63, the second fastest ever in the event by a Bobcat relay team.

Big Sky Performance List Update
Men's Rankings
200m – Jadin Casey 11th (22.11)
400m – Jadin Casey 4th (48.42), Christopher Lange 10th (49.07), Bill Yeager 19th (49.98)
800m – Sam Bloom 1st (1:50.65), Frankie Hoerner 6th (1:52.28), Diego Leon 15th (1:54.20), Zach Kughn 20th (1:54.94)
Mile – Diego Leon 1st (3:59.13), Zach Kughn 9th (4:08.54), Martin Ponce 15th (4:12.79), Ty Mogan 19th (4:14.48)
3,000m – Zach Kughn 9th (8:20.14), Ty Mogan 12th (8:23.93), Matthew Gotta 13th (8:24.37
5,000m – Matthew Gotta 3rd (14:07.47), Diego Leon 4th (14:10.12), Ty Mogan 8th (14:21.29), Zach Kughn 11th (14:43.40), Adam Wollant 16th (14:59.68)
60m Hurdles – Mason Storm 16th (8.45)
4x400 Relay – MSU A 2nd (3:16.71)
DMR – MSU A 2nd (10:02.02)
High Jump – Noah Martin T3rd (06-08.75), Aidan Pedersen T16th (06-04.75)
Pole Vault – Austin Decker T7th (15-05.50), Luke Middelstadt T9th (15-05), Branygen Andersen 12th (15-01), Graham Reid 13th (14-11.50), Jake Bradford T15th (14-07.25), Noah Martin T15th (14-07.25), Knox Semenza T15th (14-07.25)
Long Jump – Alex Lewis 4th (23-04.50), Caleb Neth 5th (23-04), Mason Storm 10th (22-09.75), Trevor Simanski 14th (22-03.75)
Triple Jump – Trevor Simanski 9th (46-04.75), Alex Lewis 12th (45-11.75)
Shot Put – Kyle Douglass 2nd (58-04.50), Alex Nehring T9th (53-01.50), Calvin Root 13th (51-03)
Weight Throw – Calvin Root 2nd (61-07.50), Alec Nehring T15th (50-04.50)
Heptathlon – Noah Martin 4th (4,835), Caleb Neth T8th (4,639)

Women's Rankings
60m – Daryan Box T11th (7.79), Truanne Roginske T20th (7.85)
200m – Amanda Jaynes 3rd (24.52), Daryan Box 11th (25.28), Jessica Chrisp T18th (25.57)
400m – McKenna Ramsay 3rd (56.09), Amanda Jaynes 5th (56.29), Taylor Buschy 10th (56.75), Hailey Phillips 18th (58.14)
800m – Christie Schiel 1st (2:09.15), Kendra Larson 6th (2:12.95), McKenna Ramsay 8th (2:13.32), Kimberly Parsell 13th (2:14.49)
Mile – Christie Schiel 4th (4:51.01), Louisa Serpe 9th (4:56.50), Madison Liechty 18th (5:01.39), Sierra Tucker 20th (5:03.34)
3000m – Louisa Serpe 10th (9:58.44), Sierra Tucker 17th (10:09.50)
5000m – Alyssa Snyder 4th (17:08.16), Morgan Jones 17th (17:56.64)
60m Hurdles – Amanda Jaynes 6th (8.71)
4x400 Relay – MSU A 1st (3:47.84)
DMR – MSU A 1st (11:45.63)
High Jump – Jessica Chrisp 6th (05-06)
Pole Vault – Isabella Calabrese T5th (12-05-50), Carter Theade T5th (12-05.50), Tiffani Finley T19th (11-05.75)
Long Jump – Jessica Chrisp T18th (18-02.25)
Triple Jump – Truanne Roginske 11th (36-10.25), Megan Ralstin T13th (36-04.00)
Shot Put – Lindsay Benson 16th (43-04.25)
Weight Throw – Jacqueline Verlanic 11th (55-03.75), Callen Crawford 11th (54-08), Cailyn Schroeder 20th (52-01.75)
Pentathlon – Jessica Chrisp 5th (3,405), Isabella Calabrese 20th (3,033)

Big Sky Athlete of the Week Tally
Three Bobcats have earned weekly honors from the Big Sky Conference after four opportunities.

Diego Leon is MSU's most recent weekly award winner, earning the Big Sky honors Monday for his sub-four minute mile at the Bozeman Running Co. Dual Meet Invite Saturday, Feb. 4. The junior crossed the line in 4:07.52, which converted to 3:59.13. It propelled Leon to the top of the Big Sky performance list and jumped him to 11th in the nation in the event.

Christie Schiel was named the Big Sky Women's Track Athlete of the Week on Jan. 23 by topping a previous lifetime best at MSU's dual meet on Jan. 20. Schiel placed first in the 800 with a time of 2.11.37. Her altitude and track size converted time of 2:09.15 sat her atop the conference and 21st in the nation. She also served as the third leg of MSU's top 4x400 relay team that finished in a time of 3:54.42.

Kyle Douglass earned the best shot put of his collegiate career by throwing 58-04.50 (17.79m) at the MSU Invite Jan. 13 to earn Big Sky Men's Field Athlete of the Week recognition on Jan. 17. The throw was the only one over 17 meters and just one of two over 16 meters at the Invite. His shot put also placed him atop the early Big Sky Conference performance chart, leading the field at the time by over six inches.

Bobcats Selected Fourth, Eighth in Big Sky Coaches' Preseason Poll
The Big Sky Conference released its 2017 Indoor Track and Field coaches' preseason polls Wednesday, Jan. 18, with the Montana State men's team selected fourth and the women's squad eighth.

MSU has found success in recent history during the indoor season. The Bobcat men earned runner-up finishes in 2012 and 2013 and also completed a third-place performance in 2015. The MSU women's team has also had solid showings at the Big Sky meet, taking runner-up during the 2012 and 2015 campaigns while finishing third in 2014.