Mees Leads Decathlon After Day One
5/14/2025 8:10:00 PM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field
Mathias Mees in first through five of ten events at 2025 Big Sky Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Sacramento
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Emotional ups and downs punctuated the opening day of the 2025 Big Sky Outdoor Track & Field Championships as three Montana State multi-event competitors began action on Wednesday at Hornet Stadium in Sacramento, California.
In the decathlon, junior Mathias Mees stands at the top of the leaderboard through five of ten events.
Teammate Nicola Paletti, a redshirt senior and the three-time defending Big Sky multi's champion, is in tenth after being disqualified from the 400 meters for a lane violation.
It appeared as though Paletti would enter the second day of competition with a more-than 300 point lead over the next-closest competitor. However, officials ruled that the Big Sky 2024 indoor, 2024 outdoor, and 2025 indoor men's multi champion had crossed into another lane while rounding the final turn and thus was granted zero points for his 400 meter effort.
It was a heartbreaking end to what had been a phenomenal first day for Paletti, after just 40 minutes earlier recording a triple PR in the high jump, clearing 6-09.75 and successfully getting over the bar on nine of his ten total attempts on the afternoon.
Paletti also recorded a personal-best in the 100 meters in the first event of the decathlon, winning the event with a time of 11.02 seconds to pick up 856 points.
After winning the long jump (802 points) and putting forth a solid effort in the shot put (548 points), the native of Bolzano, Italy, was ready for a record-breaking high jump.
The senior's mark of 6-09.75 is the ninth-best high jump of any athlete in Montana State history, and the second-best by a Bobcat since 1998.
By Paletti's side was teammate Mathias Mees, who now finds himself in first place entering the second day following Paletti's unfortunate 400 meters.
Mees started his decathlon with a lifetime-best in the 100 meters, crossing in 11.43 seconds to earn 767 points.
The Belgian then got a clutch mark on his third and final attempt in the long jump after fouling his first two, leaping 22-05.00 to take second behind Paletti in the event (774 points), before clearing a season-best in the high jump at a bar of 6-01.50 (687 points).
Mees ended the first day of his week with a lifetime-best in the 400 meters, winning his section with a time of 51.98 seconds (726 points).
Through five of ten events, Mees is pacing the field with 3,519 points. Sacramento State's Jack Charlton is second (3,464 points) with Idaho State's Tom Stoelken third (3,454 points).
In the women's heptathlon, freshman Hailey Ells battled through to finish the first day in tenth place.
Through four of seven events, the native of Whitefish, Montana, has 2,603 points and is aiming to finish the two-day competition in the top-eight on Thursday to help contribute points towards the overall team effort.
Thursday's slate features the long jump, javelin, and 800 meters in the women's heptathlon, while the men will compete in the 110 meter hurdles, discus, pole vault, javelin, and 1,500 meters in the decathlon.
The men's decathlon resumes with the 110 meter hurdles at 10 a.m. PT on Thursday, while the women's heptathlon resumes with the long jump at 10:30 a.m. PT.
The 2025 Big Sky Outdoor Track & Field Championships are streaming live on ESPN+.
#GoCatsGo
Players Mentioned
