Cats Start Strong at Bengal Invitational on Friday

Friday, May 1

Pocatello, Idaho

1 p.m.

Montana State University

Bengal Invitational - Day 1

Photo by: Bobcat Creative Services

5/1/2026 6:42:00 PM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

Cats post nine program top-10 marks in strong start to weekend

By: Pershelle Rohrer

POCATELLO, Idaho --- The Montana State track & field team compiled nine program top-10 marks and 17 advancing times to open the Bengal Invitational in Pocatello, Idaho, on Friday.

The throwers set the tone to open the Idaho State-hosted meet as Matt Furdyk and Jenavieve Lynch each earned hammer throw wins with personal-best marks. The Cats rewrote the record books with five new top-10 marks across the hammer throw and pole vault, along with four more in the sprints and hurdles in a successful first day in Pocatello.

"It was a quality first day at the Bengal Invite across all event groups," Dale Kennedy Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Lyle Weese said. "We are looking forward to day two, as we want to keep the momentum building as we head into the stretch run of our outdoor season."

Jenavieve Lynch led a group of three Bobcats who finished in the top five in the women's hammer throw to open the meet, posting a winning mark of 56.79m/186-4 on her third attempt to improve her own No. 6 mark in program history. Sydney Brewster finished fourth with a mark of 49.65m/162-10, and Maggie Hillis placed fifth with a personal-best mark of 49.45m/162-3.

The Bobcat men followed by posting two new program top-10 marks in the men's hammer throw. Matt Furdyk moved from fourth to second in Montana State history with his victory in Pocatello, recording a throw of 64.58m/211-10 on his fourth attempt. Easton Hatleberg took over the No. 9 spot with his mark of 62.23m/204-2, finishing fourth at the Idaho State-hosted meet. Ben Parks finished just behind Hatleberg in fifth place with a throw of 54.64m/179-3.

Tilde Bjerager and Millie Hubbell both advanced to Saturday's final in the 100-meter hurdles, placing first and fourth in the prelims, respectively. Bjerager surpassed her old personal best in the event by one hundredth of a second, clocking a converted time of 13.60 to post the fastest time in the prelims. She improved her own No. 3 time in program history with the result. Hubbell posted a converted 13.90 to join Bjerager in advancing for the Bobcats.

A trio of Bobcats advanced to the women's 100m finals thanks to strong performances in Friday's prelims. Peyton Garrison finished second with a converted time of 11.67, coming within two hundredths of a second of her personal-best time. Caroline Hawkes placed fourth with a time of 11.72, moving into a tie for fifth in program history in the event. Brooke Reuter finished sixth in Pocatello with a converted time of 11.84, taking over the seventh spot in the Montana State record books.

The Bobcat men followed the women by posting four program top-10 marks in the 100m prelims. Xavier Simpson leapfrogged Noah Barbery for second in the Montana State record books with a converted runner-up time of 10.43. Barbery placed third in Pocatello with a time of 10.44 to move to third in program history. Malikye Simpson tied for fourth place with a time of 10.48 to take over the No. 4 spot in the record books, and Drake Wilkes entered the all-time top-10 list for the first time with a time of 10.50, good for seventh in Pocatello and fifth all-time for the Bobcats. All four Bobcats qualified for Saturday's final with their performances on Friday.

Bob Hartley and Jordan Lasher both cleared 5.22m/17-1.50 in the pole vault to finish second and third, respectively, in the event. Hartley posted a new personal best to move from ninth to sixth in program history in the event, while Lasher matched his personal best to maintain sixth position on the all-time top-10 list. Hartley cleared the bar on his first attempt, while Lasher did so on his third and final vault.

Drake Wilkes clocked the fourth-fastest 200m time in program history with his fifth-place performance to wrap up the day in Pocatello. He posted a converted time of 21.34 to beat teammate Xavier Simpson (21.35) to the line by one hundredth of a second.

Samantha Geraets won the women's 1,500m, posting a personal-best converted time of 4:39.49 to win the event by over four seconds.

Caroline Hawkes and Peyton Garrison finished second and third in the 200m, clocking converted times of 23.52 and 23.73, respectively.

Five Bobcats clocked advancing times in the women's 400m hurdles, highlighted by Giulia Gandolfi's prelims-leading time of 59.21. Olivia Lewis finished just behind Gandolfi with a runner-up time of 59.31, while Sabine Brueck finished third with a time of 1:00.86 in her event debut. Annie Kaul clocked a personal-best time of 1:00.99 for fourth place, and Hubbell finished seventh with a time of 1:03.69.

On the men's side, Nash Coley and Tyler Gilman both advanced in the 400m hurdles by taking first and fourth in the prelims, respectively. Coley crossed the finish line in 51.93, and Gilman posted a time of 54.87.

Preston Wysocki advanced to the finals in the 110m hurdles, clocking a converted time of 15.89 to finish fourth in the prelims in his event debut.

Full results from the Bengal Invitational are available here.

The Bobcats will open the second and final day of the Bengal Invitational with the women's discus featuring Emma Brensdal, Sydney Brewster, and Jenavieve Lynch at 11 a.m. Running events will begin at 11:45 with the women's 4x100m relay. Garrison, Hawkes, Reuter, and Jaeden Wolff are expected to compete for the Bobcats in that event. Live video coverage will begin on ESPN+ at 11 a.m.

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