NCAA Midwest Regional on tap for nine Grizzlies
5/22/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Indoor Track, Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field
The University of Montana outdoor track and field teams will be represented by nine student-athletes at the 2006 NCAA Midwest Region Championships, which will be held this Friday and Saturday, May 26-27, at the University of Texas's Mike A. Myers Track & Soccer Stadium in Austin, Texas.
Grizzlies competing will include seniors Mara Bronson (1,600-meter relay) and Tara Schwager (1,600-meter relay), junior Alicia Mills (javelin), sophomores Dan Bingham (steeplechase), Allie Brosh (5,000 meters), Loni Perkins (400 meters, 1,600-meter relay) and Nicole Walker (1,600-meter relay) and freshmen Abbey Effertz (shot put) and Ryan Grinnell (high jump, triple jump).
Mills, Brosh, Grinnell and Effertz all qualified by meeting the NCAA regional standard, while Bronson, Schwager, Bingham, Perkins, Walker and qualified by being Big Sky Conference champions.
Senior Jas Gill, an eight-time Big Sky Conference jumps champion, qualified for the regional meet in the high jump but will not be competing this weekend. Gill has bone chips and scar tissue in his knee and if he jumped would be risking a rupture of his patella tendon. Gill will most likely undergo surgery to repair the knee and then possibly attempt to continue his high jumping career.
The Schedule (all times Mountain):
Friday, May 26
2 p.m. ... Women's javelin (Mills)
2 p.m. ... Women's shot (Effertz)
7 p.m. ... Women's 400-meter preliminaries (Perkins)
8:20 p.m. ... Women's 5,000 meters (Brosh)
Saturday, May 27
1 p.m. ... Men's triple jump (Grinnell)
5 p.m. ... Men's high jump (Grinnell)
6:30 p.m. ... Women's 400-meter finals (Perkins)
7:35 p.m. ... Men's steeplechase (Bingham)
8 p.m. ... Women's 1,600-meter relay (Bronson, Schwager, Perkins, Walker)
Results: Live results from the NCAA Midwest Region Championships will be available as the meet progresses at TexasSports.com. MontanaGrizzlies.com will provide a written recap and results at the end of each day's events.
What's at Stake: The top five finishers in each event at each of the four regionals earn an automatic spot at the NCAA Championships, which will be held at Sacramento, Calif., June 7-10. In addition to those 20, a handful of at-large athletes may also be selected to go to nationals in each event.
Last Week: The Montana men finished fourth with 98 points and the women placed seventh with 61.5 points at the 2006 Big Sky Conference Outdoor Championships May 10-13 at Cheney, Wash. Weber State easily won the men's title, outscoring second-place Idaho State 172-132, while Northern Arizona won the women's title by 24 points over Portland State.
Winning titles were sophomores Dan Bingham in the steeplechase and Loni Perkins in the 400 meters and freshman Ryan Grinnell in the high jump and triple jump. Montana's women's 1,600-meter relay team of Perkins, seniors Tara Schwager and Mara Bronson and sophomore Nicole Walker were also victorious.
It was both Perkins' and the relay team's second straight outdoor title.
Grizzlies competing will include seniors Mara Bronson (1,600-meter relay) and Tara Schwager (1,600-meter relay), junior Alicia Mills (javelin), sophomores Dan Bingham (steeplechase), Allie Brosh (5,000 meters), Loni Perkins (400 meters, 1,600-meter relay) and Nicole Walker (1,600-meter relay) and freshmen Abbey Effertz (shot put) and Ryan Grinnell (high jump, triple jump).
Mills, Brosh, Grinnell and Effertz all qualified by meeting the NCAA regional standard, while Bronson, Schwager, Bingham, Perkins, Walker and qualified by being Big Sky Conference champions.
Senior Jas Gill, an eight-time Big Sky Conference jumps champion, qualified for the regional meet in the high jump but will not be competing this weekend. Gill has bone chips and scar tissue in his knee and if he jumped would be risking a rupture of his patella tendon. Gill will most likely undergo surgery to repair the knee and then possibly attempt to continue his high jumping career.
The Schedule (all times Mountain):
Friday, May 26
2 p.m. ... Women's javelin (Mills)
2 p.m. ... Women's shot (Effertz)
7 p.m. ... Women's 400-meter preliminaries (Perkins)
8:20 p.m. ... Women's 5,000 meters (Brosh)
Saturday, May 27
1 p.m. ... Men's triple jump (Grinnell)
5 p.m. ... Men's high jump (Grinnell)
6:30 p.m. ... Women's 400-meter finals (Perkins)
7:35 p.m. ... Men's steeplechase (Bingham)
8 p.m. ... Women's 1,600-meter relay (Bronson, Schwager, Perkins, Walker)
Results: Live results from the NCAA Midwest Region Championships will be available as the meet progresses at TexasSports.com. MontanaGrizzlies.com will provide a written recap and results at the end of each day's events.
What's at Stake: The top five finishers in each event at each of the four regionals earn an automatic spot at the NCAA Championships, which will be held at Sacramento, Calif., June 7-10. In addition to those 20, a handful of at-large athletes may also be selected to go to nationals in each event.
Last Week: The Montana men finished fourth with 98 points and the women placed seventh with 61.5 points at the 2006 Big Sky Conference Outdoor Championships May 10-13 at Cheney, Wash. Weber State easily won the men's title, outscoring second-place Idaho State 172-132, while Northern Arizona won the women's title by 24 points over Portland State.
Winning titles were sophomores Dan Bingham in the steeplechase and Loni Perkins in the 400 meters and freshman Ryan Grinnell in the high jump and triple jump. Montana's women's 1,600-meter relay team of Perkins, seniors Tara Schwager and Mara Bronson and sophomore Nicole Walker were also victorious.
It was both Perkins' and the relay team's second straight outdoor title.
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