Montana picked fifth, seventh in preseason coaches poll
1/5/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Indoor Track, Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field
The University of Montana indoor track and field teams were picked for fifth- and seventh-place finishes for the 2007 Big Sky Conference indoor track and field season the league's coaches voted recently. The Grizzly men's team, which placed sixth last year, collected 30 points in the voting to tie with Sacramento State for fifth place in the preseason poll, while the UM women, who placed seventh in 2006, picked up 25 points for a seventh-place projection.
Weber State was the narrow choice of the coaches for first-place showings on both the men's and the women's sides, picking up four first-place votes for both teams. Northern Arizona, which got four first-place votes in the women's poll and three in the men's poll, was selected for second in both polls.
Idaho State won the men's title in 2006, while Northern Arizona won the women's championship.
The Schedule: Montana opens the indoor season Friday, Jan. 19, at the Montana State Open in Bozeman, Mont. The team will split the next weekend, Jan. 26-27, with a majority of the team traveling to Pullman, Wash., for Washington State's meet, while a handful of athletes will go to Seattle, Wash., for Washington's meet.
Meets at Idaho (Feb. 2-3), Idaho State (Feb. 9-10) and Montana State (Feb. 17) precede the 2007 Big Sky Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships, which will be held Friday and Saturday, Feb. 23-24, at Bozeman, Mont.
Should any athletes qualify, the 2007 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships will be held Friday and Saturday, March 9-10, at Fayetteville, Ark.
The UM Women: The Montana women return 43.5 of their 57.5 points scored at the 2006 Big Sky meet, with juniors Loni Perkins and Allie Brosh picking up 34 of those points. Perkins picked up 18 points, with a first-place finish in the 400 meters and a second-place finish in the 200 meters, while Brosh earned 16 points with second-place showings in both the 3,000 and 5,000 meters.
Junior Rachel Hendricks (tied for third, high jump), sophomore Amber Aikins (seventh, pentathlon), junior Bailey Cox (eighth, long jump) and sophomore Anya Wechsler (eighth, pole vault) are the other returning point scorers.
"We've got a nice mix of veterans and some outstanding younger athletes on this year's women's team," Montana coach Tom Raunig said this week. "Loni is a multiple-time conference champion, and Allie is fresh off of qualifying for the NCAA cross country championships.
"(Sophomore) Abbey (Effertz) was a regional qualifier outdoors in the shot as a freshman, and Rachel won the indoor high jump championship two years ago.
"We feel very good about some of our younger athletes, namely Mallory Henderson, from Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, who is a 19-foot long jumper, and Megan O'Reilly, who we're hoping can push some of the top runners in the conference and be in the hunt for a couple of titles."
The UM Men: The Montana men lost Jas Gill to graduation and his 18 points (first in the triple jump and second in the high jump), but return the remainder of last year's 58 points (minus the two relay races). Point scorers from the 2006 conference championships include senior Robb Hollenbeck (second, long jump), senior James Stanton (third, shot put), sophomore Ryan Grinnell (third, triple jump), senior Matt Larson (fourth, 60-meter hurdles), junior Jesse Loether (sixth, 800 meters), senior Chris Mosbacher (seventh, triple jump) and junior Dan Bingham (seventh, mile).
Grinnell scored 20 points at the 2006 Big Sky Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships, with titles in both the high jump and triple jump, while Bingham was a 13-point scorer, with a championship in the steeplechase and a sixth-place finish in the 1,500 meters.
"This year's men??s team has a younger feel to it, particularly in some of the people we're counting on in our freshmen and sophomores," Raunig said. "We're looking to Ryan for some leadership. He's just a sophomore, but we're excited to see if he can keep improving.
"Robb is back, as well as Levi Zell in the pole vault, so we're excited for our points potential in the jumps.
"In the throws, we've got Jimmy Stanton returning, and Matt Larson, a conference champion from two years ago, is healthy and obviously an outstanding hurdler.
"Dan returns to lead our distance runners, so we feel like we're pretty balanced on the men??s team."
Weber State was the narrow choice of the coaches for first-place showings on both the men's and the women's sides, picking up four first-place votes for both teams. Northern Arizona, which got four first-place votes in the women's poll and three in the men's poll, was selected for second in both polls.
Idaho State won the men's title in 2006, while Northern Arizona won the women's championship.
The Schedule: Montana opens the indoor season Friday, Jan. 19, at the Montana State Open in Bozeman, Mont. The team will split the next weekend, Jan. 26-27, with a majority of the team traveling to Pullman, Wash., for Washington State's meet, while a handful of athletes will go to Seattle, Wash., for Washington's meet.
Meets at Idaho (Feb. 2-3), Idaho State (Feb. 9-10) and Montana State (Feb. 17) precede the 2007 Big Sky Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships, which will be held Friday and Saturday, Feb. 23-24, at Bozeman, Mont.
Should any athletes qualify, the 2007 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships will be held Friday and Saturday, March 9-10, at Fayetteville, Ark.
The UM Women: The Montana women return 43.5 of their 57.5 points scored at the 2006 Big Sky meet, with juniors Loni Perkins and Allie Brosh picking up 34 of those points. Perkins picked up 18 points, with a first-place finish in the 400 meters and a second-place finish in the 200 meters, while Brosh earned 16 points with second-place showings in both the 3,000 and 5,000 meters.
Junior Rachel Hendricks (tied for third, high jump), sophomore Amber Aikins (seventh, pentathlon), junior Bailey Cox (eighth, long jump) and sophomore Anya Wechsler (eighth, pole vault) are the other returning point scorers.
"We've got a nice mix of veterans and some outstanding younger athletes on this year's women's team," Montana coach Tom Raunig said this week. "Loni is a multiple-time conference champion, and Allie is fresh off of qualifying for the NCAA cross country championships.
"(Sophomore) Abbey (Effertz) was a regional qualifier outdoors in the shot as a freshman, and Rachel won the indoor high jump championship two years ago.
"We feel very good about some of our younger athletes, namely Mallory Henderson, from Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, who is a 19-foot long jumper, and Megan O'Reilly, who we're hoping can push some of the top runners in the conference and be in the hunt for a couple of titles."
The UM Men: The Montana men lost Jas Gill to graduation and his 18 points (first in the triple jump and second in the high jump), but return the remainder of last year's 58 points (minus the two relay races). Point scorers from the 2006 conference championships include senior Robb Hollenbeck (second, long jump), senior James Stanton (third, shot put), sophomore Ryan Grinnell (third, triple jump), senior Matt Larson (fourth, 60-meter hurdles), junior Jesse Loether (sixth, 800 meters), senior Chris Mosbacher (seventh, triple jump) and junior Dan Bingham (seventh, mile).
Grinnell scored 20 points at the 2006 Big Sky Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships, with titles in both the high jump and triple jump, while Bingham was a 13-point scorer, with a championship in the steeplechase and a sixth-place finish in the 1,500 meters.
"This year's men??s team has a younger feel to it, particularly in some of the people we're counting on in our freshmen and sophomores," Raunig said. "We're looking to Ryan for some leadership. He's just a sophomore, but we're excited to see if he can keep improving.
"Robb is back, as well as Levi Zell in the pole vault, so we're excited for our points potential in the jumps.
"In the throws, we've got Jimmy Stanton returning, and Matt Larson, a conference champion from two years ago, is healthy and obviously an outstanding hurdler.
"Dan returns to lead our distance runners, so we feel like we're pretty balanced on the men??s team."
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