Perkins-Judisch wins seventh straight Big Sky 400 meter title
5/17/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track and Field
University of Montana senior Loni Perkins-Judisch won her seventh consecutive 400 meter title in school-record time and was named the Women's Track Athlete of the Meet Saturday on the final day of the 2008 Big Sky Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Sacramento, Calif. Perkins-Judisch, who placed second in the 200 meters, also anchored UM's winning 1,600-meter relay team, giving the Conrad, Mont., native eight career individual Big Sky titles - seven in the 400 meters, one in the 200 meters - and making her a member of four 1,600-meter relay championship teams.
The Montana men finished in fifth place with 82.5 points. The women were sixth with 85.5 points.
Northern Arizona and Sacramento State took the top two spots in both the men's and women's results, with the Lumberjacks edging out the Hornets in the men's race by six points (166-160) and Sac State defeating NAU 166.5-121 in the women's race.
"Both our men's and women's teams scored more points than they had on paper going in, so it was a solid meet for us," Montana coach Tom Raunig said. "We missed a few opportunities here and there, but overall we're pleased with our results in this hot weather. It was a good showing."
Perkins-Judisch, who also earned Women's Track Athlete of the Meet at the 2008 Big Sky Indoor Championships, and senior Baily Cox led the UM women with 18 individual points each, which tied for fourth overall. Idaho State senior Erin Bell won the women's point title with 20.5 points, winning the long jump and scoring in the heptathlon, 100-meter hurdles and high jump.
Perkins-Judisch scored her 18 points in the 200 and 400 meters. Cox picked up points in three events, placing second in the heptathlon and finishing fourth in both the long jump and triple jump.
As he did at the 2008 Big Sky indoor meet, sophomore Chris Hicks again led the men in scoring, picking up 10 points with a second-place finish in the decathlon and a seventh-place finish in the triple jump.
Northern Arizona freshman David McNeill led all point scorers with 28, winning the 1,500 and 5,000 meters and finishing second in the 800 meters.
Junior Amber Aikins was Montana's most active scorer, placing in four events: second in the 100-meter hurdles, sixth in the triple jump, seventh in the heptathlon and seventh in the long jump.
Sophomore Chris Hellekson scored in three events for the men: fifth in the discus, seventh in the shot and eighth in the hammer.
In her first event final Saturday, Perkins-Judisch broke her own school record of 53.89 in the 400 meters when she finished in a time of 53.48. She won the event by more than a second over Sacramento State senior Tyrein Henley-Henderson.
Henley-Henderson returned the favor just over an hour later, winning the 200 meters over Perkins-Judisch by one-hundredth of a second, clocking a 24.26 to Perkins-Judisch's 24.27.
Perkins-Judisch was also in a tight battle her entire anchor lap of the 1,600-meter relay, the meet's concluding event, but in the end she edged out Sac State's anchor by two-hundredths of a second, 3:44.71 to 3:44.73, to send UM's relay team to the 2008 NCAA Midwest Region Championships. Both relay teams were over three seconds clear of the rest of the field.
Perkins-Judisch, who also led the Grizzlies' 400-meter relay team to a third-place finish, was joined on the title-winning relay team by senior Stephanie Radke, sophomore Erin Clark and freshman Jenna Haven.
Also scoring individual points for the UM women Saturday were Aikins, freshman Courtney Kosovich, Cox and Clark.
Aikins placed second in the 100-meter hurdles in a career-best time of 14.28, falling just shy of Sac State freshman Alicia Truesdale, who won the event in 14.23. Kosovich tied for third in the pole vault (12-2.5), Cox was fourth in the triple jump (career-best 39-2.25), Aikins was sixth in the triple jump (38-2.75) and Clark was sixth in the 400 meters (career-best 56.52).
Montana's men's throwers came up big once again Saturday, finishing with five scorers in the discus and hammer.
Junior Dan Beaudin was second in the discus (161-7), Hellekson fifth (155-1) and senior James Stanton sixth (154-11).
Weber State senior Brian Lindquist won the discus with a throw of 171-0.
Senior Curtis Bean was fifth in the hammer (190-8), Hellekson was eighth (175-10).
NAU junior Curtis Durocher won the hammer with a throw of 203-9.
Seniors Dennis Brands and Jesse Loether both picked up third-place finishes in the middle distances. Brands took third in the 1,500 meters in a time of 3:51.60; Loether was third in the 800 meters in a career-best time of 1:51.59.
The men's only other top-five finish Saturday was the 400-meter relay team of senior Ryan Senn, junior James Brown, sophomore Kane Russell and freshman Phil Krok, which finished fourth in a time of 41.63, Montana's best time of the season.
Brown, Hicks and Russell also scored individual points Saturday. Brown was seventh in the 200 meters (22.02), Hicks placed seventh in the triple jump (45-7.75) and Russell finished eighth in the 400 meters (50.18).
The Big Sky meet signaled the close of the 2008 outdoor track and field season for a majority of Montana's athletes. Nine will continue on to the NCAA Midwest Regional, which will be held May 30-31 in Lincoln, Neb.: Bean (hammer), Perkins-Judisch (400 meters, 1,600-meter relay), Stanton (shot), Radke (1,600-meter relay), Clark (1,600-meter relay), sophomore Kara DeWalt (steeplechase), Haven (1,600-meter relay), Kosovich (pole vault) and freshman Lynn Reynolds (steeplechase). Junior Logan Labbe qualified in the javelin but will be unable to compete due to injury.
Championship note: Joining Perkins-Judisch as Athletes of the Meet were McNeill (men's track), Idaho State's Cassie Merkley (women's field) and Sacramento State's Emilio Hernandez (men's field). Merkley was the heptathlon champion. Hernandez won the high jump and placed third in the triple jump.
Women's team results
1. Sacramento State ... 166.5
2. Northern Arizona ... 121
3. Idaho State ... 120
4. Weber State ... 106
5. Montana State ... 86
6. Montana ... 85.5
7. Eastern Washington ... 75.5
8. Portland State ... 31
9. Northern Colorado ... 25.5
Men's team results
1. Northern Arizona ... 166
2. Sacramento State ... 160
3. Weber State ... 137
4. Montana State ... 99.5
5. Montana ... 82.5
6. Eastern Washington ... 74
7. Idaho State ... 40
T8. Northern Colorado ... 29
T8. Portland State ... 29
Montana's women's point scorers (85.5 points)
10 ... Loni Perkins-Judisch, first, 400 meters
10 ... 1,600-meter relay, first (Erin Clark, Stephanie Radke, Jenna Haven, Loni Perkins-Judisch)
8 ... Baily Cox, second, heptathlon
8 ... Loni Perkins-Judisch, second, 200 meters
8 ... Amber Aikins, second, 100-meter hurdles
6 ... 400-meter relay, third (Jennifer Walter, Baily Cox, Amber Aikins, Loni Perkins-Judisch)
5.5 ... Courtney Kosovich, tied for third, pole vault
5 ... Baily Cox, fourth, long jump
5 ... Baily Cox, fourth, triple jump
4 ... Abbey Effertz, fifth, discus
4 ... Kara DeWalt, fifth, steeplechase
3 ... Amber Aikins, sixth, triple jump
3 ... Erin Clark, sixth, 400 meters
2 ... Stephanie Bortz, seventh, hammer
2 ... Amber Aikins, seventh, heptathlon
2 ... Amber Aikins, seventh, long jump
Montana's men's point scorers (82.5 points)
8 ... Jake Stevens, second, shot
8 ... Dan Beaudin, second, discus
8 ... Chris Hicks, second, decathlon
8 ... Lynn Reynolds, second, steeplechase
6 ... James Stanton, third, shot
6 ... Dennis Brands, third, 1,500 meters
6 ... Jesse Loether, third, 800 meters
5 ... Evan Wilson, fourth, shot
5 ... 400-meter relay, fourth (Ryan Senn, Phil Krok, Kane Russell, James Brown)
4 ... Curtis Bean, fifth, hammer
4 ... Chris Hellekson, fifth, discus
3 ... James Stanton, sixth, discus
2 ... James Brown, seventh, 200 meters
2 ... Chris Hicks, seventh, triple jump
2 ... Chris Hellekson, seventh, shot
2 ... 1,600-meter relay, seventh (Kane Russell, James Brown, Ryan Senn, Jesse Loether)
1.5 ... Levi Zell, tied for seventh, pole vault
1 ... Chris Hellekson, eighth, hammer
1 ... Kane Russell, eighth, 400 meters
DAY ONE RECAP: Reynolds, throwers come up big on opening day
University of Montana freshman Lynn Reynolds placed second in the steeplechase with an NCAA regional qualifying time and the Grizzlies' men's shot putters placed four in the top seven to highlight Montana's opening day at the 2008 Big Sky Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Sacramento, Calif.
After one day of events (minus the men's and women's 10,000 meters, which were moved back two hours to keep the races out of the heat), the UM men sit in third place with 38.5 points. Sacramento State leads with 61 points, followed by Montana State with 52.5 points. Trailing the Grizzlies are Northern Arizona in fourth with 37 points and Eastern Washington in fifth with 26 points.
The Montana women are tied for fourth with Montana State. Both teams have 27 points. Idaho State is the day-one leader with 44 points. The Bengals are trailed by Eastern Washington in second with 29 points and Northern Arizona in third with 28 points.
Reynolds opened Friday's running events with a regional-qualifying effort in just his fourth career steeplechase, finishing second in a time of 9:06.43. He edged out Northern Arizona sophomore John Killian, who finished six one-hundredths behind Reynolds in 9:06.49.
NAU freshman Ben Ashkettle won the event in a time of 9:05.70.
All three steeplechasers finished under the NCAA regional standard of 9:07.
"Lynn got out in second place early, got into a nice flow and just stayed there throughout the race," Montana coach Tom Raunig said. "He out-kicked the third-place finisher, which resulted in a really fast last lap. That's what allowed him to hit the regional standard."
Reynolds becomes Montana's seventh qualifier for the 2008 NCAA Midwest Region Championships, which will be held in two weeks in Lincoln, Neb.
The Grizzlies' men's shot putters picked up 21 of Montana's team points Friday by placing four in the top seven. Senior Jake Stevens was second with a throw of 54-5.25, a career-best by 17 inches.
Senior James Stanton was third at 53-4.5, senior Even Wilson fourth at 52-7.25 and sophomore Chris Hellekson seventh at 50-9.25. Wilson's mark was a career best by over six inches.
NAU sophomore Javier Villarreal won the shot with a put of 58-11.5.
"Those guys were all pushing and encouraging each other, and it resulted in some good points," Raunig said. "None of them wanted to let the others down.
"But they are still not satisfied. They want to come back tomorrow and finish big in the discus."
Accounting for Montana's other 1.5 points Friday was senior Levi Zell in the pole vault. He tied for seventh with a height of 15-4.25.
After scoring 10 points Wednesday and Thursday with senior Baily Cox's and junior Amber Aikins' second- and seventh-place finishes in the heptathlon, the UM women added 17 points Friday.
Cox placed fourth in the long jump (19-0), junior Abbey Effertz finished fifth in the discus (season-best 144-4), sophomore Kara DeWalt was fifth in the steeplechase (10:58.60), senior Stephanie Bortz placed seventh in the hammer (164-7) and Aikins was seventh in the long jump (18-1).
Friday was the preliminaries for a dozen running events. Montana advanced six athletes in seven events to Saturday's finals.
Senior Loni Perkins-Judisch was a double qualifier, moving on in both the 200 and 400 meters. She placed second in the 200 meters in a time of 24.40 and won the 400 meters in a time of 55.08.
Also advancing on the women's side were Aikins and sophomore Erin Clark. Aikins posted the day's fastest 100-meter hurdle time, a career-best 14.39. Clark was eighth in the 400 meters in 57.40.
Senior Jesse Loether, junior James Brown and sophomore Kane Russell advanced for the men. Loether was third in the 800 meters in a career-best 1:52.24, Brown was eighth in the 200 meters in 21.67 and Russell was eighth in the 400 meters in a career-best 48.87.
While they did not advance beyond the 800-meter preliminaries, three Montana athletes posted career bests in the event. Sophomore Sean Clark was 11th in a time of 1:53.35 in the men's race, while freshman Bridgette Hoenke was ninth (2:15.38) and sophomore Brooke Andrus 11th (2:16.70) in the women's race.
The Montana men finished in fifth place with 82.5 points. The women were sixth with 85.5 points.
Northern Arizona and Sacramento State took the top two spots in both the men's and women's results, with the Lumberjacks edging out the Hornets in the men's race by six points (166-160) and Sac State defeating NAU 166.5-121 in the women's race.
"Both our men's and women's teams scored more points than they had on paper going in, so it was a solid meet for us," Montana coach Tom Raunig said. "We missed a few opportunities here and there, but overall we're pleased with our results in this hot weather. It was a good showing."
Perkins-Judisch, who also earned Women's Track Athlete of the Meet at the 2008 Big Sky Indoor Championships, and senior Baily Cox led the UM women with 18 individual points each, which tied for fourth overall. Idaho State senior Erin Bell won the women's point title with 20.5 points, winning the long jump and scoring in the heptathlon, 100-meter hurdles and high jump.
Perkins-Judisch scored her 18 points in the 200 and 400 meters. Cox picked up points in three events, placing second in the heptathlon and finishing fourth in both the long jump and triple jump.
As he did at the 2008 Big Sky indoor meet, sophomore Chris Hicks again led the men in scoring, picking up 10 points with a second-place finish in the decathlon and a seventh-place finish in the triple jump.
Northern Arizona freshman David McNeill led all point scorers with 28, winning the 1,500 and 5,000 meters and finishing second in the 800 meters.
Junior Amber Aikins was Montana's most active scorer, placing in four events: second in the 100-meter hurdles, sixth in the triple jump, seventh in the heptathlon and seventh in the long jump.
Sophomore Chris Hellekson scored in three events for the men: fifth in the discus, seventh in the shot and eighth in the hammer.
In her first event final Saturday, Perkins-Judisch broke her own school record of 53.89 in the 400 meters when she finished in a time of 53.48. She won the event by more than a second over Sacramento State senior Tyrein Henley-Henderson.
Henley-Henderson returned the favor just over an hour later, winning the 200 meters over Perkins-Judisch by one-hundredth of a second, clocking a 24.26 to Perkins-Judisch's 24.27.
Perkins-Judisch was also in a tight battle her entire anchor lap of the 1,600-meter relay, the meet's concluding event, but in the end she edged out Sac State's anchor by two-hundredths of a second, 3:44.71 to 3:44.73, to send UM's relay team to the 2008 NCAA Midwest Region Championships. Both relay teams were over three seconds clear of the rest of the field.
Perkins-Judisch, who also led the Grizzlies' 400-meter relay team to a third-place finish, was joined on the title-winning relay team by senior Stephanie Radke, sophomore Erin Clark and freshman Jenna Haven.
Also scoring individual points for the UM women Saturday were Aikins, freshman Courtney Kosovich, Cox and Clark.
Aikins placed second in the 100-meter hurdles in a career-best time of 14.28, falling just shy of Sac State freshman Alicia Truesdale, who won the event in 14.23. Kosovich tied for third in the pole vault (12-2.5), Cox was fourth in the triple jump (career-best 39-2.25), Aikins was sixth in the triple jump (38-2.75) and Clark was sixth in the 400 meters (career-best 56.52).
Montana's men's throwers came up big once again Saturday, finishing with five scorers in the discus and hammer.
Junior Dan Beaudin was second in the discus (161-7), Hellekson fifth (155-1) and senior James Stanton sixth (154-11).
Weber State senior Brian Lindquist won the discus with a throw of 171-0.
Senior Curtis Bean was fifth in the hammer (190-8), Hellekson was eighth (175-10).
NAU junior Curtis Durocher won the hammer with a throw of 203-9.
Seniors Dennis Brands and Jesse Loether both picked up third-place finishes in the middle distances. Brands took third in the 1,500 meters in a time of 3:51.60; Loether was third in the 800 meters in a career-best time of 1:51.59.
The men's only other top-five finish Saturday was the 400-meter relay team of senior Ryan Senn, junior James Brown, sophomore Kane Russell and freshman Phil Krok, which finished fourth in a time of 41.63, Montana's best time of the season.
Brown, Hicks and Russell also scored individual points Saturday. Brown was seventh in the 200 meters (22.02), Hicks placed seventh in the triple jump (45-7.75) and Russell finished eighth in the 400 meters (50.18).
The Big Sky meet signaled the close of the 2008 outdoor track and field season for a majority of Montana's athletes. Nine will continue on to the NCAA Midwest Regional, which will be held May 30-31 in Lincoln, Neb.: Bean (hammer), Perkins-Judisch (400 meters, 1,600-meter relay), Stanton (shot), Radke (1,600-meter relay), Clark (1,600-meter relay), sophomore Kara DeWalt (steeplechase), Haven (1,600-meter relay), Kosovich (pole vault) and freshman Lynn Reynolds (steeplechase). Junior Logan Labbe qualified in the javelin but will be unable to compete due to injury.
Championship note: Joining Perkins-Judisch as Athletes of the Meet were McNeill (men's track), Idaho State's Cassie Merkley (women's field) and Sacramento State's Emilio Hernandez (men's field). Merkley was the heptathlon champion. Hernandez won the high jump and placed third in the triple jump.
Women's team results
1. Sacramento State ... 166.5
2. Northern Arizona ... 121
3. Idaho State ... 120
4. Weber State ... 106
5. Montana State ... 86
6. Montana ... 85.5
7. Eastern Washington ... 75.5
8. Portland State ... 31
9. Northern Colorado ... 25.5
Men's team results
1. Northern Arizona ... 166
2. Sacramento State ... 160
3. Weber State ... 137
4. Montana State ... 99.5
5. Montana ... 82.5
6. Eastern Washington ... 74
7. Idaho State ... 40
T8. Northern Colorado ... 29
T8. Portland State ... 29
Montana's women's point scorers (85.5 points)
10 ... Loni Perkins-Judisch, first, 400 meters
10 ... 1,600-meter relay, first (Erin Clark, Stephanie Radke, Jenna Haven, Loni Perkins-Judisch)
8 ... Baily Cox, second, heptathlon
8 ... Loni Perkins-Judisch, second, 200 meters
8 ... Amber Aikins, second, 100-meter hurdles
6 ... 400-meter relay, third (Jennifer Walter, Baily Cox, Amber Aikins, Loni Perkins-Judisch)
5.5 ... Courtney Kosovich, tied for third, pole vault
5 ... Baily Cox, fourth, long jump
5 ... Baily Cox, fourth, triple jump
4 ... Abbey Effertz, fifth, discus
4 ... Kara DeWalt, fifth, steeplechase
3 ... Amber Aikins, sixth, triple jump
3 ... Erin Clark, sixth, 400 meters
2 ... Stephanie Bortz, seventh, hammer
2 ... Amber Aikins, seventh, heptathlon
2 ... Amber Aikins, seventh, long jump
Montana's men's point scorers (82.5 points)
8 ... Jake Stevens, second, shot
8 ... Dan Beaudin, second, discus
8 ... Chris Hicks, second, decathlon
8 ... Lynn Reynolds, second, steeplechase
6 ... James Stanton, third, shot
6 ... Dennis Brands, third, 1,500 meters
6 ... Jesse Loether, third, 800 meters
5 ... Evan Wilson, fourth, shot
5 ... 400-meter relay, fourth (Ryan Senn, Phil Krok, Kane Russell, James Brown)
4 ... Curtis Bean, fifth, hammer
4 ... Chris Hellekson, fifth, discus
3 ... James Stanton, sixth, discus
2 ... James Brown, seventh, 200 meters
2 ... Chris Hicks, seventh, triple jump
2 ... Chris Hellekson, seventh, shot
2 ... 1,600-meter relay, seventh (Kane Russell, James Brown, Ryan Senn, Jesse Loether)
1.5 ... Levi Zell, tied for seventh, pole vault
1 ... Chris Hellekson, eighth, hammer
1 ... Kane Russell, eighth, 400 meters
DAY ONE RECAP: Reynolds, throwers come up big on opening day
University of Montana freshman Lynn Reynolds placed second in the steeplechase with an NCAA regional qualifying time and the Grizzlies' men's shot putters placed four in the top seven to highlight Montana's opening day at the 2008 Big Sky Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Sacramento, Calif.
After one day of events (minus the men's and women's 10,000 meters, which were moved back two hours to keep the races out of the heat), the UM men sit in third place with 38.5 points. Sacramento State leads with 61 points, followed by Montana State with 52.5 points. Trailing the Grizzlies are Northern Arizona in fourth with 37 points and Eastern Washington in fifth with 26 points.
The Montana women are tied for fourth with Montana State. Both teams have 27 points. Idaho State is the day-one leader with 44 points. The Bengals are trailed by Eastern Washington in second with 29 points and Northern Arizona in third with 28 points.
Reynolds opened Friday's running events with a regional-qualifying effort in just his fourth career steeplechase, finishing second in a time of 9:06.43. He edged out Northern Arizona sophomore John Killian, who finished six one-hundredths behind Reynolds in 9:06.49.
NAU freshman Ben Ashkettle won the event in a time of 9:05.70.
All three steeplechasers finished under the NCAA regional standard of 9:07.
"Lynn got out in second place early, got into a nice flow and just stayed there throughout the race," Montana coach Tom Raunig said. "He out-kicked the third-place finisher, which resulted in a really fast last lap. That's what allowed him to hit the regional standard."
Reynolds becomes Montana's seventh qualifier for the 2008 NCAA Midwest Region Championships, which will be held in two weeks in Lincoln, Neb.
The Grizzlies' men's shot putters picked up 21 of Montana's team points Friday by placing four in the top seven. Senior Jake Stevens was second with a throw of 54-5.25, a career-best by 17 inches.
Senior James Stanton was third at 53-4.5, senior Even Wilson fourth at 52-7.25 and sophomore Chris Hellekson seventh at 50-9.25. Wilson's mark was a career best by over six inches.
NAU sophomore Javier Villarreal won the shot with a put of 58-11.5.
"Those guys were all pushing and encouraging each other, and it resulted in some good points," Raunig said. "None of them wanted to let the others down.
"But they are still not satisfied. They want to come back tomorrow and finish big in the discus."
Accounting for Montana's other 1.5 points Friday was senior Levi Zell in the pole vault. He tied for seventh with a height of 15-4.25.
After scoring 10 points Wednesday and Thursday with senior Baily Cox's and junior Amber Aikins' second- and seventh-place finishes in the heptathlon, the UM women added 17 points Friday.
Cox placed fourth in the long jump (19-0), junior Abbey Effertz finished fifth in the discus (season-best 144-4), sophomore Kara DeWalt was fifth in the steeplechase (10:58.60), senior Stephanie Bortz placed seventh in the hammer (164-7) and Aikins was seventh in the long jump (18-1).
Friday was the preliminaries for a dozen running events. Montana advanced six athletes in seven events to Saturday's finals.
Senior Loni Perkins-Judisch was a double qualifier, moving on in both the 200 and 400 meters. She placed second in the 200 meters in a time of 24.40 and won the 400 meters in a time of 55.08.
Also advancing on the women's side were Aikins and sophomore Erin Clark. Aikins posted the day's fastest 100-meter hurdle time, a career-best 14.39. Clark was eighth in the 400 meters in 57.40.
Senior Jesse Loether, junior James Brown and sophomore Kane Russell advanced for the men. Loether was third in the 800 meters in a career-best 1:52.24, Brown was eighth in the 200 meters in 21.67 and Russell was eighth in the 400 meters in a career-best 48.87.
While they did not advance beyond the 800-meter preliminaries, three Montana athletes posted career bests in the event. Sophomore Sean Clark was 11th in a time of 1:53.35 in the men's race, while freshman Bridgette Hoenke was ninth (2:15.38) and sophomore Brooke Andrus 11th (2:16.70) in the women's race.
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