Eickholt breaks out in 800 meters
2/6/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Indoor Track, Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field
Sophomore Emily Eickholt ran the Big Sky Conference???s third-fastest 800 meters of the season Friday night to highlight the University of Montana???s efforts at the 35th Vandal Indoor in Moscow, Idaho. Eickholt and junior Courtney Kosovich both earned Big Sky Conference qualifications at the meet.
Eickholt, who placed eighth in the 800 meters at last winter???s Big Sky indoor championships, had the breakout race of her collegiate career Friday on Idaho???s 290-meter flat track. A sub-2:12 runner in high school, Eickholt took more than a second and a half off her indoor collegiate best, running a 2:12.73.
Eickholt placed second to Idaho???s Lauren Schaffer, who ran a 2:11.77.
Her time places Eickholt third in the 800 meters on the Big Sky Conference performance list behind a pair of runners from Sacramento State, who have both gone under 2:10.
Kosovich, a two-time outdoor regional qualifier, qualified for the Big Sky championships in the pole vault for the fifth time in five indoor and outdoor seasons with her vault of 12-0.5. She placed third in the event behind Washington State???s Kendall Mays, who went 13-4.25, and Idaho???s K.C. Dahlgren of Missoula, who also went 13-4.25.
Kosovich had no-heighted at Montana???s three previous indoor meets this winter.
The Grizzlies had no new qualifiers on the men???s side, though senior Chris Hellekson solidified his No. 3 ranking in the Big Sky Conference in the shot put.
Already ranking among the top three in the league with his mark of 53-7.5 from last weekend???s meet at Montana State, Hellekson matched his indoor career best with an effort of 54-9.25 Friday night.
Hellekson finished fourth behind the unattached Russ Winger, who won the event by over eight feet with a remarkable performance of 64-9.75, Idaho???s Eugenio Mannucci (56-7.25) and Eastern Washington???s David Howard (55-7.5).
Northern Arizona???s Javier Villarreal, who has gone over 60 feet this season, is the Big Sky???s shot put leader ahead of Howard and Hellekson.
Sophomore Kesslee Payne picked up Montana???s lone event victory of the meet, winning the mile in a time of 4:59.62. It was Payne???s first sub-5:00 raw-time mile of her career. She ran an altitude-adjusted 4:55.40 last weekend at Montana State.
The other top-three individual finisher on the women???s side was senior Kara DeWalt, who ran a 2:16.58 800 meters to finish third behind Schaffer and Eickholt.
Montana???s 4x400-meter relay team of senior Erin Clark, junior Jennifer Walter, sophomore Melissa Jenkins and freshman Chantelle Grey finished second in a time of 3:53.47 to Washington State???s 3:51.20. It was a season-best relay time for the Grizzlies this winter.
In addition to Hellekson???s fourth-place finish in the shot put, the UM men had four other top-five finishes.
Junior Michael Fisher placed fourth with a career best in the mile (4:21.02), junior Sean Clark finished fifth in the 800 meters (1:56.08), junior Don Danns was fifth in the 60 meters (7.03 with a 6.99 in the preliminaries) and redshirt freshman Cody Lund took fifth in the mile (4:24.26).
Montana competes against Saturday morning and early afternoon at Idaho???s Kibbie-ASUI Activity Center in the Runner???s Soul Open.
