Griz-Cat Dual live meet coverage
4/23/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track and Field, Outdoor Track, Women's Track and Field
April 23, 2011
4:13 p.m. Montana swept the 4x400 meter relays. Chantelle Grey held the lead throughout her anchor leg in the women's race. Drew Owens ran down Montana State's anchor leg in the last 60 meters to pull out the men's race. ... Final scores: (men) Montana State 116, Montana 77; (women) Montana 105.5, Montana State 90.5. ... Full recap to follow this evening.
4:07 p.m. Chris Hicks led Montana to a 1-2 finish in the men's triple jump with a distance of 46-10.75. That was a Big Sky-qualifying distance, giving Hicks qualifications in the decathlon, high jump and triple jump. Zane Reneau was second with a distance of 43-4.5. ... Montana State went 1-2 in the discus behind Will Rockett (153-0) and David Phillips (150-8). Ryan McNally was Montana's top athlete, finishing third at 146-7.
3:54 p.m. Northern Arizona leads Montana 2-1 at the Big Sky Conference men's tennis tournament in a match that is deep into singles play. ... Daniel Jackson (14:42.00) and Carl Nystuen (15:17.91) went 1-2 in the men's 5,000 meters. Michael Fisher (15:50.26) was third for Montana.
3:50 p.m. With just the 4x400 meter relay remaining for the women, Montana has wrapped up the dual victory. The Grizzlies lead 100.5 to 87.5. ... The Montana State men will win its dual easily over Montana. The Bobcats lead 97 to 66 with the 5,000 meters, discus and 4x400 meter relay still to be scored.
3:31 p.m. Katrina Drennen just won the 5,000 meters, with Keli Dennehy close behind. Drennen ran an 18:05.90, Dennehy an 18:07.60. ... Montana State's Heather Haug ran as well but fell off the three-athlete pack with a few laps to go and crossed the line in 18:32.43. ... Montana State went 1-2 in the women's discus. Kirstin Lee threw 143-0, Lena Suek 142-10.
3:20 p.m. Montana State swept the women's and men's 200 meters. Olivia Rider won the women's race in 25.19 to beat out Montana's Melissa Jenkins (25.48) and Anika Green (25.51). Gage Pickering (22.27) and John MacDonald (22.85) went 1-2 in the men's race.
3:15 p.m. The meet is slowing down. The women's 5,000 meters is underway with three competitors. Katrina Drennen and Heather Haug are back after battling in the 1,500 meters. They are joined by Montana freshman Keli Dennehy. ... The only field event yet to start is the men's discus. The women's discus just finished, and the men's triple jump is nearly wrapped up. ... Montana State's Stacey Irvine won the women's pole vault at a height of 12-9.5, a height that is likely good enough to make regionals. Montana's Courtney Kosovich was second with a season-best effort of 12-1.5.
2:54 p.m. The meet's dual results are becoming clear. The Montana State men lead 82-49. The Montana women lead 81.5-64.5.
2:51 p.m. Montana's Jason Flemmer, the 2010 Big Sky champion, won the javelin. He threw a career-best 220-0 not just once, but twice. Justin Graff went 215-10 to give the Grizzlies a 1-2 finish. Both will be at Stanford's meet next weekend to go up against some of the NCAA West Region's best.
2:44 p.m. Lindsey Hall (38-11.5) and Kellee Glaus (37-8.5) went 1-2 in the women's triple jump. ... Montana State went 1-2 in the women's 400-meter hurdles, which was a bit of an upset. UM's Kourtney Danreuther led the Big Sky Conference entering the event, but MSU's Katie Niemeir (1:00.77) and Madeline Fuchs (1:01.79) both broke 62 seconds. Danreuther went 1:03.25 to finish third. Niemeir's time is the best in the Big Sky this spring. ... Montana's Drew Owens won the men's 400-meter hurdles in a time of 53.67, just off his time of 53.53 that ranks second in the Big Sky.
2:24 p.m. Great men's 800 meters. Montana State's Patrick Casey, one of the top middle distance athletes in the nation, raced the 1,500 meters last night at the Oregon Relays in Eugene, Ore., but he still had enough after traveling to Missoula this morning to run a winning time of 1:51.69. Montana's Cody Lund pulled even with Casey with 100 meters to go, but Casey put on a surge to pull away. Lund got pulled along to finish second in a career-best 1:52.30.
2:20 p.m. Northern Arizona took the doubles point from Montana at the Big Sky Conference men's tennis tournament. The teams played to a 4-3 Montana victory last Saturday in Missoula. Looks like it will be another tight match.
2:12 p.m. Montana just took the top four spots in the women's 800 meters, one of the Grizzlies' best events ... and that was without Katrina Drennen running. Chantelle Grey (2:12.69) won, followed by Emily Eickholt (2:13.24) and Kesslee Payne (2:17.75), who was making her outdoor season debut. Grey and Eickholt rank third and fourth in the Big Sky behind Sacramento State's Lea Wallace, who leads the nation at 2:02.95, and Drennen (2:09.42). ... Kourtney Danreuther (12.39) won the 100 meters for Montana, Gage Pickering (11.07) won the men's 100 meters for the Bobcats. ... Through 11 men's events, MSU leads 72-37, and through 11 women's events, the Griz lead 62.5-51.5.
1:54 p.m. Melissa Jenkins continues her comeback story. She won the 400 meters with a strong final 100 to win in 57.47. MSU's Lierin Flanagan was second in 58.01.
1:49 p.m. Montana State is crushing it in the men's dual. The Bobcats went 1-2 in the 110-meter hurdles behind Slater Powell (14.42) and Keenan Stangl (15.16) and just went 1-2 in the 400 meters. The Bobcats lead through 10 events 65-33. ... The Montana women hold a slight lead through eight events, 47.5-44.5.
1:41 p.m. Results are coming in fast now. Adam Hutter of Montana State won the long jump at 22-5.25 in the Bobcats' 1-2-3 finish. ... MSU's Bob Biskupiak won the pole vault at 16-4.75. ... Montana State's Nick Atwood won the 1,500 meters in 3:57.20. ... Lindsey Hall won the 100-meter hurdles. She looked very smooth over every hurdle, so her time of 13.97, a career best and the Big Sky's fourth-fastest time this spring, wasn't a surprise. ... We'll try to get some team scoring shortly.
1:31 p.m. The Montana soccer team is playing the Griz alumni the next field over at South Campus Stadium. There is a lot of exciting momentum with first-year Mark Plakorus and his program. The Griz are a sleeping giant, both competitively within the Big Sky Conference and for fans in Missoula.
1:28 p.m. Jessica Greany of Montana State won the high jump at 5-5 in an event that should have been a strong one for Montana. Lindsey Hall, who ranks third in the Big Sky, went 5-3. Gwenn Abbott, who ranks fifth in the Big Sky, no-heighted.
1:18 p.m. What a finish! Drennen led most of the way. Haug, like she did at the Al Manuel when she defeated Drennen, took the lead with 100 meters to go. Drennen stayed right on her hip and retook the lead with under 10 meters to go. Drennen: 4:30.38. Haug: 4:30.49. What a pair of talents.
1:07 p.m. No points were awarded in the men's 4x100 meter relay. Montana State had its handoff outside of the final zone and Montana's Cullen Bachman stumbled and went down with 60 meters to go and did not finish the race. ... The women's 1,500 meters just started. Drennen vs. Haug!
12:56 p.m. Both teams had faulty handoffs in the women's 4x100 meters. The Bobcats handed the Grizzlies a nice lead on the second handoff, then Montana gave the lead right back on the third and final handoff. Kourtney Danreuther was almost standing still before getting the baton from Jessica Leslie, but Danreuther pulled away for the victory. ... Nycole Devers went 145-6 to win the women's javelin. Her throw was two inches better than her mark last week, when she put up the Big Sky's second-best throw of the season. The Bobcats took second and third with Hannah Counter (140-6) and Karen Brown (136-8).
12:40 p.m. Montana's Lynn Reynolds won the men's steeplechase from start to finish. His time was 9:28.62. Collin Fehr also ran. He is coming off an arch injury, so he was far from full strength. He finished in 10:12.88 to earn the Grizzlies a point. MSU's Jacob Kirk (9:31.83) was the Bobcats' top finisher.
12:32 p.m. Montana State went 1-2 in the men's shot put: Morgan Norgaard (53-11.25) in first and Trevor Gilreath (53-2.75) in second. Chris Hicks (40-11) placed sixth to lead the Grizzlies. ... It's 12:30 p.m. and the American flag is still limp. Great conditions for the distance races. ... Kara DeWalt just won the women's steeplechase, as was expected. She ran solo from the opening lap, so her time of 10:44.08, which is only 18 seconds off her school record, is pretty impressive.
12:07 p.m. Montana's Jessica Leslie won the long jump with a leap of 18-4.25. The women's long jump was an event the Grizzlies should have gone 1-2 in, but MSU's Sarah McGree (17-11) upset Montana's Lindsey Hall (17-9) to take second. Those are points to watch if the dual is tight going into the final event(s).
12:02 p.m. The start of the women's steeplechase has been delayed from noon to 12:20 p.m. The hose that fills the water pit was frozen. When that's an issue in late April, it's been a rough spring.
11:56 a.m. Montana State is off to a good start in both duals. The Bobcats took first and second in the men's high jump. Asa Staven (6-8) was first, Adam Hutter was second (6-6.75). Montana's Chris Hicks matched his season best, 6-4.75, to take third.
11:49 a.m. Montana State won the women's shot put 8-3, as expected. Amanda Murphy, the Big Sky's No. 4-ranked athlete, went 45-10.5 to win. The MSU women went 1-2-3.
11:45 a.m. The Big Sky Conference tennis tournaments are underway in Bozeman, Mont. The Sacramento State men, the tournament's top seed, had no trouble with Montana State, topping the Bobcats 4-0. The tournament has been forced inside, so No. 2 Montana and No. 3 Northern Arizona will meet at noon. The No. 3 Montana women will face No. 2 Northern Arizona tonight at 8 p.m. if everything remains on schedule.
11:42 a.m. Twenty minutes away from the start of the running events. The women's steeplechase opens things up. Should be interesting. Just two entries: Montana's Kara DeWalt, who ranks second in the Big Sky Conference, and Montana State's Heather Demorest, whose season-best time is a minute slower than DeWalt's. It will be interesting to see DeWalt's race strategy.
11:04 a.m. Lots of exciting running races today. None more than the women's 1,500 meters. Montana State's Heather Haug (4:23.50) ranks first in the Big Sky Conference, Montana's Katrina Drennen (4:24.31) ranks second. Both ran those times head-to-head at the Al Manuel.
11:01 a.m. Montana State is up 7-4 in the men's competition after the hammer throw. MSU's David Phillips (194-2) won, with Montana's Ryan McNally (161-6) coming in second. Phillips is the Big Sky's second-ranked hammer thrower behind Northern Arizona's Pascal Tang.
10:58 a.m. Men's hammer throw just wrapped up. Athletes are warming up for the women's long jump and shot put and men's high jump.
10:54 a.m. The women's hammer throw is already done. Montana State jumped out to an early 8-3 lead on the women's side, which is expected this year in the throws. Amanda Murphy, the top-ranked hammer thrower in the Big Sky Conference, went 187-6. Her teammate, Emily Willmuth, went 163-1. For Montana, Nicole Ennen went 150-11, Caitlin Caraway 138-9.
10:49 a.m. Ideal day for track and field. Sunny, calm and cool. A well-deserved day after the less-than-ideal weather conditions at the Al Manuel Invitational and Montana Open earlier this month. ... The scoring for the dual is 5-3-2-1, with each team allowed two scorers in each event. At most a team can finish an event with an 8-3 advantage, assuming there is a full list of entries.
