Montana
Washington State
Rajala's school record highlights Cougar Invitational
4/21/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track and Field, Outdoor Track, Women's Track and Field
April 21, 2012
Junior Kiandra Rajala broke the school record in the hammer throw and the Montana track and field teams delivered the type of performance head coach Brian Schweyen was looking for Saturday at the Cougar Invitational in Pullman, Wash.
With the Big Sky Conference outdoor championships less than three weeks away, the Griz men and women both had three new qualifying performances and more important had a large number of season and career bests.
"It's getting to be that time of the season, and the kids really performed today," Schweyen said. "I'm really pleased with where we are right now. I think these kids are on the cusp of a big breakthrough."
Rajala added over five feet to her career best in the hammer Saturday to write her name over Brittany Williams' in the Montana record book. Rajala's second-place throw of 174-0 put more than two feet on Williams throw of 171-9 from 2009.
Senior Melissa Jenkins' and sophomore Austin Emry's performances were indicative of the breakthrough efforts Schweyen sought in Pullman.
Jenkins won the 400 meters by breaking 57 seconds for the third time in four meets this spring at 56.86 and ran a sizzling time of 25.04 in the 200 meters, taking nearly three-tenths of a second off her career best to finish second and become the team's third Big Sky qualifier in the event.
Emry competed in his first collegiate decathlon last weekend at Sacramento State and returned home from the Mondo Mid-Major Challenge ready to start working on his individual events before the decathlon at the Big Sky championships.
With just a week's work, Emry went a season-best 6-8.75 to finish third in the high jump and a season-best 22-5.25 to finish third in the long jump. He also threw the discus a career best 109-11.
Senior Richard Brumbaugh qualified in two events Saturday but added another entry to the story of his snakebit outdoor season.
He threw a qualifying distance in the discus, going 151-5 to finish third, and after posting NDs (no-distances) in the javelin his first two meets with no throws that landed within the measurable sector, Brumbaugh went 198-2 on his first attempt Saturday to easily meet the qualifying standard of 187-0.
It was a qualifying effort, but 15 to 20 feet short of where it would have landed had he not slipped on his block and reaggravated an existing Achilles injury.
Joining Jenkins as new qualifiers on the women's team were redshirt freshman Annie Moore and freshman Autumn Taniguchi.
Moore leaned her way past the 2:17 qualifying standard in the 800 meters with a winning time of 2:16.91. Taniguchi, running the 400-meter hurdles for just the third time in her career, snuck under the 1:05 standard in the event with a fourth-place showing in 1:04.96.
Freshman Terrell Boyes, one of the athletes Schweyen hinted at earlier in the week who was due for a big meet, earned his first Big Sky qualification of the season by going 6-4.75 in the high jump.
Boyes also went a collegiate-best 21-6.25 in the long jump.
Sophomore Kourtney Danreuther joined Jenkins and Moore as women's event winners, and the Grizzlies swept both relay races.
Danreuther won the 400-meter hurdles by nearly two seconds in a time of 1:00.66 and ran a leg -- along with junior Anika Green and freshmen Morgan Braby and Madison Worst -- of the team's winning 4x100-meter relay that ran a season-best 47.36.
Jenkins, Danreuther and juniors Emily Eickholt and Brittany Schroeder teamed up to beat Washington State in the 4x400-meter relay in a time of 3:45.60. The quartet remains within sight of the school record from 1987 of 3:43.13.
Montana had three winners on the men's side, all coming from freshman.
Lee Hardt won the high jump at an outdoor-best height of 6-10.75; Tyler Spalding won the triple jump with a distance of 44-8, which put nine inches on his career best; and Brandon Forson won the shot put at 51-5.75, which improved upon his previous Big Sky qualification.
Montana will compete next Saturday at the annual Griz-Cat Dual at Bozeman, Mont.
Players Mentioned
