Griz add pair of state champions
7/31/2013 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track and Field, Outdoor Track, Women's Track and Field
July 31, 2013
Montana track and field coach Brian Schweyen solidified his 2014 men's roster with the signing of four athletes to National Letters of Intent over the past weeks. Two of the signees are recent state champions. Three of the newcomers are from Montana.
Signing were Jase Buche (BOOK-ee) of Missoula, Nate Deming of Billings, Nick Jackson of Billings and Riley Neville of Yerington, Nev.
The Grizzlies signed Dominique Bobo of Wichita Falls, Texas, Nolan Nagle of Santa Rosa, Calif, and Joshua Strasser of Jackson, Wis., to NLIs in the spring.
"For late-season additions, you're not going to get better signees than what we have with this group," Schweyen said. "We're fortunate to get these four great athletes."
Jackson, who competed at West High, was the Montana Class AA state champion in both the shot put and discus in May and had senior-year bests of 58-8 in the shot put and 171-4 in the discus.
He also won Class AA state titles in the discus as a junior and shot put as a sophomore, and finished third last winter in the 215-pound weight class at the Class AA state wrestling tournament.
"(UM throws coach) Jimmy Stanton did a fantastic job at the end of the year recruiting Nick, who I think is the best thrower in the state," Schweyen said. "He's a very talented individual.
"He's not coming in as a small, weak freshman. He's a good-sized, strong kid with pretty solid technique. We anticipate him helping us out right away."
The other incoming state champion is Neville, a recent graduate of Yerington High. Neville went a meet-record 15-6 in the pole vault to win the Nevada Division III state title in May and also has competed in the sprints and throws.
"Riley is a football player who turned to track, and he's become a good vaulter and could be a good multi-events athlete," Schweyen said. "He has a great build and is another one who should come in and help us immediately. He's a good addition."
Buche, a graduate of Hellgate High, went a season-best 199-1 in the javelin as a senior and finished fourth at the Class AA state meet. He'll add to the Grizzlies' depth in the event, which already includes Lukas Scherer, Daniel Jones and Henry Lilly.
Scherer finished third at the Big Sky Conference championships in the spring. Lilly was seventh.
"Jase is a great javelin thrower, one of the top throwers in the state this year," Schweyen said. "What I really like is his demeanor. He just reminds me of a javelin thrower. He's laid back, but he knows how to get after it when it's time."
Track and field became Deming's sport of choice after a string of concussions ended his football career at West High. He finished fourth in the long jump at the Class AA state meet in May and had senior-year bests of 22-2.5 in the long jump and 43-9.5 in the triple jump.
"Nate has only done track and field for basically a year and a half," Schweyen said. "He's good in the jumps, but he does a little bit of everything and may be a possible decathlete.
"He's very athletic and really untapped. I think he could be a diamond in the rough."
That he ended up signing a majority of his men's newcomers after their senior year of high school is not surprising to Schweyen. He claims it's just the nature of human development.
"It happens a lot on the men's side where their junior year is okay, then all of a sudden they come out their senior year," he said.
"They hit their maturity level, and their bodies fill in, and all of a sudden they come out and they are stronger than they were before. They have a little bit of success and get more confident, which leads to big marks."
