Griz track and field teams seeking high finishes at Flagstaff
5/13/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track and Field, Outdoor Track, Women's Track and Field
May 13, 2014
Championships Entries | Championships Schedule | Montana Performance List
The Montana track and field teams will compete this week at the Big Sky Conference outdoor championships at Flagstaff, Ariz. The multi-events will be contested Wednesday and Thursday, with the rest of the meet being held Friday and Saturday.
Both teams are coming off third-place finishes at the Big Sky indoor championships at Pocatello, Idaho, last winter.
The Griz women are ranked second on paper, well ahead of six-time defending champion Sacramento State but also a good chunk of points behind favorite Northern Arizona, which won the indoor title by a comfortable 23-point margin over Weber State.
To spring the upset, Montana's athletes will have to have the meet of their lives, and the Grizzlies will need other teams to rise up as well and steal projected points from the Lumberjacks, but not so many that they become a threat to Montana.
"For us to have a chance at first, all of our girls need to jump up. I want them to come in confident and not worry about anything other than themselves and their performance. That is what it's going to take," Schweyen said. "Going in all you ever want is a chance, and we have that."
Montana will also be competing with a sense of urgency this week. The team is led by six decorated seniors, five of whom show up in the Montana record book, and this is their final shot at leading the Grizzlies to their first-ever Big Sky championship.
"There is a ton of talent in that group, and they are the backbone of the program," said Schweyen. "This is the best opportunity we've had in the 16 or 17 years I've been coaching here, so we need to take full advantage of it."
The Montana men are fourth or fifth on paper, which is fine with them. The Grizzlies were middle of the pack going into the indoor championships and surprised with a third-place finish, coming in just 2.5 points out of second.
They did at the indoor championships what the UM women need to do this week: They had surprising performances across a number of events while also picking up most of their projected points, the simple recipe for championships success.
"The men are sitting fourth or fifth, but this can be a top-three team again," Schweyen said. "I think they can do a very similar thing to indoor where they sneak up, maybe into second.
"We've got some guys who are not up in the standings like we anticipated, but they still have the full potential."
Championships storylines:
* The women's heptathlon took an unexpected twist this week when Southern Utah's Shaye Springall was not entered in the multi-events.
Springall and Montana senior Lindsey Hall are head and shoulders above the rest of the heptathlon field. Hall's season-best score of 5,550 is tied for 11th on the national list. Springall's 5,454 ranks 17th.
Without Springall in the mix, the second-ranked heptathlete competing this week is Montana State's Carley McCutchen, whose season best is 5,151. Ranked third is Northern Arizona's Jade Childs, who has scored 4,840 points.
With Hall already holding a score that is going to advance her to nationals at Eugene, Ore., next month, everything has changed with Springall's absence.
"That really changes the whole dynamic of what Lindsey has to do," Schweyen said. "There is zero pressure to put up a score, so she is going to go in more relaxed mentally and physically.
"All she has to do is cruise through it and use as little energy as possible so that she can come back Friday and Saturday and hit all of her other events full tilt."
Also competing in the heptathlon will be junior Shayle Dezellem and freshmen Lakyn Connors and Nicole Stroot. Dezellem has the potential to score more than 4,800 points, and Connors ranks eighth going into the championships. If Stroot rises up, the Grizzlies could take four of the eight scoring places.
"All three of our other heptathletes need to step up and score," said Schweyen. "That's the first step we need to take if we want to move up from second and challenge for first place."
* If Hall wins the heptathlon, it will give her five Big Sky multi-events titles for her career. She won her third pentathlon title in February at Pocatello, and she won the 2011 heptathlon championship.
A fifth multi-event title would match Idaho State's Cassie Merkley for the most in Big Sky history. Merkley won three pentathlon titles and two heptathlon championships.
* Sticking with Hall: She ranks first in the heptathlon as well as first in the 100-meter hurdles, long jump and javelin and second in the high jump. She will also be competing in the triple jump but is unranked since she has not attempted that event this spring.
She hadn't at the Big Sky indoor championships either and still jumped her way to second place. Which means the outdoor championships record of 40 points -- set by Weber State's Elizabeth Kealamakia in 1992 and matched by Sacramento State's Moira Robinson in 2010 -- is in jeopardy of being broken.
Hall also has a chance to approach the outdoor championships career points record of 100, set by Boise State's Carmel Major (1984-87). Hall, who is the indoor championships career scoring leader, currently has 57 outdoor points.
* If the season ended today and the top 48 athletes in every event declared for the NCAA West Regional at Fayetteville, Ark., Montana would have eight athletes traveling: Hall in the hurdles and javelin, junior Caitlin Caraway in the hammer, sophomore Lindsey Dahl in the javelin, senior Kourtney Danreuther in the 400-meter hurdles, sophomore Sammy Evans in the triple jump, junior Lee Hardt in the high jump, senior Lukas Scherer in the javelin and senior Keith Webber in the pole vault.
Five athletes who advanced to regionals last year but are not ranked in the top 48 are competing this weekend. That includes senior Austin Emry, who has never missed the cut to regionals and who advanced to indoor nationals for the second consecutive year in March.
Junior Drew Owens, who redshirted the 2013 outdoor season, also advanced to regionals in the 400-meter hurdles in 2011 and 2012. He currently ranks 51st in the region with his season-best time of 52.35.
Eleven Montana athletes advanced last year.
"I'd like to see 12 or more kids get to regionals, and that's something we're completely capable of," said Schweyen. "So we're hoping this meet produces 4-6 more.
"It's a championship environment, so that alone should give them more adrenaline than they're used to."
* In addition to Hall being ranked No. 1 going into the championships in the heptathlon, hurdles, long jump and javelin, Danreuther ranks first in the 400-meter hurdles, Evans first in the triple jump and freshman Reagan Colyer first in the 800 meters.
Danreuther won the hurdles title at the 2011 championships but focused on the 200 and 400 meters at the 2012 and 2013 meets. This week she'll be racing the 400 meters and 400-meter hurdles and anchoring both of Montana's relay teams.
Evans won her first Big Sky title at last winter's indoor championships. Colyer as well won an indoor title in the 800 meters.
* Ranked first for the UM men are Emry in the long jump, Owens in the 400-meter hurdles, Scherer in the javelin and Webber in the pole vault.
Emry has won a Big Sky title in the heptathlon and decathlon, but he is still seeking his first title in an individual event. Owens has twice finished second in the hurdles at the outdoor championships, and Scherer was third in the javelin at last spring's championships.
Webber had not finished higher than fourth in the pole vault entering the 2014 indoor season, but he's enjoyed a breakout senior year.
He set new Montana indoor and outdoor records this year and won the indoor pole vault title. His season best of 17-2.75 this outdoor season is six inches better than any other mark in the Big Sky.
Events to watch:
Women's javelin: Hall leads the Big Sky, but Montana has four of the top nine entered athletes. Dahl ranks sixth, sophomore Stephanie Wells, who made regionals last spring, ranks seventh, and sophomore McCalle Feller ranks ninth.
Men's 110-meter hurdles: Emry and junior Jacob Leininger are tied for third with times of 14.48. Not only will it be a head-to-head battle between teammates, but both will be trying to take down heavy favorites. Northern Arizona's Vernon Jamison has run a 13.90, Weber State's Jonathan McUne a 14.25.
Women's high jump: Hall, at 5-7.25, ranks second behind Northern Arizona's Lauren Laszczak (5-10). Abbott, at 5-7, ranks third, as does multiple-time Big Sky champion Amber Amsbaugh of Montana State.
Men's 800 meters: Sophomore Cody Curtis and juniors David Norris and Ben Williamson are all ranked outside of the top eight. They were also overlooked at the indoor championships, and all three advanced to finals and ended up scoring points for the Grizzlies.
Women's triple jump: Montana has former Big Sky champions in Evans and senior Kellee Glaus ranked first and fifth, and Hall is an unranked menacing presence. The Grizzlies went 1-2 behind Evans and Hall at the indoor championships. A 1-2-3 finish this week is in play.
Men's javelin: Scherer is one of four Big Sky athletes who have thrown past 200 feet, though none has gone beyond 210 feet, so it's a tight field. Watch for Griz freshman Jase Buche to throw himself into the mix. He's been super consistent the last month, posting throws of 194-7, 193-6, 195-3 and 196-5 and is set for a breakout performance. He is ranked fifth.
Women's 100-meter hurdles: The top three athletes and their season-best times: Lindsey Hall (13.61), Portland State's Jazmin Ratcliff (13.63), Shaye Springall (13.66). Bring. It. On.
Men's pole vault: Webber is the heavy favorite. His senior teammate Kaleb Horlick is ranked fifth with his season-best vault of 16-0.75 at the Mt. SAC Relays. Horlick was one of Montana's surprises at the indoor championships when he rose up and finished a career-best second.
Women's 800 meters: Colyer missed the first two meets of the season, then opened up with a 2:20 at the Griz-Eagle Dual at Cheney, Wash. She ran back-to-back 2:11s in late April, than an altitude-adjusted 2:09.93 at the Montana Open on May 3. She is the only Big Sky athlete with a sub-2:10 time this spring.
Players Mentioned
