Anskaitis named Big Sky Conference Athlete of the Week
2/10/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Indoor Track, Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field
Montana junior Nicole Anskaitis, who broke the school pole vault record on Friday night at the Montana State Invitational in just her third meet competing for the Grizzlies, was named the Big Sky Conference Athlete of the Week Tuesday for women's field events.
Anskaitis (an-SKATE-is), of Geelong, Australia, vaulted 13-3.5 Friday to break Suzanne Krings' school-record mark of 13-1.5 from 2001. She took over the top spot on the Big Sky Conference performance list and moved into a tie for 40th on the national list.
Anskaitis and Eastern Washington sophomore Courtney Bray, who went a season-best 13-1.75 last weekend at Washington State, are the only two vaulters in the Big Sky to clear 13 feet this winter.
Montana has never produced a Big Sky Conference women's indoor pole vault champion. At this rate Anskaitis could become the first. She went 12-9.5 in her Griz debut on Jan. 23, then improved to 12-11.5 at the Mountain States Games at Pocatello.
She broke the school record on Friday and had good attempts at 13-7.25. She also is Montana's top hurdler, with two sub-nine-second times in the 60-meter hurdles this winter.
"Nicole is tall, aggressive and competitive, and she is very coachable," said UM jumps coach Adam Bork, who held Montana's men's pole vault records until they were broken last year by Keith Webber.
"She doesn't mentally struggle like some athletes do when they switch to longer poles. It's much easier for her to make adjustments."
The only limit on Anskaitis is her window of eligibility. She has this indoor and outdoor season and next year's indoor and outdoor seasons remaining to train for an event that can take years to truly figure out.
Consider the career trajectory of Webber, who swept the Big Sky indoor and outdoor championships last year while also setting new UM records.
As a true freshman in 2010, he cleared 15 feet just once in 12 indoor and outdoor meets. Last year, as a fifth-year senior, he was approaching 17 feet with regularity and now holds both the Montana indoor (17-1.5) and outdoor (17-2.75) records.
Though she is a junior in eligibility, Anskaitis is closer to the left side of that timeline than the right side when it comes to her experience in the event.
"It's hard to really set limits on someone who is so raw but who has so much potential," said Bork. "That's why it's disappointing that we only get to have her for two years. We won't be able to accomplish what we could have accomplished if we had been able to have her longer."
Montana State senior Sean Ferriter was named the Big Sky Athlete of the Week for men's field events. He went 65-3.25 in the weight throw Friday night, the second straight week Ferriter, who leads the Big Sky, broke 65 feet.
The Big Sky Athlete of the Week for women's track was Portland State sophomore Genna Settle, whose time of 23.92 in the 200 meters last weekend in Boston was the fourth-fastest indoor time in conference history.
The Montana State distance medley relay team, which broke the MSU record from 2013, was named the Big Sky Athletes of the Week for men's track.
Montana will be back in action Friday night at the Montana State Double Duals. The Grizzlies will go head to head against the Bobcats and Weber State.
Players Mentioned
