Montana
Big Sky Conference Championships
Evans repeats as triple jump champion at Flagstaff
2/28/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Indoor Track, Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field
Results 
Junior Sammy Evans won her third career triple jump title Saturday on the final day of the Big Sky Conference indoor track and field championships at Flagstaff, Ariz.
Senior Keli Dennehy finished third in the 3,000 meters, her best individual finish at a Big Sky championships, indoor or outdoor. She and Evans combined for 16 points Saturday on a day the Grizzlies totaled just 30 to finish in the bottom half of the 12-team standings.
The UM women finished eighth with 42 points, 18 of which came from Evans, who finished second in the long jump Friday night. The men scored 17 points and came in 10th. It was the fewest points scored at an indoor championships for the Grizzlies since 1995.
"You just can't convince me that this is where we're supposed to place," said coach Brian Schweyen, who guided his teams to a pair of third-place finishes at last year's indoor championships. "These two teams are way better than we placed. I know we are."
Sacramento State won its fourth women's title in the last six years in dramatic fashion, edging Montana State in the 4x400-meter relay, the championships' final event, to beat the Bobcats by less than two points. Northern Arizona finished third.
NAU won its fourth straight men's title and its sixth in the last seven years. Sacramento State was second, Montana State third.
Evans was Montana's bellwether at Flagstaff. She broke the school indoor long jump record Friday with a mark of 19-4.75, and she went into Saturday's triple jump as the defending champion after sweeping the event at both the indoor and outdoor championships in 2014.
She went 41-7.25 to come within an inch and a half of breaking her own school record and won the event by 17 inches. Evans, who scored Montana's only points Saturday in the six field events, won the triple jump seven times in eight meets during the indoor season.
Evans' 18 points, which equaled the total scored by Montana's men's and women's teams in the 16 individual track events, left her two shy of earning Most Valuable Athlete honors, an honor claimed by Montana State's Heather Demorest, who won the 3,000 and 5,000 meters.
Northern Arizona's Futsum Zienasellassie earned men's MVA honors. The sophomore scored 28 points with victories in the 3,000 and 5,000 meters and a runner-up finish in the mile.
Montana State's Cristian Soratos and Carley McCutchen swept the Most Outstanding Performer awards.
Dennehy finished third behind Demorest and Weber State's Ellie Child in the 3,000 meters in a time of 10:10.20. Altitude-adjusted to 9:44.83, it came within a second of Dennehy's career best.
"Keli did fantastic," said Schweyen. "She ran a smart race and finished strong. This is probably more confidence than she's had in a long, long time, so outdoor could be great for her."
Senior Jacob Leininger finished fifth in the 60-meter hurdles Saturday in a time of 8.19, and sophomore Dominique Bobo was fifth in the 200 meters in 21.83.
Sophomore Reagan Colyer, who won the event at the 2014 indoor championships, placed sixth in the 800 meters with a time of 2:16.16. Senior Ben Williamson finished eighth in the men's 800 in a time of 1:59.22.
Montana's only other points Saturday came from the men's 4x400-meter relay team that finished seventh. Racing for the Grizzlies were Bobo, senior Drew Owens and juniors Andrew Monaco and Dylan Reynolds.
Senior Brian Maus, at 56-5.25, had a career-best effort in the weight throw, and freshman Maddie Taylor went a season-best 5-4.25 in the high jump.
The outdoor season opens March 27-28 with the Al Manuel Invitational at Dornblaser Field.
Women's team standings
1. Sacramento State ... 99.8333
2. Montana State ... 98.3333
3. Northern Arizona ... 89
4. Eastern Washington ... 68
4. Portland State ... 68
6. Weber State ... 51.8333
7. Northern Colorado ... 46
8. Montana ... 42
9. North Dakota ... 34
10. Idaho State ... 27
11. Southern Utah ... 20
12. Idaho ... 19
Montana's point scorers
10, Sammy Evans, 1st, triple jump
10, Nicole Anskaitis, 1st, pole vault
8, Sammy Evans, 2nd, long jump
6, Keli Dennehy, 3rd, 3,000 meters
3, Shayle Dezellem, 6th, pentathlon
3, Reagan Colyer, 6th, 800 meters
2, Nicole Stroot, 7th, pentathlon
Men's team standings
1. Northern Arizona ... 144
2. Sacramento State ... 127.5
3. Montana State ... 90
4. Southern Utah ... 67
5. Idaho State ... 58
6. Weber State ... 43
7. Eastern Washington ... 36.5
8. Northern Colorado ... 31
9. North Dakota ... 27
10. Montana ... 17
11. Idaho ... 14
12. Portland State ... 8
Montana's point scorers
4, Dominique Bobo, 5th, 200 meters
4, Jacob Leininger, 5th, 60-meter hurdles
3, Nick Jackson, 6th, shot put
2, 4x400-meter relay (Dominique Bobo, Andrew Monaco, Drew Owens, Dylan Reynolds)
1, Charlie Bush, 8th, heptathlon
1, Ben Williamson, 8th, 800 meters
1, Matt Quist, 8th, high jump
1, Distance medley relay, 8th (Joe Lesar, Drew Owens, David Norris, Cody Curtis)
Players Mentioned
