Montana
Eastern Washington Pelluer Invitational
Winds unable to faze Griz at Pelluer Invitational
4/11/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track and Field, Outdoor Track, Women's Track and Field
Results 
Despite steady winds of 25 miles per hour punctuated by the occasional gale, the Montana track and field teams posted some strong performances Saturday at the 44th annual Pelluer Invitational at Cheney, Wash.
The Grizzlies had nine individual event winners and three new Big Sky Conference qualifiers as they went head-to-head against Eastern Washington and Idaho at the site of next month's Big Sky championships.
"The conditions were certainly not favorable for having a lot of great marks today, but we still had some really good performances. There were a lot of great things," said coach Brian Schweyen.
All three of Montana's new qualifying performances came in the throws. Two came in the discus, an event that can be aided greatly by a nice headwind.
Sophomore Carlie Jessop added 15 feet to her PR, going 149-0 to finish sixth in a field where the top seven surpassed the Big Sky standard. Sophomore Nick Jackson went 168-0 to finish second in the men's discus, a 13-foot PR.
More surprising was Montana's success in the javelin, an implement that can be made to look like a loose plastic bag in a strong wind.
Junior Stephanie Wells, with a throw of 148-7 that approached her season best, won the women's javelin. Freshman Luke Hilmes, at 197-0, claimed the men's.
"Javelins were landing sideways today," said Schweyen, "so for those guys to throw that well in those conditions was great."
Freshman Jensen Lillquist made it a 1-2 finish in the men's javelin with a throw of 191-2. Senior Nycole Devers, at 142-10, and junior Lindsey Dahl, at 139-8, made it a 1-2-3 sweep for the women.
Dahl's throw, a 17-foot season best, was Montana's third new Big Sky qualifying mark of the day.
The Montana women won three events on the track, all by freshmen. Makenzee Cleveland-Aguirre (58.61) won the 400 meters, Morgan Sulser (14.85) won the 100-meter hurdles, and Erika McLeod (1:05.27) won the 400-meter hurdles. It was a season-best time for both Cleveland-Aguirre and Sulser.
Senior Drew Owens matched McLeod's victory with a commanding victory in the men's 400 hurdles. Racing mostly by himself, Owens ran a 53.17, just two-tenths of a second off his season best. He won the event by more than six seconds.
"Drew ran pretty much alone in the hurdles, so he did pretty well today," said Schweyen. "If he had had someone beside him pushing him, that's going to be a real good time."
Montana's other victory in the men's track events came from junior Joe Lesar in the 800 meters. Normally the fourth name mentioned in the event behind teammates Cody Curtis, David Norris and Ben Williamson, Lesar used a strong finish to clock a time that would have been a big PR on a calmer day.
Lesar ran a 1:56.82 to edge out Williamson (1:56.87) and Norris (1:57.54), who finished second and third.
"Joe was one of our breakout performers today," said Schweyen. "With 200 to go he was sitting in fourth, and then he took off around the corner.
"I think the guys up front were shocked to see him. In those conditions, that's a really good time and a great race for him."
Montana's other two victories came in the women's jumps. Sophomore Nicole Stroot went 18-2.5 in the long jump, her first time over 18 feet since last May, and freshman Claire Dalman, at 11-1.75, won the pole vault.
Montana will compete next Thursday through Saturday at the Oregon Relays at Eugene.
Players Mentioned
