Griz enter championship month

Friday, February 5

Bozeman, Mont.

Montana

Montana State (UM-MSU-SAC-EWU)

2/4/2016 8:29:00 AM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

By: Montana Sports Information

Montana Performance List | Big Sky Performance List

The Montana track and field teams open championship month by traveling on Friday to Bozeman, where the Grizzlies will face off against athletes from Montana State, Eastern Washington and Sacramento State.

Montana State will host the Big Sky Conference indoor championships Feb. 25-27 at Brick Breeden Fieldhouse.

Montana will return to Bozeman on Friday, Feb. 12, to compete against Montana State and Weber State and on Friday, Feb. 19, for the last-chance Bobcat Open.

The level of competition on Friday should give the Grizzlies everything they need to be at their best.

The Sacramento State women were picked first in the preseason coaches' poll, the Hornet men second. Montana State was picked third in both polls. The Eastern Washington women were picked fourth, the EWU men fifth.

Montana was picked seventh in the preseason women's poll, eighth in the men's poll.

"If anyone thinks they're saving their best for conference, that's the complete wrong mindset. Everyone should bring their best at conference, but the best they've ever done should be this week. And it should get better every week leading up to conference," said coach Brian Schweyen.

"If you go three weeks bettering your lifetime best and get to conference and do the second-best you've ever done, or if you have three weeks of average, then have the best you've ever had at conference, that might be worse than the first scenario. I want the best now and for it to get better next week."

Montana enters this week's meet holding 13 Big Sky Conference qualifications, 12 if Sabrina Keys (shot put), who won't be competing at the championships, is removed. Sacramento State holds 25, Eastern Washington 21, Montana State 14.

All six of Montana's women's qualifiers are in the jumps, throws and multi-events.

Senior Nicole Anskaitis and freshman Carrie Jacka are qualified in the pole vault, junior Samantha Hodgson in the shot put, sophomore Hana Feilzer in the weight and junior Nicole Stroot and sophomore Erika McLeod in the pentathlon.

Junior Dominique Bobo holds half of the men's team's six qualifications. He is qualified in the 60 meters, 200 meters and long jump. Junior Dionee Marrero is qualified in the 60 meters, freshman Taylor Trollope in the 60-meter hurdles, sophomore Matt Quist in the high jump.

Notes:

* Automatic conference qualifiers from Big Sky women's teams remain at shockingly low numbers. Of the 15 individual event areas, 10 have four or fewer qualifiers, with the 800 meters, mile, 60-meter hurdles, long jump and triple jump having one qualifier each.

* That makes junior Nicole Stroot the No. 2 ranked athlete in the Big Sky in both the hurdles and long jump while being qualified in neither event. Stroot's career-best hurdles time of 8.82 last Friday in Seattle ranks behind only Weber State junior Tawnie Moore's 8.57. In the long jump Stroot, at 18-1.75, ranks behind only Northern Colorado senior Alisha Allen's 19-0.

* Stroot scored 3,522 points in the pentathlon Friday in Seattle, moving her up to No. 6 on the Big Sky list. The top seven athletes on the pentathlon list have scored between 3,590 (Jessica Chrisp, Montana State) and 3,520 points (Jozie Kimes, Eastern Washington). It points to what could be a tight multi-events when the Big Sky championships open on Thursday, Feb. 25. And a lower winning point total than has been required in recent years. The last four years the winning total has been more than 3,900.

* Sophomore Maddie Taylor went 5-5 in the high jump in Seattle, the third time in four meets this season she's gone that height. And she continues to move down the performance list as other athletes clear 5-6 and 5-7. She is now tied for eighth. But Taylor has come close to clearing 5-7, and the top mark on the performance list is 5-7.25, so she's close.

* Nicole Anskaitis and Carrie Jacka are two of 14 pole vaulters automatically qualified. It's the deepest event for qualifiers, followed by the pentathlon (12) and weight throw (10).

* Behind Northern Colorado's Alisha Allen in the long jump are seven athletes who have gone within the two-inch window between 18-0 and 18-2. Nicole Stroot is in that group. Erika McLeod is just outside at 17-11.

* Sophomore Madison Page ranks fourth in the triple jump at 37-0.25. Portland State freshman Chaquinn Cook tops the list at 38-0.25.

* And somewhere in Missoula, Sammy Evans counts down the days until the outdoor season arrives. Evans, who is redshirting this season, went 19-0.5 in the long jump and 41-5.25 in the triple jump while competing unattached last Saturday in Seattle. Both would be the top marks in the Big Sky.

* Dominique Bobo should be a major point producer for Montana at the indoor championships, just as he was at last spring's outdoor meet when he scored 19 points in the sprints, long jump and relays. He is tied for seventh in the 60 meters and sitting second in the 200 meters and third in the long jump. He'll also run a leg of the 4x400 meters, a list on which Montana currently ranks second.

* Dionee Marrero is tied for fourth in the 60 meters at 6.94 seconds, a time converted from the 55 meters he raced at Eastern Washington's meet in early December. Marrero went 6.98, 6.99, 7.10 and 7.06 in 60-meter races in January.

* Idaho senior Ben Ayesu-Attah, with a time of 47.22, is in a league by himself in the 400 meters. The next two athletes on the Big Sky list have times of 48.82 and 48.84. Then there are 15 athletes with times in the 49s, including Montana redshirt freshman Sterling Reneau at 49.47.

* Montana does not have anyone in the top 12 in the men's distance races of 800 meters, mile, 3,000 meters or 5,000 meters.

* Seven league athletes are qualified in the 60-meter hurdles, including Taylor Trollope and his adjusted time of 8.34. The top two hurdlers have gone faster than 8.20.

* Matt Quist could become a Big Sky Conference champion this month. The high jumper, who only went 6-6.75 last weekend in Seattle, is No. 2 on the Big Sky list with his jump of 6-9 in mid-January at Montana State. Weber State junior Anthony Gregory tops the list at 6-10.75, though that bar was cleared in early December and hasn't been reached since.

* With Nick Jackson redshirting and without much depth beyond that, Montana does not have any representation in the Big Sky's top 20 in either the shot put or weight throw.

* Sophomore Charlie Bush moved up to No. 8 on the heptathlon list with his score of 4,661 last weekend in Seattle. The point total was just off his PR of 4,684.