Track and field teams make home debut this week

Friday, April 1

Missoula, Mont.

Montana

Al Manuel Northwest Dual

3/31/2016 6:05:00 PM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

By: Montana Sports Information

The Montana track and field teams will make their 2016 home debut this weekend when the Grizzlies host the two-day Al Manuel Northwest Dual at Dornblaser Field in Missoula. The all-Division I meet will feature athletes from Montana, Montana State, Eastern Washington and Idaho.

The meet opens Friday afternoon with the women's hammer throw at 3 p.m., followed by the men's hammer. Everything else takes place on Saturday. Field events start at 10 a.m. with the women's javelin. Running events commence at noon with the women's steeplechase.

"I don't remember the last time we were able to get four Division I schools together for an outdoor meet," said UM coach Brian Schweyen. "It's going to be exciting having four conference teams competing against one another. It should be some great competition across the board."

An added bonus: the weather experts are calling for highs in the 60s with plenty of sunshine. "I'm excited about the forecast. It looks like it's going to be beautiful. I think we're going to see a lot of great performances from athletes from all the schools."

The Eastern Washington women's team should be the strongest squad at the meet. The Eagles finished third at the Big Sky Conference indoor championships in February at Bozeman and were picked second in the preseason outdoor poll behind indoor champion Sacramento State.

Montana, which had a seventh-place finish from its women at the indoor championships and a ninth-place finish from its men, was picked eighth in both outdoor polls.

In the men's poll, Montana State was picked fifth, Eastern Washington seventh, Montana eighth and Idaho ninth. In the women's poll, EWU was picked second, Montana State seventh, Montana eighth, Idaho 10th.

The Al Manuel meet has traditionally been the opening competition of the season for Montana, but this year Montana State dared to host a meet in March. Last week's three-day Montana State Open started with two days of wintery conditions for the multi-events, then a better weather day for everything else.

The Grizzlies, who did not travel with a full team, came home with 11 Big Sky qualifications, starting with sophomore Erika McLeod and junior Nicole Stroot in the heptathlon, then picking up nine more on Saturday in everything from the hurdles to the 10,000 meters to the jumps to the javelin.

"You always wonder what's going to happen at that first outdoor meet," said Schweyen. "We didn't take a full team, but we came out of it with some fantastic performances. It was probably better than we could have anticipated. It gave us a great stepping stone going into this weekend."

Montana will compete next Friday at the 44th Pelluer Invitational at Cheney, Wash.

Weekend viewing guide

* The women's 800 meters is headlined by Montana State senior Kaylee Schmitz, last winter's Big Sky indoor champion. For Montana, sophomore Rosa Hardarson took her PR from 2:18.99 to 2:16.17 last Saturday in Bozeman.

* In the women's 100-meter hurdles, Nicole Stroot, who placed third at the indoor championships in the 60-meter hurdles, is currently sitting No. 6 in the Big Sky with her adjusted time of 14.60 last Saturday. Her season goal: a time that starts with a 13. That won't happen on Saturday, but a PR should.

* In the women's 400-meter hurdles, Eastern Washington sophomore Leanne Asper is sitting at No. 3 in the Big Sky with her time of 1:03.15. At No. 5 is Erika McLeod, who opened with a 1:03.53 last Saturday. Both are racing Saturday.

* Saturday will mark the first collegiate steeplechase race for redshirt sophomore Reagan Colyer, a former Big Sky indoor 800 meters champion. It will also be the event debut for freshman Bridget Creel, who had the race attached to her name when she signed a National Letter of Intent last spring.

* There are 16 entries in the women's high jump. Junior Lakyn Connors, who has a PR of 5-5, placed fifth at the indoor championships at 5-4.25. Sophomore Maddie Tayler tied for sixth at 5-2.25. Redshirt junior Sammy Evans, who has a PR of 5-5.75, also will be jumping.

* Five of the top 11 pole vaulters on the latest Big Sky performance list are from Eastern Washington. All will be jumping on Saturday afternoon.

* Montana has four of the top women's long jumpers in the Big Sky. Sammy Evans ranks second in the league at 19-0.75, which is basically a warm-up mark for her, behind Portland State sophomore Ta'Mara Richey and her 19-2.5. Erika McLeod was the indoor champion at 19-3.25, redshirt sophomore McKenzie Weber finished sixth at 18-6. And Nicole Stroot has a PR of 18-11.75.

* Sammy Evans opened her outdoor season with a mark of 40-9.75 last Saturday in the triple jump. It was a ho-hum effort for her but still good enough to leave her sitting seventh in the NCAA West Region, 19th nationally.

* The school record in the women's discus is 168-2, set by then-freshman Samantha Hodgson in 2013. Freshman Kayla Holmes, who threw 152-6 last Saturday in her first collegiate meet, is already in the ballpark. For comparison, Hodgson threw 141-4 in her collegiate debut.

* Another underclassman who will soon enough be in the record book: sophomore Hana Feilzer in the hammer throw. She opened with a throw of 173-4 last Saturday, two feet off her PR.

* Senior Lindsey Dahl ranks No. 2 in the Big Sky after going 147-6 last Saturday in the javelin, a season-opening mark that was just 11 inches off her PR.

* Sophomore Alex Mustard, who had an excellent indoor season while competing in the shadow of Dominique Bobo, will be making his outdoor debut Saturday in the 100 and 200 meters. Mustard was a Big Sky indoor qualifier in both the 60 and 200 meters and clocked sub-22-second adjusted times in the 200 his final three indoor meets.

* Also debuting Saturday will be sophomore Sterling Reneau, who finished seventh at the Big Sky indoor championships in the 400 meters.

* Montana has put together a solid crew of half-milers. Freshman Karsten Pease clocked times in the 1:55s his final three indoor meets, and freshman Jonathan Eastwood went 1:55.28 last Saturday. Freshman Emmette Dustybull went 1:56.44 during the indoor season, freshman Levi Cramer ran a 1:57.21 last weekend. Eight-hundred-meter racers have to go sub-1:55 to be taken seriously, sub-1:53 to be worried about and sub-1:51 to be feared, so the freshmen are headed in the right direction.

* Freshman Taylor Trollope, who ran a 15.42 at Montana State on Saturday, will be racing the 110-meter hurdles. Trollope was far and away the top prep hurdler in the state last spring as a senior at Billings Skyview.

* Redshirt junior Dylan Reynolds ranks No. 2 in the Big Sky in the 400-meter hurdles with his season-opening time of 54.28 last Saturday. It was a good opener for a hurdler with a PR of 52.85.

* Sophomore Nathan Wellington, who will be one of the Big Sky's top steeplechasers before his career is over, competes in that event at 12:20 p.m. He finished 11th at the outdoor championships last May in Cheney, Wash.

* Saturday will mark the season debut of fifth-year senior Lee Hardt and sophomore Matt Quist in the high jump. Hardt has twice gone higher than seven feet in his career, one time quite memorably at the 2013 Al Manuel when he and Austin Emry both went 7-0.5, and Quist finished third at the indoor championships after clearing 6-10.75.

* Freshman Davon Collins will be competing in the long jump. He saved his best indoor jump for the right time, going 23-2 at the Big Sky championships to finish sixth.

* The men's javelin will be a who's who of the Big Sky's top throwers. Montana State junior Ty Bermes (216-9) ranks first, MSU senior Tanner Gambill (210-11) second and Montana sophomore Jensen Lillquist (208-5) fourth. Gambill, Bermes and Lillquist finished 1-2-3 at last spring's outdoor championships.