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Montana Performance List || Big Sky Performance List

The Montana track and field teams continue their outdoor season this week when the Grizzlies compete at the Oregon Relays in Eugene. The three-day meet starts Thursday and goes through Saturday night. Montana has athletes competing Friday and Saturday only.

The meet is being held at Oregon's Hayward Field, one of the best-known track and field venues in the world. It is the site of this year's NCAA championships in June and U.S. Olympic Trials in July.

"Our athletes know this is not the type of meet and the type of facility that everyone gets to go to," said coach Brian Schweyen, whose team splits the bus trip into two days going and returning.

"It's an opportunity to compete in a pretty historic venue and against some good fields. Everyone should be pretty excited, and that should lead to some great performances."

The meet marks the midpoint of Montana's pre-championship outdoor season -- three weekends down, three still remaining after the team returns from Oregon. Upcoming: the Griz-Cat Dual in Bozeman, then the Montana Open and Tom Gage Classic, both at Dornblaser Field.

The Big Sky Conference championships will be held May 11-14 in Greeley, Colo. Nearing the midpoint, Montana is tied for fourth in the league with Eastern Washington with 27 automatic qualifications. Northern Arizona has 46, Sacramento State 35, Southern Utah 31.

Twelve events to watch:

Women's 800 (Saturday, 2:45 p.m.) -- Emily Cheroske is on a roll. The last two weeks she's dropped her PR in the event from 2:15.08 to 2:13.34 to 2:12.52 on Saturday in Spokane to move up to seventh in the Big Sky. May she channel her inner Steve Prefontaine on Saturday afternoon and break 2:12 for the first time: Somebody may beat me, but they are going to have to bleed to do it.

Women's 100m hurdles (Saturday, 1:10 p.m.) -- No one embraced the Hayward Field environment on the team's trip to Eugene last spring more than Nicole Stroot, who had then-career bests in the hurdles (14.83) and long jump (18-8). The hurdler, who has a season goal of breaking 14 seconds, is in need of another spark. Since going 14.56 at Bozeman to open the season, she's regressed: 14.72, 14.75, 15.00.

Women's 400m hurdles (Saturday, 3:05 p.m.) -- Erika McLeod ranks fourth in the Big Sky with her time of 1:00.94 from the Al Manuel Northwest Dual in early April. To make a trip to Lawrence, Kan., in late May for NCAA regionals, she'll not only need to crack 60 seconds in the next month, she'll need to approach 59 seconds if not go below.

Women's triple jump (Saturday, 1:30 p.m.) -- Sammy Evans should win her fourth Big Sky triple jump championship this spring, should make regionals and should break Renee Dunn's outdoor school record of 41-0.75. But Evans' ultimate goal is to return to Eugene in June for the NCAA championships. To get there she'll need to become a 42-foot jumper and someone who can bring that jump at the right time.

Women's hammer (Saturday, noon) -- Take your PR in the event from 175-7 to 194-9 and break the school record, as Hana Feilzer did at the Al Manuel, and people start to wonder how long it will take to reach 200 feet. To do it Saturday would be a sweet answer to Kaytlyn Coleman, who took over the Big Sky lead at 200-1 with her head-to-head victory over Feilzer last Friday at Eastern Washington.

Women's javelin (Friday, 7:30 p.m.) -- Lindsey Dahl is enjoying her best season as a thrower. She hasn't had an off meet this spring -- four meets, four throws of 143 feet or better -- and her career-best throw of 151-8 on Saturday in Spokane has her ranked third in the Big Sky and 35th in the region. Another few feet to her PR should make her a lock for regionals.

Men's 400 (Saturday, 1:45 p.m.) -- Both of Sterling Reneau's quarter-mile races this spring have been in the 47s. His adjusted PR of 47.71 from the Al Manuel, a race that appeared to strain him hardly at all, has him sitting fourth in the Big Sky. A sub-47 race is in his future. It won't be until that happens that Tony Coe's school record of 46.64 from 1985 is mentioned again.

Men's 400m hurdles (Saturday, 2:55 p.m.) -- Dylan Reynolds is no longer the top dog in the Big Sky in the event. That position was taken over Saturday by Idaho freshman Zion Stuffler, who ran a 53.31 at Spokane in a head-to-head race against Reynolds, who finished more than a second and a half behind. With a PR of 52.85, Reynolds needs to reestablish himself as the man to beat.

Men's steeplechase (Friday, 2:35 p.m.) -- Nathan Wellington should be a sub-9:20 guy in the steeplechase, and Hayward Field is the place to do it for the first time. Gratuitous Prefontaine quote: A lot of people run a race to see who is the fastest. I run to see who has the most guts, who can punish himself into an exhausting pace, and then at the end, push himself even more.

Men's high jump (Friday, 3:15 p.m.) -- Matt Quist leads the Big Sky at 7-foot-1, which he cleared at the Al Manuel. He is one of 33 high jumpers in the nation to clear seven feet this spring. To join the 7-footer's club was one thing. To become a consistent returner to that height would signal that Quist, who no-heighted at Eastern Washington and went 6-8.75 at Spokane, is ready to become elite.

Men's pole vault (Saturday, 1:15 p.m.) -- If any event group needs a jolt of Hayward magic, it's the men's pole vaulters. Jakob Alme and Brett Dringman both have three no-heights this spring in four meets, and neither has gone higher than 14-9. The momentum that Keith Webber started in 2014 with indoor and outdoor Big Sky titles and the indoor and outdoor school records is mostly gone.

Men's javelin (Saturday, 1:25 p.m.) -- Jensen Lillquist, who has throws of 204 feet or better at all four meets this spring, went a career-best 216-0 on Friday at Eastern Washington to move into the Big Sky's top four. That group is all sitting between Lillquist's 216-0 and Eastern Washington senior Joey Payne's 219-3. Who is going to be the first to break 220 feet?

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jakob Alme

Emily Cheroske

Lindsey Dahl

Brett Dringman

Sammy Evans

Hana Feilzer

Jensen Lillquist

Erika McLeod

Matt Quist

Sterling Reneau

Dylan Reynolds

Nicole Stroot

Nathan Wellington

University of Montana Athletics