Four days of championships open Wednesday

Wednesday, May 11

Greeley, Colo.

Montana

Big Sky Conference Championships

5/10/2016 5:58:00 PM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

By: Montana Sports Information

Montana Performance List | Big Sky Performance List | Schedule of Events | Championship Central

The Montana track and field teams will compete this week at the four-day Big Sky Conference outdoor championships at Greeley, Colo. The meet, which opens Wednesday and runs through Saturday, will be held at Northern Colorado's Nottingham Field.

The meet begins Wednesday with day one of the women's heptathlon and men's decathlon. The multi-events conclude on Thursday.

Field events start at 10 a.m. on Friday and Saturday. Running events begin at 2 p.m. on Friday and at noon on Saturday.

Montana will have 27 men and 26 women competing.

The Montana women finished seventh at the indoor championships in February and were picked eighth in the outdoor preseason coaches' poll. Sacramento State was picked first in the poll. The Hornets, who have a league-leading 26 automatic qualifications, are seeking their eighth women's title in nine years.

The Griz men placed ninth at the indoor championships and were picked eighth in the outdoor poll. Northern Arizona, which enters the championships with a league-high 38 qualifications, is the heavy favorite to win its eighth title in 10 years.

14 Grizzlies to watch:

Jess Beaman: The freshman scored 6,341 points in his lifetime decathlon debut two weeks ago at the Montana Open. That score has him ranked second on the Big Sky performance list behind Sacramento State's Max Jette, who has a season best of 6,589.

Erika McLeod: The breakout star of the indoor championships -- her pentathlon and long jump titles, and 21 points earned her both Most Valuable Athlete and Outstanding Performers honors -- is making another late-season rise. The 5,291 points she scored in the heptathlon at the Montana Open two weeks ago has her sitting atop the Big Sky performance list, ahead of Montana State's Danielle Rider, whom McLeod overcame in the final event to win the pentathlon on Rider's home track in February. Nobody else in the Big Sky has come within 150 points of 5,000 this spring.

Lindsey Dahl: The senior will be trying to become just Montana's second javelin champion since 1998, adding to Lindsey Hall's title in 2013. Dahl's career-best throw of 155-10 at the Oregon Relays has her in a select group of only three in the Big Sky who have thrown farther than 145 feet this spring.

Jessica Bailey/Nathan Wellington: Neither is going to win the steeplechase, but both could give Montana top-five finishes. Bailey ranks sixth with her season-best time of 10:47.87, and her best race of the season is still in her legs. Wellington ranks eighth at 9:24.88 but could be top five with a sub-9:20 race.

Sammy Evans: Montana hasn't had a double champion at the outdoor championships since Kourtney Danreuther swept the 200 and 400 meters in 2012. Evans should win her fourth Big Sky triple jump title and at 19-5.5 ranks second in the long jump behind only Northern Colorado's Alisha Allen, who's gone 20-2.5 this spring. Added bonus: Evans went 5-5 in the high jump at the Montana Open two weeks ago. Only three high jumpers in the Big Sky have gone higher than 5-5.25 this season, which makes Evans a triple threat.

Jacob Leininger: At three previous outdoor championships, the senior failed to make it out of the preliminaries of the 110-meter hurdles. That should change this spring. Leininger ranks fourth in the Big Sky with his time of 14.43. Only Sacramento State senior Paul Lyons, who has gone 13.92, isn't in a five-man chase pack with season-best times between 14.31 and 14.61. Leininger also is tied for sixth in the 400-meter hurdles, though with less margin for error if he wants to make finals.

Sterling Reneau: He should be fresh, since he's only raced the open 400 meters four times this spring. All four have been in the 47s, with a career-best raw time of 47.49 at the Griz-Cat Dual in Bozeman three weeks ago. Reneau ranks fourth in the Big Sky and is one of six athletes to go sub-48 this spring.

Emily Cheroske: The sophomore entered the outdoor season with a PR in the 800 meter of 2:15.01. She has three PRs this spring, with her adjusted time of 2:11.77 last Friday at the Tom Gage Classic making her one of nine runners with a sub-2:11 time this season. Only three of those nine half-milers have gone faster than 2:11, which makes Cheroske a potential factor if she advances to finals.

Dylan Reynolds: The junior, who redshirted last outdoor season, finished seventh in the 400-meter hurdles as a freshman, sixth as a sophomore. Now he enters the championships as the league's top hurdler as a junior by two-tenths of a second over Idaho freshman Zion Stuffle. With Drew Owens winning the event in 2014 and '15, Reynolds could make it three in a row for the Grizzlies.

Jensen Lillquist: Like Reynolds, Lillquist travels to Greeley this week as the athlete to beat. His career-best throw of 220-10 in the javelin on Friday at the Tom Gage Classic put a target on his back, and there are five other athletes who have thrown 209 feet or farther this spring who will be taking aim at Lillquist, who finished third last spring as a freshman.

Hana Feilzer: Feilzer and Eastern Washington senior Kaytlyn Coleman are the top two hammer throwers in the Big Sky this spring, with Coleman ranking first with her season best of 200-7, Feilzer second with her school-record throw of 194-9. Coleman got the better of Feilzer by nine feet when they met head-to-head at the Pelluer Invitational in Cheney, Wash., in early April. This week will be round two, with the third round coming in two weeks at the NCAA West Regional in Lawrence, Kan.

Matt Quist: If Quist jumps like he did at the Al Manuel Northwest Dual back in early April, when he cleared 7-1, this week's high jump is his to lose. But the sophomore hasn't gone higher than 6-9 since that meet, which could open the door for his nearest pursuers, including North Dakota's Nolan Hovland, who snuck out of Bozeman in February with an indoor title.

Kayla Holmes: She redshirted the indoor season, so this week will be Holmes' first career Big Sky championships. Her season-best discus throw of 152-6 came a long time ago -- March 26 at the Montana State Open -- but she was in the low 150s at the Montana Open and five times this spring has a mark of 146 feet or farther.

Montana athletes to watch (honorable mention): Nicole Stroot, finally back from injury and ready to surprise in the heptathlon. ... Nick Jackson, the Big Sky's No. 5-ranked hammer thrower. ... Alex Mustard, ranked No. 8 in both the 100 and 200 meters. ... Lee Hardt, the fifth-year senior's farewell championships after a decorated career. ... Lauryn Wate, primed for her first sub-4:30 1,500 meters of her career.