Jones, Griz in Kansas for regionals

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With any luck, you'll never tear your ulnar collateral ligament, that tough and mostly resilient piece of tissue that stabilizes the elbow joint, so allow Montana redshirt junior javelin thrower Daniel Jones to describe what you're missing.

"Right away it felt hot and tingly," say Jones, who tore his UCL warming up for his first collegiate meet, the Al Manuel Invitational that kicked off the team's 2013 outdoor season. "It was my final warmup throw, so I was throwing pretty hard. My elbow clicked right when I released it."

Adrenaline allowed him to continue throwing that day, but an hour after his final attempt, the pain set in. An MRI later revealed the tear, and Jones underwent Tommy John surgery.

Three springs later, Jones and nine teammates, the highest total of any Big Sky Conference track and field program outside of Northern Arizona, are in Lawrence, Kan., for this week's NCAA West Regional. The three-day meet opens Thursday and continues through Saturday night.

Eight of Montana's 10 regional qualifiers are first-timers. None of those is more of a surprise to be competing this week than Jones, partly because he was ranked 55th in the region last week when only the top 48 declared athletes make regionals, but mostly because nobody saw this coming.

"I didn't think he'd ever get back, so for him to get to regionals is just a fantastic story," says UM coach Brian Schweyen, whose men's team finished second and women's team placed fifth at the Big Sky championships, and now rank 10th and 11th in the region, behind only NAU among league teams.

"I'm rarely surprised by what an athlete does, but in this case, I am surprised. Two years after the surgery, I saw a person determined to come back and throw, but I didn't see any glimpses of a regional-qualifying thrower."

The list of things that can go wrong in the javelin and send an athlete to the disabled list is unlike that of any other track and field event, and extends from foot to shoulder. A single throw is one big kinetic-chain stressor, and even the most minor of imperfections can lead to major problems.

Throw the javelin perfectly -- speed of approach, block, throw and release -- and it feels easy, like it took no effort at all. Throw it incorrectly, and body parts begin mounting an insurrection. Ligaments get torn, shoulders get wrenched, backs get tweaked, lower-extremity bones get stressed.

It's why Montana track and field athletic trainer Drew Babcock, a former Griz hurdler, always makes his way to the event on meet day, hoping his services, outside of some cheering, are not needed.

"It's one of the most nerve-wracking events I watch," he says. "But I make it a point to watch because if something happens, it's likely pretty major. It's such a violent activity, when something happens, it tends to be a little bit more severe."

There are no secrets as to why Jones suffered his injury. The former baseball pitcher didn't start throwing the javelin until his senior year at Columbia Falls High, and when he did, instincts took over.

"I was just muscling it. I was too much in the mindset of pitching a baseball," he says. "I really had no form, and that's what led to my injury."

He made a brief return the next spring, in 2014, throwing at two early-season meets, but it wasn't until two years after his injury, the spring of 2015, that he felt prepared to make a full return.

"With the season coming up, I started to throw harder and push myself a little more. On one throw my arm came through too low. It didn't click, but it felt like a twinge," says Jones, who assumed his throwing career was done. It was only a sprain, but it swallowed up another season.

That Jones, who still has another year of eligibility remaining, has thrown at every meet this spring is victory in itself. That he went 196-7 at the season-opening Al Manual Northwest Dual, a Big Sky qualifier and a nearly 20-foot PR, was on the level of storybook comeback.

"It was definitely a confidence booster and put a smile on my face. It was kind of like, Yes, I'm back and I feel strong. It was a big weight off my shoulders," says Jones, who had finally made the transition from baseball pitcher to javelin thrower.

"You use your speed down the runway and hit the right positions, and it will go. It took me three years to learn that. Getting injured really caused me to push myself to drill the correct techniques."

Jones went high 190s again at the Tom Gage Classic earlier this month, nice throws but not threats to make the cut to regionals. It wasn't until 12 days ago, in Greeley, that he insinuated himself into the West Region picture.

Using a stiff headwind that perfectly suits his low-trajectory throwing style, Jones went 204-8 to place fourth at the Big Sky championships. And if his throw at the Al Manuel proved he was back, Jones's throw in Greeley hinted there might still be more to the story.

This year: regionals. Next year: dare we dream of nationals?

"You could tell he was pretty emotional when he hit that big throw," recalls Babcock. "It was awesome to see Dan be so excited and Brian give him a hug. I think they were both choked up. I know I was. I was glad I was wearing sunglasses, because I had tears in my eyes."

Still, sitting 55th on the performance list when 48 make the cut, regionals were a long shot. So much so that when Jones returned from Greeley, he packed up most of his belongings and returned to Columbia Falls, ready to begin his summer job working for a tent-rental business.

But the very event that took away nearly three full seasons of throwing finally gave something back. Seven athletes, most probably due to injuries of their own, were not declared for regionals, clearing the way for Jones to move up and grab the final spot, a kind of macabre quid pro quo.

In a track event like the 800 meters or a field event like the shot put, being ranked 48th in a field of 48 means an athlete is competing at regionals just for the experience, because finishing anywhere near the top 12, which is the cut to make it to nationals, is a chimera conjured up in a pipe dream.

But in an event as fickle as the javelin, where throws can vary by dozens of feet based on small differences in the positions hit during the block and throw, an athlete ranked 48th has a more realistic shot at cracking the top 20 than in any other event this week in Lawrence.

"I look at it a lot like tournament rankings," says Jones. "Who cares what the rankings are? It's what you do that day. It's about showing up and competing."

Regionals begin for Montana on Thursday at 11 a.m. (MT) when senior Lindsey Dahl competes in the javelin. They conclude Saturday evening at 5:30 p.m. (MT) when junior Sammy Evans competes in the triple jump, or 6:50 p.m. (MT) if sophomore Alex Mustard advances to finals in the 200 meters.

Montana's entries

Lindsey Dahl (Sr., Auburn, Wash.)
Event: Javelin
Regional experience: First appearance
Season best: 155-10.5 (Oregon Relays)
Career best: Same
Region rank: 31st

Sammy Evans (Jr., Havre, Mont.)
Events: Long jump/triple jump
Regional experience: 2014 (32nd triple jump)
Season bests: 20-2.25 (BSC Championships)/42-0.75 (Oregon Relays, Griz-Cat Dual)
Career bests: Same
Region ranks: 22nd/20th

Hana Feilzer (So., Missoula, Mont.)
Event: Hammer
Regional experience: First appearance
Season best: 196-1 (BSC Championships)
Career best: Same
Region rank: 23rd

Kayla Holmes (Fr., Plains, Mont.)
Event: Discus
Regional experience: First appearance
Season best: 164-11 (BSC Championships)
Career best: Same
Region rank: 44th

Daniel Jones (Jr., Columbia Falls, Mont.)
Event: Javelin
Regional experience: First appearance
Season best: 204-8 (BSC Championships)
Career best: Same
Region rank: 48th

Jensen Lillquist (So., Ellensburg, Wash.)
Event: Javelin
Regional experience: 2015 (39th javelin)
Season best: 223-1 (BSC Championships)
Career best: Same
Region rank: 21st

Alex Mustard (So., Missoula, Mont.)
Event: 200 meters
Regional experience: First appearance
Season best: 20.88 (BSC Championships)
Career best: Same
Region rank: 31st

Matt Quist (So., Bigfork, Mont.)
Event: High jump
Regional experience: First appearance
Season best: 7-1 (Al Manuel Northwest Dual)
Career best: Same
Region rank: t-18th

Sterling Reneau (So., Missoula, Mont.)
Event: 400 meters
Regional experience: First appearance
Season best: 46.84 (BSC Championships)
Career best: Same
Region rank: 37th

Nicole Stroot (Jr., Superior, Mont.)
Event: Long jump
Regional experience: First appearance
Season best: 19-7 (BSC Championships)
Career best: Same
Region rank: 46th

Thursday schedule (all times Mountain)
11 a.m. -- Lindsey Dahl (javelin)
3 p.m. -- Hana Feilzer (hammer)
5:45 p.m. -- Sammy Evans, Nicole Stroot (long jump)
6:45 p.m. -- Sterling Reneau (400m preliminaries)

Friday schedule (all times Mountain)
11 a.m. -- Daniel Jones, Jensen Lillquist (javelin), Kayla Holmes (discus)
5:15 p.m. -- Sterling Reneau (400m finals)
7:25 p.m. -- Alex Mustard (200m preliminaries)

Saturday schedule (all times Mountain)
4:30 p.m. -- Matt Quist (high jump)
5:30 p.m. -- Sammy Evans (triple jump)
6:50 p.m. -- Alex Mustard (200m finals)

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Lindsey Dahl

Sammy Evans

Hana Feilzer

Kayla Holmes

Daniel Jones

Jensen Lillquist

Alex Mustard

Matt Quist

Sterling Reneau

Nicole Stroot

University of Montana Athletics