Griz with two top-20 finishes in Kansas

Results

The Montana track and field teams had a pair of top-20 finishes Friday as the NCAA West Regional continued to move forward through more weather delays at Rock Chalk Park in Lawrence, Kan.

Sophomore Jensen Lillquist and junior Sammy Evans, both making their second trip to regionals, performed like veterans, finishing 14th and 18th in the javelin and long jump, respectively, but Montana came up short of placing anyone in the top 12, the cut to make next month's nationals in Eugene, Ore.

Lillquist was sitting in second place at 219-6 after the first two flights of 16, but the final flight bumped him down to 14th. He was two spots and four feet from advancing to nationals.

All three of his throws landed beyond 214 feet, but with NCAA regionals no longer advancing the top 16 athletes to finals -- all 48 athletes now get three attempts and three attempts only in the field events -- he didn't have the opportunity to improve his standing.

"Jensen threw really well and just missed," said UM coach Brian Schweyen. "Two years ago that would have been good enough to make finals and get three more throws."

The women's long jump was originally scheduled for Thursday evening. Weather pushed it back to early Friday afternoon. More weather delays forced it to be held inside Kansas's Anschutz Sports Pavilion Friday evening.

"It's tough," said Schweyen. "It just doesn't feel like a big-meet atmosphere when you're competing indoors and sitting around and waiting so much, but everyone had to deal with it."

Evans went 17-10.25 on her first attempt, improved to 18-5.25 on her second and closed with a jump of 19-4.75. Had it been an actual indoor meet, her final jump would have tied her indoor program record.

"Sammy looked really good," said Schweyen.

The other six athletes competing on Friday were all making their regional debuts.

On the men's side, sophomore Sterling Reneau finished 41st in the 400 meters in a time of 48.31, junior Daniel Jones placed 44th in the javelin at 180-3, and sophomore Matt Quist no-heighted in the high jump, missing three attempts at his opening height of 6-7.5.

"A lot of the kids on this trip are young, and I think nerves got to them," said Schweyen. "But if you're young and can get here, that's a bonus. A lot of these athletes will have another chance at this meet down the road, and that's exciting. They are going to want to come back and do something."

Sophomore Hana Feilzer finished 40th in the hammer throw at 179-1, 17 feet short of her school record, and junior Nicole Stroot, who went 19-7 to finish second at the Big Sky Conference championships, came in 43rd in the long jump at 18-0.5.

Freshman Kayla Holmes went 142-6 in the discus, an event that was suspended after two flights of 16 and with Holmes sitting in 29th place. The event will conclude on Saturday with the final flight of 16.

Montana will have just two athletes in action on Saturday, the final day of competition. Evans, ranked 20th in the region, will compete in the triple jump at 11:30 a.m. (MT). Sophomore Alex Mustard, ranked 31st, will race the 200 meters at 11:55 a.m. (MT).

University of Montana Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Sammy Evans

Hana Feilzer

Kayla Holmes

Daniel Jones

Jensen Lillquist

Alex Mustard

Matt Quist

Sterling Reneau

Nicole Stroot

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