Women sweep duals at Bozeman

Friday, January 20

Bozeman, Mont.

Montana

Montana State Dual Meet Invitational

1/21/2017 8:01:00 AM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

By: Montana Sports Information

Results

The Montana women had seven wins and swept duals against Montana State, Idaho State and Utah State on Friday at Bozeman as the indoor track and field season continued.

Sammy Evans was a double winner in the long and triple jumps, and Callum Macnab continued to stand out for the men's team, which lost all three of its duals to the Bobcats, Bengals and Aggies.

"There were some bright spots, and there were some lifetime bests, but across the board, everyone seemed a touch off today," said coach Brian Schweyen.

"I'm not sure why. Putting in a full week of training for the first time after a long break maybe has everyone run down just a touch, but attitude-wise, I feel really positive about the way things look."

The women's team, which had 21 top-three finishes, won all three of its duals by at least 30 points.

Evans led the way, going 18-7.25 in the long jump, 39-1.25 in the triple jump to lead 1-2-3 finishes for the Grizzlies in both events.

Erika McLeod (18-7) and Nicole Stroot (18-1) finished behind Evans in the long jump, Arielle Walden (37-9.25) and Carla Nicosia (36-8.5) in the triple jump.

All good marks but not close to where they'll likely be a month from now, on the eve of the Big Sky Conference championships at Pocatello, Idaho, where Montana is expected to challenge for a title.

"Technically all those girls had some really nice approaches and takeoffs. The snap and pop and maybe a little bit of speed weren't there, but still solid," said Schweyen.

On the track, McLeod won the 200 meters in a speedy adjusted time of 24.86 and ran the anchor leg on the winning 4x400-meter relay, teaming up with Olivia Ellis, Carly Smiedala and Stroot to clock an adjusted 3:48.89.

Emily Pittis won the 3,000 meters, running an adjusted 10:00.55, a 14-second PR. The rapidly improving Jessica Bailey was just behind in third. Her time of 10:01.33 was a 23-second PR.

"Emily ran a great race, and so did Jessica," said Schweyen. "Those two were out front for quite a while, and it came down to the end. Emily ran a solid race, and Jess was right there with her."

Carrie Jacka won the pole vault at 11-5.75, the same height as second-place Claire Dalman, and Hana Feilzer won the weight with a throw of 59-3.

Alanna Vann (7.80) and Keyera Gaulden (7.92) went 2-3 in the 60 meters, as did Stroot (8.96) and McLeod (9.11) in the 60-meter hurdles.

Emily Cheroske finished second in the 800 meters, racing to an adjusted time of 2:13.76. Reagan Colyer was second in the mile in a time of 4:55.14, Rosa Hardarson finished third in 4:55.50 in her first collegiate attempt at the distance.

The men's team had just five top-three finishes, with Macnab collecting two of them. He won the 60-meter hurdles in a career-best time of 8.52 and finished second in the 200 meters in an adjusted time of 22.22. He is one of the Big Sky Conference leaders in both events.

"Callum had a good meet. He ran a good hurdles race and a decent 200," said Schweyen of the Edmonton native. "Over break he has access to an indoor training facility. He got some quality training in, and it shows.

"He's just such a great competitor. He knows how to compete and wants to compete."

Alex Mustard was third in the 200 meters in a time of 22.24, Charlie Bush was third in the pole vault at 15-1, his second time this winter clearing 15 feet, and Nick Jackson was third in the shot put at 54-2.5.

Jackson went 50-10.75 last month at Eastern Washington, 52-10.75 last week at Bozeman and 54-2.5 on Friday to come within a quarter inch of his PR. His mark would have ranked fourth on last week's Big Sky performance list.

"It was great to see Nick get a good throw," Schweyen said. "He needed that."

Montana will travel to Seattle next week and compete at the Washington Invitational on Friday and Saturday.