Pair of freshmen stand out in collegiate debuts

Friday, December 1

Cheney, Wash.

Montana

Candy Cane X

12/1/2017 9:51:00 PM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

Candy Cane X - Day 1 Results

By: Montana Sports Information

CHENEY, Wash. – Montana opened its indoor track & field season on Friday with a pair of freshmen standing out in their first collegiate meets. Ziola Jansen finished third in the women's pentathlon while Jordan Stow is in second place four events into the men's heptathlon. The performances were part of the two-day Candy Cane X vs. Eastern Washington, with athletes from Central Washington and Multnomah also competing.

Ziola had an all-time best in the 55-meter hurdles, finishing in first place with a time of 8.33. Head coach Brian Schweyen was also impressed with her 800 meters time of 2:26.22, which was second.

"Going into warmups, she was pretty nervous, but she settled down quickly," he said. "All of us coaches thought she had an incredible 800 run."

The time was 3 seconds off of her PR, which considering it came in December, in her first collegiate meet, Schweyen called the race "gutsy."

He was also impressed with her 18-1 in the long jump, noting that was a surprise performance.

"She has big potential in the long jump," Schweyen said. "We learned a few things about her there."

While Jansen finished third (3,450 points), she earned five points by finishing first out of UM and EWU athletes. Hannah Coburn (3,175) also scored points for the Grizzlies, finishing fifth (third among UM and EWU athletes).

"Coburn had a great meet," Schweyen said. "She had life-time bests in nearly every category."

The sophomore was UM's top performer in the shot put (33-8.5) and finished second overall in the 55-meter hurdles (8.49 seconds). Senior Jenna Dukovcic, despite battling shin problems throughout the fall, had her second-best multis performance ever (3,156 points; sixth place) and freshman Jaree Mane showed potential even though she was competing in many of the events for the first time (2,838, seventh).

More than halfway through the men's heptathlon, Stow leads all UM and EWU athletes with 2,709 points. He had the second-best mark in the long jump (22-4.25) and the third-best time in the 55-meter dash (6.69 seconds) and third-best mark in the high jump (6-0.5).

"We found out today that Jordan is a competitor, which is really exciting," Schweyen said. "He started off with a great 55-meter dash and did pretty well in the long jump. He hit some positions in the high jump that maybe he hasn't hit before, so we're really encouraged."

Sophomore Grant Whitcutt won the high jump, reaching 6-5, and had the second-best shot put mark, reaching 37-4 on his first throw.

"Grant had a great day across the board," assistant coach Adam Bork said. "Several of his marks were way better than where he was at last year. He's a lot stronger and more mature than a year ago."

Bork praised all of his athletes, saying it was a competitive day throughout.

"I thought they all competed really well and were ready to go," he said. "A couple of those guys had never done a multi before. Our training this fall carried over to today."

Freshman Nathan Graves (36-9.5) and sophomore Morgan Eitel (35-7.75) finished third and fourth, respectively, in the shot put – with basic technique that will be expanded throughout the season.

On Saturday, the men's heptathlon will conclude with the 55-meter hurdles, pole vault and 1000-meter dash. Also taking place on Saturday will be the shot put, weight throw, long jump, triple jump, high jump and pole vault, in addition to the 55-meter hurdles, 55-meter dash and 600 meters. In Bozeman, 14 student-athletes will compete in the 800 meters, 1 mile and 5,000 meters.