Montana records 22 personal bests as attention shifts to Championships

Friday, February 15

Bozeman, Mont.

Montana

Big Sky Tuner

Photo by: Dean Hendrickson

Montana records 22 personal bests as attention shifts to Championships

2/15/2019 9:46:00 PM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

Results (PDF)

By: Montana Sports Information

BOZEMAN, Mont – The regular season came to a close on Friday for the Montana indoor track & field team, with athletes competing in the Big Sky Tuner. Next up: the 2019 Big Sky Championships, which will take place next week, also in Bozeman.

The Big Sky Tuner is a unique meet in the sense that, for some, it's one final chance to prepare for the Championships or earn a roster spot. For others, the week was one of rest, with many top athletes not competing in the meet.

Montana had seven event winners, but bigger than that were the 22 personal bests. The focus this week was less on where each athlete finished and more on improving upon their marks to be at their best next week. The 22 personal bests were more than one-third of all times/marks, including roughly half of all running events.

"For those who are sitting pretty good, today was about fine tuning things," head coach Brian Schweyen said. "For others, it was an opportunity to take advantage of and do something. It's all about moving forward, and I thought we saw that in a lot of ways today."

Leading the way was Erika McLeod, who showed she is in top form and ready to compete at her first Championships in two seasons. The redshirt senior won the 200 meters (25.01) and long jump (19-2.5).

Other areas of strength were the 60-meter hurdles and weight throw. The Grizzlies earned three of the top-four men's 60-meter hurdles times, led by Aidan Diggs' 8.22. Diggs, a freshman was also Montana's top performer in the men's long jump (21-8.25). The women were similar to the men in the 60-meter hurdles, earning three of the top-five places. Morgan Sulser placed second overall with a time of 8.76.

"All of the events are important, but that could be a shining spot for us next week," Schweyen said of the depth in the 60-meter hurdles, both for the men and women.

Montana swept the weight throw competition, with Shawn Humphries winning the men's classification and Hana Feilzer coasting to first place on the women's side. Feilzer has won the weight throw in six of seven meets this season, with Friday's performance being her second-best mark of the year and the third-best throw in school history.

Feilzer was so dominant that no thrower was within 10 feet of her on Friday. The Grizzlies went 1-2-3, with Mariah Harvey (52-8) and Holly Houston (50-8.75) both having career-best performances.

For the men, Humphries had a season-best throw of 59-11, which was within three inches of his career mark.

Other event winners for the Grizzlies were Kyle Peterson (adjusted 8:56.69 in the 3,000 meters) and Carla Nicosia (career-best 39-1.25 in the triple jump). Nicosia's mark currently ranks third in the Big Sky.

While there were several top performances, Friday was also an opportunity for some younger athletes to gain valuable experience, something Schweyen was also pleased with.

The Big Sky Championships begins Wednesday and Thursday with the multi-events, and will continue through Saturday.

"We had a lot of athletes who had season and career bests, which is what you want to see in this meet," Schweyen said. "I'm really pleased with what we're seeing and where we're at."

Women's 60 meters – Hannah Coburn (8.05, 7^th/12); Emma Normand (8.09, 8^th)
Men's 200 meters – Mitchell Ward (23.90, 2^nd/2)
Women's 200 meters – Erika McLeod (25.01, 1^st/9); Jansen Ziola (25.24, 2^nd); Mattison McAnally (27.41, 7^th); Abby Harmon (27.83, 9^th)
Men's 400 meters – Mitchell Ward (53.71, 4^th/7)
Women's 400 meters – Mattison McAnally (1:01.69, 5^th/6); Abby Harmon (1:02.60, 6^th)
Men's 800 meters – Noah Adams (1:55.95, 6^th/21); Colton Hess (1:58.79, 9^th); William Dauenauer (2:03.76, 14^th); Trevor Henry (2:04.65, 15^th)
Men's 1 mile – Ben Vanderbosch (4:28.21, 5^th/24)
Women's 1 mile – Megan Franz (5:33.98 (8^th/14); Madison Carr (5:41.75, 12^th); Chloe Cosgrove (5:45.62, 13^th)
Men's 3,000 meters – Kyle Peterson (9:16.50, 1^st/12); Ben Cikutovich (9:38.49, 8^th)
Women's 3,000 meters – Hannah Wylie (11:11.71, 5^th/13); Rachel Torrey (11:25.47, 8^th); Chloe Cosgrove (11:55.72, 11^th); Lyric Devries (12:17.46)
Men's 60-meter hurdles – Aidan Diggs (8.22, 1^st/13); Callum Macnab (8.45, 3^rd); Chase Armstrong (8.60, 4^th); Brendan Thompson (8.99, 8^th); Josh Riley (9.09, 9^th)
Women's 60-meter hurdles – Morgan Sulser (8.76, 2^nd/14); Erika McLeod (8.82, 4^th); Olivia Ellis (8.87, 5^th); Jaree Mane (9.39, 8^th); Jansen Ziola (FS); Hannah Coburn (DQ)
Men's high jump – Josh Riley (6-3.25, 2^nd/8); Ridge Albright (NH)
Women's high jump – Abby Dodge (5-4.25, 2^nd/8); Morgan Radtke (5-4.25, 3^rd); Jansen Ziola (5-0.25, 4^th)
Men's long jump – Aidan Diggs (21-8.25, 4^th/11); Jordan Stow (21-4.75, 5^th); Brendan Thurber-Blaser (19-11.5, 7^th); Tyrus Bryant (19-10.25, 8^th); Jacob Price (19-10.25, 8^th)
Women's long jump – Erika McLeod (19-2.5, 1^st/10); Hannah Coburn (17-2, 6^th); Jaree Mane (15-9.5, 9^th)
Men's triple jump – Tyrus Bryant (foul)
Women's triple jump – Carla Nicosia (39-1.25, 1^st/4); Rachel Lewis (34-11.75, 3^rd)
Men's pole vault – Aidan Diggs (NH)
Women's pole vault – Carrie Jacka (11-7.75, 4^th/11); Kahsiah Benson (11-7.75, 6^th); Grace Slevin (11-1.75, 7^th)
Men's shot put – Brent Yeakey (53-5.5, 2^nd/12); Noah Ramirez (50-3.25, 4^th); Shawn Humphries (50-0.5, 5^th); Oliver Grajeda (45-5.25, 6^th); Josh Riley (36-9, 11^th)
Women's shot put – Holly Houston (42-8, 2^nd/7); Mariah Harvey (42-2, 3^rd); Brooke Kearns (41-9.75, 4^th)
Men's weight throw – Shawn Humphries (59-11, 1^st/7); Noah Ramirez (46-1.25, 5^th)
Women's weight throw – Hana Feilzer (62-7.75, 1^st/9); Mariah Harvey (52-8, 2^nd); Holly Houston (50-8.75, 3^rd)