Riley, Ziola pace Grizzlies on opening day of Bryan Clay multis
4/17/2019 8:04:00 PM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field
AZUSA, Calif. – Montana opened the Bryan Clay Invitational on Wednesday with the first half of the multi-events. In total, four Grizzlies competed in the decathlon and heptathlon.
Halfway through the decathlon, Montana's Josh Riley sits in sixth place out of his 18-person group. Looking at the field as a whole, Riley's performance is even more impressive. Out of 95 total competitors, he ranks 10th.
The junior started a little slow, placing 12th in the long jump (21-11.75) and shot put (36-2.25) and 14th in the 100 meters (11.77). Speaking for how steep the competition is at this week's meet, Riley finished 12th in the long jump despite setting a personal best in the event.
Things improved drastically in the afternoon for Riley. The Sumner, Wash., native cleared 6-0.5 in the high jump – placing seventh – before a third-place finish in the 400 meters with a time of 49.48, despite running the event for the first time since last year's outdoor championships.
"I think everyone anticipated Josh running a little quicker in the 100, but then he comes back and hits a PR in the long jump," head coach Brian Schweyen said. "His feet were good, his pop was good, his mind was in the right place.
"In the multis you're going to have ups and downs, and Josh is a perfect sentiment to that. He didn't let anything negative determine the next event, and that helped be successful throughout the day."
Montana's Brendan Thurber-Blaser, a redshirt sophomore who nearly scored in the decathlon at the 2017 Championships – placing ninth – was unable to finish Wednesday due to an Achilles injury. He started the day with the 100 meters, having one of his best starts ever, according to Schweyen.
But midway through the race, his Achilles flared up, slowing him down. Battling pain, Thurber-Blaser competed in four of five events, and like Riley, was beginning to turn things on late. He had the sixth-best throw in his group in the shot put (39-3) and fifth-best height in the high jump (6-1.5).
"He was limping during the high jump and still had a great performance," Schweyen said. "The biggest takeaway, though, was that he came up to me and told me he was excited to run the 400. He's never been excited for that event, but that's what you want out of these athletes; you want athletes who don't shy away from competition."
Sophomore Jansen Ziola, who won the 2017 Big Sky title in the pentathlon and finished runner-up in 2018, was competing in the heptathlon – the outdoor version – for the first time in her career. Through four of seven events, Ziola is in seventh place out of the 17 athletes in her group.
Ziola was hindered a bit by a last-place showing in the shot put (29-8.25), but aside from that one event was impressive. She placed fourth in her group in the 100-meter hurdles (14.67) and third in the 200 meters, setting a lifetime best with a time of 24.97. Ziola also cleared 5-3.25 in the high jump to finish ninth.
"I think Jansen even left a little in the tank in the hurdles, and she knows she can improve on that time, but like Josh, she battled through some ups and downs and, I thought, had a nice day," Schweyen said.
Erika McLeod, who won a Big Sky title in the heptathlon in 2016, isn't ranked as high in her group (15th), but that's partially a testament to who she's competing against. In total, there are 86 athletes registered for the heptathlon, dividing them into five groups. McLeod was seeded into the highest group, competing against some of the nation's top heptathletes. Overall, despite coming back from injury, she ranks in the upper-half of the entire field.
The final five events of the decathlon – the 110-meter hurdles, discus, pole vault, javelin and 1,500 meters – will begin Thursday morning at 12:30 p.m. MT. The final three events of the heptathlon – the long jump, javelin and 800 meters – will start at 11 a.m. for Ziola and 1:30 p.m. for McLeod.
Fans can follow live results throughout the Bryan Clay Invitational. They can also watch the meet, with a subscription to FloTrack. Also on Thursday, Montana will send a handful of throwers to Long Beach State for the Pacific Coast Intercollegiate (discus and hammer throw). The majority of Montana's athletes will compete in the Bryan Clay Invitational beginning Friday morning.
Halfway through the decathlon, Montana's Josh Riley sits in sixth place out of his 18-person group. Looking at the field as a whole, Riley's performance is even more impressive. Out of 95 total competitors, he ranks 10th.
The junior started a little slow, placing 12th in the long jump (21-11.75) and shot put (36-2.25) and 14th in the 100 meters (11.77). Speaking for how steep the competition is at this week's meet, Riley finished 12th in the long jump despite setting a personal best in the event.
Things improved drastically in the afternoon for Riley. The Sumner, Wash., native cleared 6-0.5 in the high jump – placing seventh – before a third-place finish in the 400 meters with a time of 49.48, despite running the event for the first time since last year's outdoor championships.
"I think everyone anticipated Josh running a little quicker in the 100, but then he comes back and hits a PR in the long jump," head coach Brian Schweyen said. "His feet were good, his pop was good, his mind was in the right place.
"In the multis you're going to have ups and downs, and Josh is a perfect sentiment to that. He didn't let anything negative determine the next event, and that helped be successful throughout the day."
Montana's Brendan Thurber-Blaser, a redshirt sophomore who nearly scored in the decathlon at the 2017 Championships – placing ninth – was unable to finish Wednesday due to an Achilles injury. He started the day with the 100 meters, having one of his best starts ever, according to Schweyen.
But midway through the race, his Achilles flared up, slowing him down. Battling pain, Thurber-Blaser competed in four of five events, and like Riley, was beginning to turn things on late. He had the sixth-best throw in his group in the shot put (39-3) and fifth-best height in the high jump (6-1.5).
"He was limping during the high jump and still had a great performance," Schweyen said. "The biggest takeaway, though, was that he came up to me and told me he was excited to run the 400. He's never been excited for that event, but that's what you want out of these athletes; you want athletes who don't shy away from competition."
Sophomore Jansen Ziola, who won the 2017 Big Sky title in the pentathlon and finished runner-up in 2018, was competing in the heptathlon – the outdoor version – for the first time in her career. Through four of seven events, Ziola is in seventh place out of the 17 athletes in her group.
Ziola was hindered a bit by a last-place showing in the shot put (29-8.25), but aside from that one event was impressive. She placed fourth in her group in the 100-meter hurdles (14.67) and third in the 200 meters, setting a lifetime best with a time of 24.97. Ziola also cleared 5-3.25 in the high jump to finish ninth.
"I think Jansen even left a little in the tank in the hurdles, and she knows she can improve on that time, but like Josh, she battled through some ups and downs and, I thought, had a nice day," Schweyen said.
Erika McLeod, who won a Big Sky title in the heptathlon in 2016, isn't ranked as high in her group (15th), but that's partially a testament to who she's competing against. In total, there are 86 athletes registered for the heptathlon, dividing them into five groups. McLeod was seeded into the highest group, competing against some of the nation's top heptathletes. Overall, despite coming back from injury, she ranks in the upper-half of the entire field.
The final five events of the decathlon – the 110-meter hurdles, discus, pole vault, javelin and 1,500 meters – will begin Thursday morning at 12:30 p.m. MT. The final three events of the heptathlon – the long jump, javelin and 800 meters – will start at 11 a.m. for Ziola and 1:30 p.m. for McLeod.
Fans can follow live results throughout the Bryan Clay Invitational. They can also watch the meet, with a subscription to FloTrack. Also on Thursday, Montana will send a handful of throwers to Long Beach State for the Pacific Coast Intercollegiate (discus and hammer throw). The majority of Montana's athletes will compete in the Bryan Clay Invitational beginning Friday morning.
Players Mentioned
Multi-events
/ Women's Track and Field
Multi-events
/ Men's Track and Field
Multi-events
/ Men's Track and Field
Multi-events
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