Photo by: Derek Johnson
Throwers make mark at Long Beach State
4/18/2019 9:04:00 PM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field
ASUZA, Calif. – Montana split its athletes between two meets on Thursday, sending a handful of throwers to Long Beach State while the multis concluded at Azusa Pacific.
The Grizzlies saw plenty of encouraging things at Long Beach State, with Hana Feilzer (hammer throw), Holly Houston (discus) and Brent Yeakey (discus) competing.
Feilzer, the reigning Big Sky Conference Women's Field Athlete of the Week, continued to excel in the hammer throw, finishing fifth out of 42 throwers. Her top throw of 201-2 was a season best.
The senior entered the day ranked 15th in the NCAA West Region and she improved on that mark. The four athletes who finished ahead of Feilzer on Thursday are all ranked ahead of her in the national rankings. She also finished ahead of Wyoming's Emelda Malm-Annan, who entered the day ranked higher.
Houston and Yeakey also performed well against a large and loaded field.
On the men's side, Yeakey improved on all three of his discus attempts, topping out at 167-8, a lifetime best by nearly two feet and a figure which ranks seventh in the Big Sky this season. Yeakey finished 12th out of 40 throwers. Houston placed 20th out of 49 throwers, reaching 148-7 on her first throw.
Back in Azusa, Montana had four athletes complete the decathlon and heptathlon.
Junior Brendan Thurber-Blaser was unable to participate in the running events of the decathlon, due to an Achilles injury on Wednesday, but was dominant in the two events he did compete in. Thurber-Blaser won the javelin, leading the 15-person field from start to finish. He reached at least 165-5 on all three of his attempts, not only winning the event but having the top two throws and three of the top four.
In the discus, Thurber-Blaser placed second out of 16 throwers, improving on all three of his attempts and finishing at 126-8, a season high and his best performance since May 2017.
Teammate Josh Riley competed in four of five events on the day, highlighted by a PR in the javelin (146-6). Additionally, he was near his top performance in the 110-meter hurdles (16.23) and discus (102-4).
On the women's side, redshirt freshman Jansen Ziola completed her first collegiate heptathlon, placing ninth out of 16 in her group and in the upper half overall (39th out of 86). On the day, she placed sixth out of 16 in both the long jump (18-2.5) and 800 meters (2:20.63). Erika McLeod, who is still battling back from an injury she suffered prior to the NCAA Championships in February, was able to compete in the two field events, jumping 17-8.75 in the long jump and throwing 92-6 in the javelin.
While a handful of Montana athletes have competed the past two days, the rest will add to the mix on Friday, with the majority of the Bryan Clay Invitational taking place. Action begins at 10 a.m. MT and is expected to last late into the night. Overall, more than 5,000 entries were submitted for the meet. Fans can follow live results throughout the Bryan Clay Invitational, in addition to watching the meet, with a subscription to FloTrack.
The Grizzlies saw plenty of encouraging things at Long Beach State, with Hana Feilzer (hammer throw), Holly Houston (discus) and Brent Yeakey (discus) competing.
Feilzer, the reigning Big Sky Conference Women's Field Athlete of the Week, continued to excel in the hammer throw, finishing fifth out of 42 throwers. Her top throw of 201-2 was a season best.
The senior entered the day ranked 15th in the NCAA West Region and she improved on that mark. The four athletes who finished ahead of Feilzer on Thursday are all ranked ahead of her in the national rankings. She also finished ahead of Wyoming's Emelda Malm-Annan, who entered the day ranked higher.
Houston and Yeakey also performed well against a large and loaded field.
On the men's side, Yeakey improved on all three of his discus attempts, topping out at 167-8, a lifetime best by nearly two feet and a figure which ranks seventh in the Big Sky this season. Yeakey finished 12th out of 40 throwers. Houston placed 20th out of 49 throwers, reaching 148-7 on her first throw.
Back in Azusa, Montana had four athletes complete the decathlon and heptathlon.
Junior Brendan Thurber-Blaser was unable to participate in the running events of the decathlon, due to an Achilles injury on Wednesday, but was dominant in the two events he did compete in. Thurber-Blaser won the javelin, leading the 15-person field from start to finish. He reached at least 165-5 on all three of his attempts, not only winning the event but having the top two throws and three of the top four.
In the discus, Thurber-Blaser placed second out of 16 throwers, improving on all three of his attempts and finishing at 126-8, a season high and his best performance since May 2017.
Teammate Josh Riley competed in four of five events on the day, highlighted by a PR in the javelin (146-6). Additionally, he was near his top performance in the 110-meter hurdles (16.23) and discus (102-4).
On the women's side, redshirt freshman Jansen Ziola completed her first collegiate heptathlon, placing ninth out of 16 in her group and in the upper half overall (39th out of 86). On the day, she placed sixth out of 16 in both the long jump (18-2.5) and 800 meters (2:20.63). Erika McLeod, who is still battling back from an injury she suffered prior to the NCAA Championships in February, was able to compete in the two field events, jumping 17-8.75 in the long jump and throwing 92-6 in the javelin.
While a handful of Montana athletes have competed the past two days, the rest will add to the mix on Friday, with the majority of the Bryan Clay Invitational taking place. Action begins at 10 a.m. MT and is expected to last late into the night. Overall, more than 5,000 entries were submitted for the meet. Fans can follow live results throughout the Bryan Clay Invitational, in addition to watching the meet, with a subscription to FloTrack.
Players Mentioned
Throws
/ Women's Track and Field
Throws
/ Women's Track and Field
Multi-events
/ Women's Track and Field
Multi-events
/ Men's Track and Field
Multi-events
/ Men's Track and Field
Throws
/ Men's Track and Field
Multi-events
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