Griz get taste of big-time meet

Friday, April 16

Pocatello, Idaho

Montana

Bengal Invitational

Jansen Ziola - Al Manuel Northwest Invite - 3/27/21

Photo by: Derek Johnson

4/17/2021 9:22:00 PM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

Meet Results

By: Montana Sports Information

POCATELLO, Idaho – Montana track & field coach Clint May saw this weekend's Bengal Invitational as an opportunity for his athletes to get a taste of what next month's Big Sky Championships will be like, and he was exactly right.

Competing in a multi-day meet, featuring a large field of athletes and teams, including prelims and finals races, the Grizzlies got to see what it takes to compete in a big environment.

"One of our top girls made the comment that she kind of felt a little intimidated by the vibe and the number of competitors, and I told her that's exactly what we need to see to get ready for a conference meet. This is why we compete in these types of meets.

"You have to experience big competition in order to ground yourself and have a vision for big competition down the line."

Not only was the two-day meet a learning opportunity, however. Montana also produced results across the board.

Competing in a meet with a dozen teams, and some events with fields larger than 40 competitors, Montana made some noise.

Tanessa Morris once again won the women's hammer throw (186-10.75), doing so for the fourth consecutive meet. Evan Todd (218-11) and Dylan Kipp (210-6.25) went 1-2 in the men's javelin. Brent Yeakey placed second in both the men's shot put (17.07m) and discus (52.47m). Matt Ward also reached the podium twice, placing second in the men's hammer (185-3.5) and third in the discus (51.47m).

Several other Grizzlies were in the top three in field events, with Abby Dodge in the high jump (1.65m), Zane Johnson in the men's pole vault (4.75m) and Peterson Bohannon in the men's long jump (23-5.75). On the running side, Jansen Ziola was second in the 100-meter hurdles (13.75) and Quincy Fast was third in the men's 800 meters (1:52.17).

"This was a great weekend," May said. "We saw good competition, and a depth of competition, and we saw results. This was a big-time meet, and exactly what we needed."

To May, aside from the top performances, several things stood out to him.

First is Montana's depth. The obvious highlights are the men's javelin (first and second) and men's discus (second and third), but it extends past that, too.

In addition to Fast's 1:52.17 in the men's 800 meters, which placed third, Jacob Lamb placed fifth with a time of 1:52.60. Those marks came in a field so big there were five separate heats. Montana also had a tandem of top runners in both the men's and women's 5,000 meters. Truman Cowan (15:14.26, fifth) and Hunter May (15:20.44, seventh) represented the men, while Beatrix Frissell (~17:39.00, fourth) and Olivia Lackland Henry (17:39.27, fifth) were both in the top five out of 28 female runners.

Montana had two runners reach the finals of the women's 100-meter hurdles, with Ailsa Gilbert finishing sixth (14.53), in addition to Ziola's second-place finish, which was a lifetime best by more than a quarter of a second. In the men's 400-meter hurdles, Cutter Thatcher (54.95, fifth) and Colton Hess (55.08, sixth) both represented well in the finals.

Montana had two high jumpers rank in the top four, with Dodge placing third (1.65m) and Morgan Radtke finishing fourth (1.60m).

"It's super exciting because you see synergy," May said of the team's depth. "They aren't competing against each other, but they're elevating each other on a daily basis."

The second thing that stood out to May was how his athletes are improving. Now in the team's fourth meet, he believes his team is growing and hitting its stride at the right time.

"You see Jansen run a 13.75 in the (100-meter) hurdles, which is a lifetime best and more than a quarter-second better than she ran it yesterday, and probably will rank in the top 50 in the country. Evan Todd had a tremendous throw in the javelin, probably also in the top 50. Our pair in the men's 800 (Fast and Lamb) are gradually moving their way up, and Zane Johnson is moving in the right direction, setting a new personal best every time he vaults. He's setting himself up well to be a top-eight performer by the time we get to conference."

May was also excited for freshman Holly Sudol, who competed in five different events, including a fifth-place finish in the women's 400-meter hurdles finals.

"You might not see her at the very top, but from event to event she was solid," May said. "She was consistently good in all of her events, and had a really good weekend."

The one downside to the day were potential points left off the board due to minor injuries. Ziola placed second in the women's 100-meter hurdles, but was unable to compete in the 200 meters finals, after finishing third in Friday's prelims. Sophomore Cade Johnstone won the prelims of both of his races on Friday, the men's 200 and 400 meters, but didn't compete on Saturday due to tightness in his calf.

May, though, isn't concerned about either of them, saying they're minor tweaks that shouldn't hold them back.

Montana will be back in action next weekend at home, hosting Montana State in the annual Griz-Cat Dual.

Women's 100 meters (finals) – Emma Normand (12.46, 5^th)
Women's 100 meters (prelims) – Emma Normand (12.30q, 7^th/35)
Men's 100 meters (finals) – Kip Krebsbach (10.91, 4^th/8)
Men's 100 meters (prelims) – Kip Krebsbach (10.70q, 4^th/37); Jason Upton (11.14, 20^th)
Women's 200 meters (prelims) – Jansen Ziola (24.57q, 3^rd/46); Emma Normand (25.50, 11^th); Morgan Radtke (26.69, 25^th); Ailsa Gilbert (26.70, 27^th); Whitney Morrison (27.31 33^rd); Faith Rebich (27.60, 36^th)
Men's 200 meters (prelims) – Cade Johnstone (21.60q, 1^st/35); Kip Krebsbach (22.28q, 8^th); Jason Upton (22.62, 12^th)
Women's 400 meters (prelims) – Faith Rebich (1:01.71, 10^th/19)
Men's 400 meters (prelims) – Cade Johnstone (47.49q, 1^st/18)
Women's 800 meters – Carly Dahms (2:17.25, 6^th/19)
Men's 800 meters – Quincy Fast (1:52.17, 3^rd/42); Jacob Lamb (1:52.60, 5^th)
Women's 1,500 meters – Beatrix Frissell (4:45.72, 8^th/34); Olivia Lackland Henry (4:50.16, 15^th)
Men's 1,500 meters – Quincy Fast (3:57.11, 9^th/44); Truman Cowan (3:58.76, 11^th); Jacob Lamb (4:01.58, 16^th); Hunter May (4:03.46, 19^th); AJ Eckmann (4:09.17, 22^nd)
Women's 5,000 meters – Beatrix Frissell (~17:39.00, 4^th/28); Olivia Lackland Henry (17:39.27, 5^th)
Men's 5,000 meters – Truman Cowan (15:14.26, 5^th/21); Hunter May (15:20.44, 7^th)
Men's 10,000 meters – Kyle Peterson (31:26.50, 4^th/12)
Women's 100-meter hurdles (finals) – Jansen Ziola (13.75, 2^nd); Ailsa Gilbert (14.53, 6^th)
Women's 100-meter hurdles (prelims) – Jansen Ziola (14.04q, 3^rd/28); Ailsa Gilbert (14.35q, 6^th)
Women's 400-meter hurdles (finals) – Holly Sudol (1:04.05, 5^th)
Women's 400-meter hurdles (prelims) – Holly Sudol (1:03.98q, 8^th/20); Abby Harmon (1:06.10, 10^th)
Men's 400-meter hurdles (finals) – Cutter Thatcher (54.95, 5^th); Colton Hess (55.08, 6^th)
Men's 400-meter hurdles (prelims) – Colton Hess (55.15q, 6^th/18); Cutter Thatcher (55.87q, 7^th)
Men's 3,000-meter steeplechase – AJ Eckmann (9:39.55, 14^th/20)
Women's 4x400-meter relay – A: Holly Sudol, Whitney Morrison, Jaree Mane, Jansen Ziola (4:00.93, 6^th/14)
Men's 4x400-meter relay – A: Colton Hess, Jacob Lamb, Cutter Thatcher, Quincy Fast (3:18.69, 4^th/13)
Women's high jump – Abby Dodge (5-4.75, 3^rd/23); Morgan Radtke (5-2.75, 4^th); Jansen Ziola (5-1, 14^th); Ailsa Gilbert (4-7, 20^t^h)
Men's high jump – Jason Upton (5-10.25, 12^th/17)
Women's pole vault – Aly Tekippe (11-1.75, 5^th/15)
Men's pole vault – Zane Johnson (15-7, 3^rd/18)
Women's long jump – Whitney Morrison (17-4.25, 15^th/33); Morgan Radtke (16-10.75, 18^th); Holly Sudol (16-9, 19^th)
Men's long jump – Peterson Bohannon (23-5.75, 3^rd/27); Jason Upton (23-1.5, 5^th); Jordan Stow (23-0.25, 6^th)
Men's shot put – Brent Yeakey (56-0, 2^nd/23)
Women's discus – Holly Houston (155-1, 5^th/33)
Men's discus – Brent Yeakey (172-1.75, 2^nd/27); Matt Ward (168-10.25, 3^rd)
Women's hammer – Tanessa Morris (186-10.75, 1^st/36)
Men's hammer – Matt Ward (185-3.5, 2^nd/19)
Women's javelin – Autumn Morse (122-6, 15^th/32); Kimberly Earhart (114-6, 17^th); Tatum McNamara (114-3.5, 18^th); Jansen Ziola (86-10, 24^th); Ailsa Gilbert (86-11.25, 26^th)
Men's javelin – Evan Todd (218-11, 1^st/15); Dylan Kipp (210-6.25, 2^nd); Everett Fred (188-4, 6^th); Matthew Hockett (182-6, 7^th)