Photo by: Weber State Athletics
Montana opens women’s heptathlon with near-perfect day
5/12/2021 5:18:00 PM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field
OGDEN, Utah – Montana opened the 2021 Big Sky Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships on Wednesday with about as good of a performance as the Grizzlies could have hoped for. Competing in the women's heptathlon, Montana took first in all four events on Wednesday.
More than halfway through the seven-event competition, sophomore Jansen Ziola is in first place (3,220 points), one of three Grizzlies currently in scoring position. Ziola won both the 100-meter hurdles (13.70) and 200 meters (24.43), while teammate Morgan Radtke won the high jump (5-7.25) and Jaree Mane (40-5.5) took first in the shot put.
Mane currently is in third place (3,043 points), while Radtke is in seventh (2,869). Freshman Whitney Morrison is also within close range in ninth (2,701).
Ziola – who placed sixth in the heptathlon at the 2019 Championships, not to mention first- (2018) and second-place (2019) finishes in the indoor pentathlon – has 3,220 points through four events thanks in large part to winning two of them.
The sophomore ranks third in the Big Sky this season in the 100-meter hurdles, so it was little surprise that she was Wednesday's winner in the event. What maybe was a surprise, however, was how easily she won. Ziola ran a time of 13.79, which is on par with her season-best time of 13.70. She finished nearly a full second ahead of second-place.
Ziola PR'd in the 200 meters (24.43), finishing comfortably ahead of NAU's Madeline Wilson (24.81) and teammate Holly Sudol (25.47). She also placed fourth in the high jump (5-3.75) and ninth in the shot put (32-0).
She enters Thursday 56 points ahead of Idaho State's Ashley Vanvleet Sturgis, with arguably her best event – the long jump, which she currently ranks second in the Big Sky for – still ahead, in addition to the 800 meters and javelin.
Montana stole the headlines on Wednesday, and not just because of Ziola's performances.
Mane sits in third place overall, highlighted by a nearly 3-foot PR in the shot put. She won the event with a lifetime-best throw of 40-5.5 to earn 683 points. Her first throw of 38-11.5 would have been good enough to win the event by more than a foot, but she added another 18 inches to her third throw for good measure.
Mane also finished fourth in the high jump (PR 5-3.75), fifth in the 200 meters (25.70) and seventh in the 100-meter hurdles (PR 14.96). The junior has scored in the heptathlon at her first two outdoor Championships – placing fifth in 2018 and seventh in 2019 – and is in position to go 3-for-3 on Thursday.
Radtke is in seventh place overall thanks to a huge showing in the high jump. The redshirt freshman cleared 5-7.25 for the first time in her career to win the event. Her previous best of 5-7, which was set three weeks ago in Missoula, is tied for fifth in the Big Sky this season, giving her an opportunity to not only score in the heptathlon, but also the standalone high jump event.
The Drummond, Montana, native didn't enter the high jump until the bar had been raised to 5-3.75, but she cleared it on her first attempt, and did so at 5-5, as well. At that point, just three competitors remained, and both had been jumping for longer that Radtke had; the other two remaining jumpers entered when the bar was at 4-11, four heights before Radtke started.
Radtke missed on her first two attempts at 5-6, but so did her competitors. She cleared on her final attempt, as did Vanvleet Sturgis of Idaho State. At 5-7.25, however, Radtke was successful on her first attempt, while Vanvleet Sturgis was unable to clear the bar on any of her three attempts.
In addition to the high jump, Radtke PR'd in her other three events, as well. She placed seventh in the shot put (PR 32-7), seventh in the 200 meters (PR 25.87) and 13th in the 100-meter hurdles (PR 16.38).
Competing at her first Championships meet, freshman Whitney Morrison is well within reach of scoring, currently sitting in ninth place with 2,701 points. The Big Sky High School graduate placed fourth in the shot put, throwing 36-5, which was tied for a lifetime best. She also finished eighth in the high jump (PR-tying 4-11), 12th in the 100-meter hurdles (PR 15.75) and 12th in the 200 meters (PR 26.75).
Freshman Holly Sudol has earned 2,653 points through four events, highlighted by her third-place finish in the 200 meters. Her time of 25.47 was a PR by eight-tenths of a second. Sudol also placed eighth in the high jump (PR-tying 4-11), 11th in the 100-meter hurdles (PR 15.51) and 12th in the shot put (26-11.25).
Freshman Ailsa Gilbert started the day strong with a time of 14.63 in the 100-meter hurdles, tied for second place and good for 891 points. She missed on all three of her high jump attempts at 4-7.5, however, so with zero points in that category, the coaching staff elected to pull her so she could instead focus on her events later in the meet. Gilbert currently ranks in the top 10 in the Big Sky in the 100-meter hurdles, long jump and triple jump, and has potential to score in all three events.
Thursday will mark the conclusion of the women's heptathlon, in addition to the men's decathlon, which Montana has zero entries for. Action begins at 10:30 a.m. with the long jump, javelin and 800 meters. Fans can follow along for free on Pluto TV (channel 1054) and with live scoring.
More than halfway through the seven-event competition, sophomore Jansen Ziola is in first place (3,220 points), one of three Grizzlies currently in scoring position. Ziola won both the 100-meter hurdles (13.70) and 200 meters (24.43), while teammate Morgan Radtke won the high jump (5-7.25) and Jaree Mane (40-5.5) took first in the shot put.
Mane currently is in third place (3,043 points), while Radtke is in seventh (2,869). Freshman Whitney Morrison is also within close range in ninth (2,701).
Ziola – who placed sixth in the heptathlon at the 2019 Championships, not to mention first- (2018) and second-place (2019) finishes in the indoor pentathlon – has 3,220 points through four events thanks in large part to winning two of them.
The sophomore ranks third in the Big Sky this season in the 100-meter hurdles, so it was little surprise that she was Wednesday's winner in the event. What maybe was a surprise, however, was how easily she won. Ziola ran a time of 13.79, which is on par with her season-best time of 13.70. She finished nearly a full second ahead of second-place.
Ziola PR'd in the 200 meters (24.43), finishing comfortably ahead of NAU's Madeline Wilson (24.81) and teammate Holly Sudol (25.47). She also placed fourth in the high jump (5-3.75) and ninth in the shot put (32-0).
She enters Thursday 56 points ahead of Idaho State's Ashley Vanvleet Sturgis, with arguably her best event – the long jump, which she currently ranks second in the Big Sky for – still ahead, in addition to the 800 meters and javelin.
Montana stole the headlines on Wednesday, and not just because of Ziola's performances.
Mane sits in third place overall, highlighted by a nearly 3-foot PR in the shot put. She won the event with a lifetime-best throw of 40-5.5 to earn 683 points. Her first throw of 38-11.5 would have been good enough to win the event by more than a foot, but she added another 18 inches to her third throw for good measure.
Mane also finished fourth in the high jump (PR 5-3.75), fifth in the 200 meters (25.70) and seventh in the 100-meter hurdles (PR 14.96). The junior has scored in the heptathlon at her first two outdoor Championships – placing fifth in 2018 and seventh in 2019 – and is in position to go 3-for-3 on Thursday.
Radtke is in seventh place overall thanks to a huge showing in the high jump. The redshirt freshman cleared 5-7.25 for the first time in her career to win the event. Her previous best of 5-7, which was set three weeks ago in Missoula, is tied for fifth in the Big Sky this season, giving her an opportunity to not only score in the heptathlon, but also the standalone high jump event.
The Drummond, Montana, native didn't enter the high jump until the bar had been raised to 5-3.75, but she cleared it on her first attempt, and did so at 5-5, as well. At that point, just three competitors remained, and both had been jumping for longer that Radtke had; the other two remaining jumpers entered when the bar was at 4-11, four heights before Radtke started.
Radtke missed on her first two attempts at 5-6, but so did her competitors. She cleared on her final attempt, as did Vanvleet Sturgis of Idaho State. At 5-7.25, however, Radtke was successful on her first attempt, while Vanvleet Sturgis was unable to clear the bar on any of her three attempts.
In addition to the high jump, Radtke PR'd in her other three events, as well. She placed seventh in the shot put (PR 32-7), seventh in the 200 meters (PR 25.87) and 13th in the 100-meter hurdles (PR 16.38).
Competing at her first Championships meet, freshman Whitney Morrison is well within reach of scoring, currently sitting in ninth place with 2,701 points. The Big Sky High School graduate placed fourth in the shot put, throwing 36-5, which was tied for a lifetime best. She also finished eighth in the high jump (PR-tying 4-11), 12th in the 100-meter hurdles (PR 15.75) and 12th in the 200 meters (PR 26.75).
Freshman Holly Sudol has earned 2,653 points through four events, highlighted by her third-place finish in the 200 meters. Her time of 25.47 was a PR by eight-tenths of a second. Sudol also placed eighth in the high jump (PR-tying 4-11), 11th in the 100-meter hurdles (PR 15.51) and 12th in the shot put (26-11.25).
Freshman Ailsa Gilbert started the day strong with a time of 14.63 in the 100-meter hurdles, tied for second place and good for 891 points. She missed on all three of her high jump attempts at 4-7.5, however, so with zero points in that category, the coaching staff elected to pull her so she could instead focus on her events later in the meet. Gilbert currently ranks in the top 10 in the Big Sky in the 100-meter hurdles, long jump and triple jump, and has potential to score in all three events.
Thursday will mark the conclusion of the women's heptathlon, in addition to the men's decathlon, which Montana has zero entries for. Action begins at 10:30 a.m. with the long jump, javelin and 800 meters. Fans can follow along for free on Pluto TV (channel 1054) and with live scoring.
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Multi-events
/ Women's Track and Field
Multi-events
/ Women's Track and Field
Jumps
/ Women's Track and Field
Multi-events
/ Women's Track and Field
Multi-events
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