Griz return to Bozeman on Friday

Friday, January 21

Bozeman, Mont.

Montana

Bobcat Performance Meet

1/20/2022 3:02:00 PM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

Meet Schedule Performance Lists

By: Montana Sports Information

The Montana track & field program will be back in Bozeman, Montana, on Friday for the Bobcat Performance meet. The competition, which begins at 3:30 p.m., will pit athletes from Montana, Montana State and Idaho against each other.

"I once again expect to see some good competitors this weekend," head coach Clint May said. "There are some running events where it looks like athletes will be one-event entries, but the field events are full."

The Grizzlies are coming off of a weekend in which they sent competitors to three separate meets, two being in Spokane, Washington. The overall takeaway was that May and his staff liked where their teams are at so early in the season.

"Because of the extended break, it wouldn't have been terribly abnormal to be just a bit off, but we were right where we left off, and in some cases, a little better than where we left off. It's as if we lost no ground over the break," May said.

That was the first thing that May enjoyed about last weekend, noting that many athletes' performances were better at the team's first January meet than they were in December, at the Bobcat Preview.

Secondly, though, was the depth that is developing on the Griz rosters.

Last weekend's Cougar Classic was split into two meets. The Cougar Classic Open was open to all entries, while the Cougar Classic Invitational was reserved for athletes who had met specific time and mark standards.

"Because of that, you just assume that the Open wasn't as strong of a meet and that the invite was where the good stuff was, but that wasn't the case at all," May said.

In fact, several of Montana's top performances came from the Cougar Classic Open, perhaps showing the depth of young talent the Grizzlies are already developing.

On the women's side, freshman Katie Whitehurst had Montana's best 800 meters time of the weekend (2:21.07). Freshman Emma Zimmerman won the women's pole vault with a height of 11-7, which would have put her in the mix in the Invitational meet.

The exciting thing is she has room to grow, as well, with May noting that the former state champion at Billings West High School has jumped as high as 12-3 before.

There was even more depth seen on the men's side, with freshman Casey Crouch (1:58.97) running in the Open but posting Montana's best time of the day. The biggest event that excited May, though, was in the men's 3,000 meters.

Making his indoor debut, redshirt freshman Maxwell Scott (8:30.61, fifth) and sophomore Ellis McKean (8:33.14, sixth) had great performances in the distance race. Scott's time was better than any Montana runner has posted since 2019, while McKean's time ranks third during that period.

"Max Scott had an incredibly strong run, and we had been working with Ellis to try to break 9 minutes for a while, and not only did he do that, but he shattered it," May said.

Had the two competed in the Cougar Classic Invitational – the stronger race of the two last weekend – they would have both placed in the top 10 out of 30 runners, ahead of countless competitors from Eastern Washington, Idaho, Gonzaga, San Jose State, Santa Clara and Washington State.

May also was proud of the performance of some of Montana's young throwers.

Kaitlyn Gallo placed 10^th at the Cougar Classic Invitational in the women's weight throw, which won't turn heads initially, but her mark of 49-2.25 is way ahead of where the staff expected of a freshman competing in just her second meet.

Another example of Montana's depth growing.

"It was a great weekend all around, and I think one of the other highlights is that we saw some really, really strong competition, which will come in handy as the season progresses and we get to the conference meet," May said. We have been in big moments against big competition, so hopefully the conference meet won't seem so big now."

On Friday, Montana will send 55 athletes to Bozeman, 30 who will be competing in multiple events. Crouch will run in the 400, 800 and mile on the men's side, while a handful of females will have busy days, led by freshman Carlee Fryberger, who is scheduled to compete in five events just one week after participating in her first collegiate pentathlon. Live results can be tracked online.

Bobcat Performance Entries
Women's 60 meters – Catie Buck, Carlee Fryberger, Emma Normand, Destiny Santiago, Audrey Smith
Women's 200 meters – Catie Buck, Carlee Fryberger, Whitney Morrison, Emma Normand, Destiny Santiago, Audrey Smith
Women's 400 meters – Camryn Dezember, Mikenna Ells, Katie Whitehurst
Women's 800 meters – Bridget Boyle, Abby Harmon, McKinlee Mihelish, Molly Sherman
Women's mile – Carly Dahms, Jaylyn Hallgrimson, McKinlee Mihelish, Abby Sherwood, Jocelyn Stansberry
Women's 60-meter hurdles – Ailsa Gilbert, Jaree Mane, Whitney Morrison, Jansen Ziola
Women's 4x400-meter relay – A: Jansen Ziola, Morgan Radtke, Carlee Fryberger, Jaree Mane; B: Mikenna Ells, Katie Whitehurst, McKinlee Mihelish, Molly Sherman
Women's high jump – Carlee Fryberger, Morgan Radtke, Jansen Ziola
Women's pole vault – Jadyn Campbell, Molly Chambers, Shealyne McGee, Emma Zimmerman
Women's long jump – Jaree Mane, Whitney Morrison, Morgan Radtke
Women's triple jump – Ailsa Gilbert
Women's shot put – Ariel Clark, Carlee Fryberger, Jaree Mane, Savana Ramirez
Women's weight throw – Ariel Clark, Kaitlyn Gallo, Emilie Hinrichs, Tanessa Morris, Erin Murphy, Savana Ramirez

Men's 60 meters – Jaydon Green, Kip Krebsbach, Alfred Peterson
Men's 200 meters – Jay Beagle, Ty Ferguson, Cade Johnstone, Paul Johnstone, Kip Krebsbach, Jason Upton
Men's 400 meters – Casey Crouch, Brandon Jones
Men's 800 meters – Casey Crouch, Will Dauenhauer, Josh Haynes, Brady Woods
Men's mile – Casey Crouch, Jordan Hansen, Josh Haynes, Simon Hill, Rogelio Mares, Hunter May
Men's 3,000 meters – Jordan Hansen
Men's 4x400-meter relay – A: Jay Beagle, Ty Ferguson, Paul Johnstone, Cade Johnstone
Men's high jump – Alfred Peterson
Men's pole vault – Zane Johnson, Carson Weeden
Men's long jump – Gordon McMillion, Jason Upton
Men's triple jump – Zane Johnson
Men's shot put – Noah Ramirez, Colton Root
Men's weight throw – Noah Ramirez, Colton Root, Matt Ward