Mendez again historic during Day 1 of WSU Invitational

2/4/2022 11:46:00 PM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

By: Montana Sports Information

Montana sent its track & field team to Spokane, Washington, this weekend for a pair of meets hosted by Washington State.

Friday featured the WSU Open, which saw more than 40 Griz athletes compete in a variety of events. It also featured the first few events of the WSU Invitational, which is where the Grizzlies really excelled. The remainder of the WSU Invitational will be held on Saturday, and this story will be updated with results at the conclusion of the weekend.

Saturday's action can be live streamed for free through RunnerSpace.

WSU Invitational

Sophomore Joel Mendez continues to make history. A week after becoming the first Grizzly on record to run a sub-4:15 mile and the 3,000 meters in under 8:30 on the same day, on Friday, he set a facility record in the 5,000 meters with a time of 14:30.36. The time was a PR by more than 14 seconds and a facility record by nearly 3. The Podium is a brand-new facility this year, but that's not to take away Mendez's accomplishments considering the sheer volume of athletes that have already ran on its track this season and the quality of athletes that have come through. Mendez's time is the best by a Montana athlete in more than two decades.
Not limited to Mendez, though, Montana went 1-2-3 in the race, with all three runners recording PRs. Maxwell Scott (14:42.23) finished second, followed by Ellis McKean (14:52.89).
Olivia Lackland Henry and Beatrix Frissell placed fifth and sixth in the women's 5,000 meters, ahead of five other Big Sky runners.
Three Grizzlies took part in the indoor pentathlon, which ran on Thursday. Senior Jaree Mane was Montana's top performer, finishing with a PR of 3,483 points. Mane finished in the top eight of four events, including a sixth-place finish in the shot put. Of the eight competitors who finished above her, five are from the Pac-12. Junior Morgan Radtke (3,278 points) finished 14^th, with her top moment coming in the high jump, where she placed third. Junior Jansen Ziola finished third in the 60-meter hurdles but bowed out of the competition after three events.

Women's 5,000 meters – Olivia Lackland Henry (17:22.86, 5^th/15); Beatrix Frissell (17:23.89, 6^th)
Men's 5,000 meters – Joel Mendez (14:30.36, 1^st/18); Maxwell Scott (14:42.23, 2^nd); Ellis McKean (14:51.89, 3^rd); AJ Eckmann (15:13.27, 11^th)
Women's high jump – Morgan Radtke (5-3.25, 12^th/16)
Women's pentathlon – Jaree Mane (3,483, 9^th/19); Morgan Radtke (3,278, 14^th); Jansen Ziola (DNF)

WSU Open
Competing in a loaded field, with many events featuring upwards of 40 to 50 athletes from all across the western United States, Montana had a handful of strong performances:

A day after a PR in the five-event pentathlon, senior Jaree Mane advanced to the finals of the women's 60-meter hurdles, running the fifth-best time (out of 33) in the preliminary round (9.13) before finishing eighth in the finals.
The busiest event came in the women's 200 meters, with four runners competing and three recording PRs, led by Catie Buck (26.37) and freshman Camryn Dezember (26.44).
Montana also had four runners in the men's 3,000 meters, with two finishing in the upper-third and both recording PRs. Freshman Nathan Carter, competing in the event for the first time, led all Grizzlies with a 12^th-place finish (8:36.09). Sophomore Ben Vanderbosch was 15^th, trimming nearly eight seconds off of his previous-best time (8:37.00).
The Grizzlies' men's 4x400-meter relay team placed second only to Cal State Fullerton, running a time of 3:21.11.
Both freshmen Ty Ferguson and Jay Beagle had half-second PRs in the men's 400 meters, led by Ferguson, whose time of 50.60 ranked in 11^th out of 39 runners.
Freshman Bridget Boyle had a PR of nearly a full second in the women's 800 meters, placing 14^th out of 35 runners.
Competing in the men's long jump for the first time in his career, freshman Gordon McMillion was Montana's top performer, placing 14^th out of 41 jumpers with a mark of 21-0.5.

Women's 60 meters (prelims) – Catie Buck (7.89, 14^th/24); Audrey Smith (8.12, 20^th)
Men's 60 meters (qualifying) – Cooper Hewett (7.02, 3^rd/36); Brandon Jones (7.29, 20^th)
Men's 60 meters (prelims) – Cooper Hewett (6.98, 6^th/22)
Women's 200 meters – Catie Buck (26.37, 26^th/ 49); Camryn Dezember (26.44, 28^th); Abby Harmon (26.79, 34^th); Audrey Smith (27.46, 45^th)
Men's 200 meters – Brandon Jones (23.04, 29^th/54)
Women's 400 meters – Katie Whitehurst (1:00.40, 20^th/49)
Men's 400 meters – Ty Ferguson (50.60, 11^th/39); Jay Beagle (51.28, 20^th)
Women's 800 meters – Bridget Boyle (2:20.84, 14^th/35); Molly Sherman (2:26.40, 26^th)
Men's mile – Hunter May (4:22.19, 9^th/29); Rogelio Mares (4:30.02, 19^th)
Men's 3,000 meters – Nathan Carter (8:36.09, 12^th/48); Ben Vanderbosch (8:37.00, 15^th); Hunter May (9:10.40, 39^th); Jordan Hansen (9:35.03, 46^th)
Women's 60 meters (qualifying) – Audrey Smith (8.09, 7^th/30); Camryn Dezember (8.10, 9^th)
Women's 60-meter hurdles (prelims) – Jaree Mane (9.13, 5^th/33); Carlee Fryberger (9.53, 24^th)
Women's 60-meter hurdles (finals) – Jaree Mane (9.14, 8^th/8)
Women's 4x400-meter relay – Camryn Dezember, Whitney Morrison, Katie Whitehurst, Abby Harmon (3:58.67, 5^th/12)
Men's 4x400-meter relay – Jay Beagle, Ty Ferguson, Cade Johnstone, Paul Johnstone (3:21.11, 2^nd/11)
Men's high jump – Alfred Peterson (6-2.75, 10^th/27)
Women's long jump – Ailsa Gilbert (16-10.75, 18^th/41); Whitney Morrison (16-3.25, 29^th)
Men's long jump – Gordon McMillion (21-0.5, 14^th/41); Jason Upton (20-11.75, 15^th)
Women's triple jump – Ailsa Gilbert (foul)
Women's pole vault – Emma Zimmerman (11-3.75, 9^th/25); Shealyne McGee (11-3.75, 9^th); Jadyn Campbell (10-4, 17^th); Molly Chambers (NH)
Men's pole vault – Carson Weeden (14-3.25, 15^th/22); Zane Johnson (NH)
Women's shot put – Jaree Mane (36-8.5, 30^th/43)