Mendez comes up within 5 spots of trip to nationals

Wednesday, May 25

Fayetteville, Ark.

Montana

NCAA West Regional

AJ Eckmann, Joel Mendez at 2021 Big Sky Championships

Mendez comes up within 5 spots of trip to nationals

5/27/2022 7:44:00 PM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

Results

By: Montana Sports Information

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – In his final race for Montana, senior Joel Mendez left it all on the track, coming up five places away from a trip to the NCAA Championships in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Mendez's time of 8:45.57 placed him near the top-third of the field, ahead of four Big Sky runners and several Power-5 athletes.

In a nearly 9-minute race, he was 5.57 seconds away from a top-12 finish.

Mendez, who earned his undergraduate degree from Montana in May, will use his final year of eligibility at Arizona State while pursuing a graduate degree in law enforcement administration. In his final season for the Griz, he won the steeplechase three times, including in April at the prestigious Bryan Clay Invitational in California. During the indoor season, he set a facility record in Spokane in the 5,000 meters.

Also competing on Friday was senior Brent Yeakey, who was making his third appearance at NCAA Regionals. Yeakey placed 37^th in the discus on Friday, an eight-spot improvement from his pre-meet ranking. His top throw of 164-5 came on his second attempt, as he surpassed 158 feet on all three throws.

Despite finishing higher than he was seeded, Yeakey's distance on Friday was his second-lowest of the season. Earlier this month, Yeakey surpassed 179 feet to place third at the Big Sky Championships. That mark on Friday would have been 4 inches shy of reaching nationals; his school-record mark of 180-9, set in April 2021, would have earned him a trip to Eugene.

Yeakey capped his historic Griz career with a third trip to NCAA Regionals – once in the shot put and twice in the discus. He is an 11-time scorer at conference, twice reaching the podium in the discus, and holds three school records (indoor shot put, outdoor shot put, outdoor discus).

Montana had six student-athletes qualify for NCAA Regionals in 2022, including three sophomores. In addition to Friday's pair of competitors, sophomores Evan Todd (205-0, 25^th) and Matthew Hockett (190-5, 41^st) competed in the men's javelin; senior Tanessa Morris placed 28^th in the women's hammer (193-11); and Matt Ward finished 25^th in the men's hammer (204-3).

Matt Ward: Competing at his first NCAA Regionals meet, Ward had a strong debut meet, placing 25^th with a top throw of 204-3. He came in seeded 35^th, but finished 10 spots ahead of his ranking, in large part due to his final throw. After scratching on his first attempt, Ward had a good throw of 195-6 on his second attempt. That put him in seventh place out of his 16-thrower field. On his final throw of the season, however, Ward let loose, reaching 204-3 to rise to third in his field. The throw was his third-best throw of the season and in line with his PR of 209-0, which he set earlier this month at the Big Sky Championships, where he placed fourth. Ward sat in 10^th place after two of the three groups had thrown, before sliding to 25^th once the top flight competed.

Evan Todd: Todd, who was competing at his second NCAA Regionals meet in as many seasons, reached 205 feet on his third and final throw. The distance moved him into 25^th place in the 48-thrower field, a season after placing 26^th. The throw was solid, but Todd had more in the tank, reaching 229-2 in Montana's season-opening meet and 224-10 earlier this month when he won a Big Sky Conference title. That distance would have earned a top-eight finish and a trip to the NCAA Championships in Eugene. It wasn't to be, however, giving the Kalispell native extra motivation heading into his junior season next year.

Tanessa Morris: Competing in her second consecutive NCAA Regionals meet, Morris had a top throw of 193 feet, 11 inches, finishing 28^th. She hit 192-1 on her first throw, 193-11 on her second and 186-0 on her final attempt. Morris' 28^th-place finish was an 11-spot improvement from a season ago, when she placed 39^that Regionals, but was below where she came in, when she came in seeded 17^th out of 48 throwers. Unfortunately, Thursday's performance was her worst of the season, as she had cleared at least 194 feet in her previous eight meets and 200 or more feet in four of them. Her school-record mark of more than 210 feet would have earned a top-12 finish and a qualification for NCAA Championships, had she reached that on Thursday.

Morris, who began her collegiate career at the University of Lethbridge in Canada and will use her final year of eligibility at the University of Nebraska while obtaining a graduate degree, made the most of her two-year Griz career. The Canadian thrower is a two-time Big Sky champion in the hammer, qualifying for NCAA Regionals in both 2021 and 2022. Earlier this month, just one week before defending her conference title, she set a school record in the hammer with a throw of 210-4.

Matthew Hockett: Hockett, also a sophomore, came in seeded 48^th out of 48 throwers, but beat out seven competitors with a top throw of 190-5 on his final attempt. Similar to Todd, Hockett, has shown more, surpassing Wednesday's top distance in four of seven meets this season. His lifetime-best throw of 205-5 would have ranked 24^th in the field.