Montana to participate in Lauren McCluskey Memorial meet

Friday, January 20

Moscow, Idaho

Montana

Lauren McCluskey Memorial

Lily Meskers at Spokane Indoor Challenge (1.14.23)

Photo by: Torrey Vail

Montana to participate in Lauren McCluskey Memorial meet

1/19/2023 12:33:00 PM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

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By: Montana Sports Information

The youth and potential of the Montana track and field team was on display last weekend in Spokane, and after waiting months for competition there is no time to rest now. They return to action this weekend, participating in the Lauren McCluskey Memorial meet in Moscow, Idaho.

It gives the Grizzlies another chance to prove themselves at the regional level, and first-year head coach Doug Fraley another opportunity to assess his team. In the first competition of the season Montana found the podium several times and had double-digit athletes set new personal bests. This weekend is just another stepping stone on the way to the Big Sky Indoor Championships.

"Coming off the first meet we've got athletes that did really well. This gives them a chance to validate that and continue to gain momentum," Fraley said. "But it's especially helpful for the athletes that didn't do as well as they were expecting because they are chomping at the bit to get back at it. Having another meet the next weekend is very beneficial for those people that didn't do as well as they thought they would. It will allow them to go in and correct mistakes that they made in the opener."

This weekend will also see Montana's multi-athletes compete for the first time, as three women will participate in the pentathlon. It will begin the meet at 9:00 a.m. on Friday morning. The Grizzlies have a rich tradition in the event and this year is no exception.

Junior Whitney Morrison, who placed 10^th at the Big Sky Indoor last year, will be participating, along with a couple of freshmen in Brooke Stayner and Ainsley Shipman who get their first experience of a collegiate multi.

"We look for that to be a strength of our women's team this year because we have a couple of veterans in Morgan Radtke and Whitney Morrison and then we've got a couple of really talented freshmen in Brooke Stayner and Ainsley Shipman. For us to be able to get a multi in this early in the season and kind of see where these ladies are at is very important for us," Fraley said.

"It's really important for the two freshmen to go through the process of a college multi and see where they are at for that, which is a big bonus for this meet."

There will also be special dedication of the track inside the Kibbie Dome, which was recently replaced. The track, along with the event, are named in dedication of Lauren McCluskey, who grew up in the area before running for the University of Utah.

"Another thing that is really important about this weekend is that track was donated by the Lauren McCluskey Foundation," Fraley said. "I've had a chance to meet her family when I was at Washington State. They are a great family and they are really supportive of the sport of track and field at both Idaho and Washington State. It's a real honor for us as a team to be able to go and compete in this memorial meet to open up the Lauren McCluskey track."

It's a state-of-the-art track with a Mondotrack Super X surface. Fraley said the new surface will provide an outstanding performance venue and give Montana's athletes a chance to improve on marks in many different areas.

It is also a chance to visit another Big Sky school, and to participate against several conference rivals. Fraley said it's a bonus in the season to see where they stack up against the league competition, but more importantly how they are performing individually.

In the first week, many of Montana's underclassmen shined. The gauntlet has been set for the veterans on Montana's roster.

"Typically when that happens, it's going to get the attention of the upperclassmen on the team to kind of kick it into gear a little bit," Fraley said. "It will be exciting to watch not only how the upperclassmen respond in week two to the bar that's been set by some of the underclassmen, but also how some of the younger athletes come back in their second meet."

And while there will be plenty of friendly competition among the Grizzlies, the level of the meet will provide quite the challenge.

"The thing that we are excited about at this meet is it's a really good level of competition for us. The field sizes are just right, our kids are in sections that they're going to be really competitive in, and from top-to-bottom of our roster we are going to be challenged," Fraley said. "That's what you want as you move through the season, you want to be challenged at each competition because that should bring out the best in our kids."

Fraley and several members of his staff got their first taste of competition as Grizzlies last weekend. They weren't disappointed. He spoke of the team culture entering the meet and was certainly impressed with his team's support of one another.

But perhaps more impressive was the level of support from family, friends and fans of Montana. Fraley said he had people introducing themselves to him all day, whether it was a parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle or just a friend of an athlete.

"One of the things I was really impressed with last week was how enthusiastic and supportive our athletes were of each other. A lot of "Go Griz" going around the arena all day," Fraley said. "The number of parents, grandparents, family, friends, support that we had that came down to Spokane was awesome. I was really excited and impressed by the level of Griz support that was in Spokane and I look for that to continue this week."

Gallery: (1-14-2023) TF: Spokane Indoor Challenge (1.14.23)